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Ah, man.
After my morning Skype call, I am ready to leave for the office, but my car won't shift into Drive. It gives a double beep.
A nagging feeling that maybe I'm forgetting some simple step of the process. But I *am* pressing my foot on the brake pedal, and then pressing the power button. I'm pretty sure that's all it usually takes.
I turn it off and on again, trying several times, with the same results. Or rather, even worse results. The 2nd or 3rd time, the brake pedal is harder to push, and the display flickers. The warning lights on the display aren't going off like they usually do.
So I try to figure out what might be the problem. Maybe it's a power steering problem? That's one of the warning lights. Maybe I need to add steering fluid? No, after some research, it's apparently an electric power steering system which doesn't use steering fluid.
Maybe it's the 12 volt battery? This is a Prius, and the 12 volt battery isn't under the front hood like other cars. It's in the back somewhere. How can I test it? Apparently on older models, there was a special menu that you could open on the display, which showed the battery voltage. But this newer model doesn't have that anymore. Or actually, you can still get to the special menu by a different means, but it doesn't show the battery info anymore. (WHY???)* Apparently you have to use a voltage meter on the battery itself. Or maybe there are leads on the fuse box? I'm still not sure.
In the mean time, I tell Qiao about the problem. But he tries, and the car starts fine for him!
So now the car works, but I don't trust it to keep working.
So maybe there's a problem with my key fob, and his key fob is ok? But now the car works ok with my fob too.
I little while later I try again, using his key fob, and the problem happens again. So it's not the key fob!
I try a few more times; sometimes the car starts ok and sometimes not. Luckily, I manage to get both on video. Then I bring them up on my computer and compare them. And I do some more testing to figure out what is normal and what isn't.
Normally, when you press on the brake, the LED on the power button turns green. Then when you press the power button, the car beeps and the LED goes out. The top display turns on with all the warning lights lit. Then the warning lights go out, and the "Ready" message is shown.
Normally if you press the power button without your foot on the break, the LED on the power button turns orange, and the bottom display turns on. If you then press the power button a 2nd time, the LED remains orange, and the top display comes on. At that point, the top display is like when I have the problem - the warning lights stay lit, and it does not show "Ready".
But, based on my video, for my problem, the power button LED is green like normal when I press on the brake and press the power button.
So that probably means it isn't a brake switch problem like someone else had.
Then I discovered that when I'm having the problem, if I keep my foot on the brake (or press it again if I had released it in the meantime), and press the Power button one more time, then it goes into normal mode, displays the "Ready" light, and shifts ok!
Dang, this is like debugging a software problem at work.
Which is what I should be doing instead of debugging my car, but but but... surely I need to figure out the car before going back to work...
* It is still available in the menus after all. This Priuschat thread says how to get to it:
Press power button twice with foot _off_ the brake pedal, to get into "ON" mode. Then hold the Car button down while switching the light switch to and from the parking lights (not headlights, not DRL) 3 or 4 times. Then you get a "Service Menu" with 3 options; choose "Function Check/Setting". Then select "Vehicle Signal", and it will display a screen including the 12V battery level.
(Doing the same steps with the Setup button instead of the Car button brings up a different menu, containing very little information.)
After my morning Skype call, I am ready to leave for the office, but my car won't shift into Drive. It gives a double beep.
A nagging feeling that maybe I'm forgetting some simple step of the process. But I *am* pressing my foot on the brake pedal, and then pressing the power button. I'm pretty sure that's all it usually takes.
I turn it off and on again, trying several times, with the same results. Or rather, even worse results. The 2nd or 3rd time, the brake pedal is harder to push, and the display flickers. The warning lights on the display aren't going off like they usually do.
So I try to figure out what might be the problem. Maybe it's a power steering problem? That's one of the warning lights. Maybe I need to add steering fluid? No, after some research, it's apparently an electric power steering system which doesn't use steering fluid.
Maybe it's the 12 volt battery? This is a Prius, and the 12 volt battery isn't under the front hood like other cars. It's in the back somewhere. How can I test it? Apparently on older models, there was a special menu that you could open on the display, which showed the battery voltage. But this newer model doesn't have that anymore. Or actually, you can still get to the special menu by a different means
In the mean time, I tell Qiao about the problem. But he tries, and the car starts fine for him!
So now the car works, but I don't trust it to keep working.
So maybe there's a problem with my key fob, and his key fob is ok? But now the car works ok with my fob too.
I little while later I try again, using his key fob, and the problem happens again. So it's not the key fob!
I try a few more times; sometimes the car starts ok and sometimes not. Luckily, I manage to get both on video. Then I bring them up on my computer and compare them. And I do some more testing to figure out what is normal and what isn't.
Normally, when you press on the brake, the LED on the power button turns green. Then when you press the power button, the car beeps and the LED goes out. The top display turns on with all the warning lights lit. Then the warning lights go out, and the "Ready" message is shown.
Normally if you press the power button without your foot on the break, the LED on the power button turns orange, and the bottom display turns on. If you then press the power button a 2nd time, the LED remains orange, and the top display comes on. At that point, the top display is like when I have the problem - the warning lights stay lit, and it does not show "Ready".
But, based on my video, for my problem, the power button LED is green like normal when I press on the brake and press the power button.
So that probably means it isn't a brake switch problem like someone else had.
Then I discovered that when I'm having the problem, if I keep my foot on the brake (or press it again if I had released it in the meantime), and press the Power button one more time, then it goes into normal mode, displays the "Ready" light, and shifts ok!
Dang, this is like debugging a software problem at work.
Which is what I should be doing instead of debugging my car, but but but... surely I need to figure out the car before going back to work...
* It is still available in the menus after all. This Priuschat thread says how to get to it:
Press power button twice with foot _off_ the brake pedal, to get into "ON" mode. Then hold the Car button down while switching the light switch to and from the parking lights (not headlights, not DRL) 3 or 4 times. Then you get a "Service Menu" with 3 options; choose "Function Check/Setting". Then select "Vehicle Signal", and it will display a screen including the 12V battery level.
(Doing the same steps with the Setup button instead of the Car button brings up a different menu, containing very little information.)
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Date: 2018-11-02 04:01 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2018-11-02 05:21 am (UTC)From: