[tryoty]

Well, not really, but it'll get *your* heartbeat going!

Leave the drivers door ajar (closed so you can't push it open, but not fully latched) and then put it in drive...

I almost dove out the window! LOL.

A simple door ajar message would suffice. Telling me the battery won't charge with the transaxel in nuetral, displaying a bright red triangle with an exclamation point, and sounding a continuous alarm is a tad bit misleading to what the actual problem is!

 

[DanMan32]

Agreed. You're not the first, you won't be the last.
I think they intended to use that message in case you might leave the car unattended while in neutral. The parking brake would suffice to keep it from rolling, but eventually you'll kill the HV battery.
But then they thought leaving the car unattended in ANY gear other than park is unsafe, so they changed one line of code to present the message if the door is opened in any gear other than park, which would save code/message space.

 

[Hep]

I get the same adrenaline rush when I open the door before powering off. :shock:

 

[ChasSuitt]

:roll: Similar situation... Yesterday I had a passenger close a rear door ON the seatbelt. Locked the Prius as usual (button on driver's door armrest). Returned to the car and OOPS: Smart Entry would not work so I was required to open the driver's door with the mechanical key.

Another little quirk: Went to pick up my wife at the airport, met at the curb, car in "READY - PARK." Couldn't open the hatch. Had to shut down, load luggage and restart..

 

[HIVOLTAGE]

Yeah Hep...I tend to do the opposite. Drive off before closing the door all the way! :shock: :roll:

Which brings up a question: Can the code be edited? Not that you would want to for warranty reasons and all that jazz but to maybe as something as innocent as "hey doofus...you left the door open" being displayed. If the code could be changed, not only would that be a dangerous thing to some idiot not knowing what they were doing but would it open up a legal issue with Toyota?

You could change all kinds of things in there.....if there is access?[/quote]

 

[KTPhil]

Stumped a dealer first time it happened to me. They had never heard of the problem.

One helpful byproduct of high gas prices is the higher sales of the Prius, which will hopefully nudge dealers towards a better-trained staff.

 

[hyperion]

You can't have higher sales numbers Phil, if you can't get the car which in it's history since the advent of the 04 has been back ordered all over the world.

It almost makes you believe that Toyota thinks it is a "fad"

You could get the idea that they are not only not making a profit on the car at the price they have established but they have found it is cutting into the profits that would be made with larger Camry and Corolla sales.

 

[KTPhil]

"It almost makes you believe that Toyota thinks it is a "fad"

"You could get the idea that they are not only not making a profit on the car at the price they have established but they have found it is cutting into the profits that would be made with larger Camry and Corolla sales."

This is pure unsubstantiated conjecture. They have doubled production since '04, haven't they? Ford says they can't get components because the Japanese are using up the supply.

 

[Old n Bold]

There is some evidence that the price of the Prius was set at an aritificially low point. Read "Prius That Shook the World."

 

[mrv]

You can't have higher sales numbers Phil, if you can't get the car which in it's history since the advent of the 04 has been back ordered all over the world.

It almost makes you believe that Toyota thinks it is a "fad"

You could get the idea that they are not only not making a profit on the car at the price they have established but they have found it is cutting into the profits that would be made with larger Camry and Corolla sales.

Not quite. When the Prius was taken off of the internet ordering system in early 2002 (end of 2002 model year) and put onto the stupid regular allocation system, there suddenly was Prius sitting around at some dealers while at other dealers there was a waiting list. Then in spring of 2003 Toyota announced the new and improved upcoming 2004 Prius, and the sales of 2003 Prius plummeted as people waited for the new 2004 instead...

For the 2001 and much of 2002 while on the internet ordering system, every Prius shipped to the US had a buyer who had ordered it.

Since the 2004 has been out, most dealers have had waiting lists, but some dealers had Prius on the lot selling at discounts...

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the world the Prius sales have been lackluster (mainly in Europe/UK, based on chatter on those local groups)... No marketing there, and lots of small cars and/or diesels with close fuel economy to choose from.

 

[ehurtley]

:roll: Similar situation... Yesterday I had a passenger close a rear door ON the seatbelt. Locked the Prius as usual (button on driver's door armrest). Returned to the car and OOPS: Smart Entry would not work so I was required to open the driver's door with the mechanical key.

Another little quirk: Went to pick up my wife at the airport, met at the curb, car in "READY - PARK." Couldn't open the hatch. Had to shut down, load luggage and restart..

First, why do you use the internal lock instead of either the Smart Key button on the outside handle; or the remote? If you use either of those two methods, you'll know fast if there something wrong, as the car screeches out it's long 10-second beep to let you know a door is still open. (You'll also be sure to never lock your key in.)

Second, if the car is in any mode other than full off, no, the Smart Key won't work. That's what the little 'unlock' button on the inside front armrests are for. (Yes, the one you used to lock the doors in your first anecdote.) That unlock button does indeed unlock the hatch. (As does hitting the unlock button on the keyfob twice when the car is off, or grabbing the handle with Smart Key on.)

 

[DanMan32]

There is a warning displayed. It is the symbol of a car with little doors coming out of it like wings. It lights up when any door is open, though I have to check if it includes the hatch.

I didn't think you could electrically lock the door if one was open, or at least when you closed the driver door, it would unlock.

Hmm, got to play....