P lock malfunction when parking prius 2010

Hey not sure if anyone here can help but I figured why not try before spending a ton of money.

My 2014 Prius has started giving me this error "P LOCK MALFUNCTION WHILE PARKING, MOVE CAR TO A LEVEL SURFACE , DEPRESS THE EMERGENCY BRAKE PEDAL FIRMLY" it is also telling me it is not in park so it cannot start. I believe what it says is something like "SHIFT TO PARK BEFORE STARTING"

I tried to jump it because I found some posts online saying it could just be a problem with the 12v battery in the back. Jumping did nothing. So I got a friend to test my battery to see if it was just a bad battery and he said it isn't bad as a matter of fact it is putting out 12.2 volts.

So I'm stumped. The car will not properly turn on, it acts like I've pressed the power button with out pressing the brake. Then it yells at me saying it isn't in park. I can put it in neutral, then when I press the park button it acts like it is in park but says it isn't (the car doesn't move when not pressing the brake)

The iceing on the cake to this is I am in the middle of nowhere west Virginia on top of the highest point in the state. The nearest dealership or mechanic that would know anything about a Prius is 2 hours away. So getting it towed is going to be pricey.

1. 

   Joined:Dec 10, 2015410Location:North CarolinaVehicle:2012 PriusModel:Two

   My 2010 Prius won't start, and shows the "P Lock Malfunction" message whenever I try. Actually the problem now is it won't turn fully OFF, or fully start, so it's stuck in limbo. It seems to be a problem with the Parking button not engaging, or not telling the Power control that it is engaged, like a circuit is short or the wire has malfunctioned. I don't see any problems under the hood, but I am no expert.

   In researching chat groups & such, I have yet to see where anyone has come to a decisive conclusion. Lots of advice to check or replace the 12v battery, but it seems when a number of others have tried this, the problem still remains.

   Thanks.
   

2. 

   Joined:Aug 12, 20165,0515,1380Location:Columbia, SCVehicle:2007 PriusModel:Touring

   So.....out of curiosity, did you check your 12v? I saw a video posted on the site recently that showed Luscious Garage explaining the same thing. Seems to make sense to me. Faulty/weak 12v = inadequate power for starting up and keeping the electronics functioning correctly.

3. 

   Joined:May 11, 200599,10744,9130Location:bostonVehicle:2012 Prius Plug-inModel:Plug-in Base

   this one can be difficult. maybe a door not fully closed, all the way to a high voltage leak. did tech stream produce any codes?

4. 

   Joined:Dec 10, 2015410Location:North CarolinaVehicle:2012 PriusModel:Two

   I didn't get a chance to find out how (all the instructions online that I saw seemed to be for different models than mine?), and now I think the battery has indeed worn down, due to it not being able to power down completely, and my repeated attempts trying. Sigh.

5. 

   Joined:Dec 10, 2015410Location:North CarolinaVehicle:2012 PriusModel:Two

   Haven't been able to figure out how to do a tech stream.... Sounds from others like it could be a bad combo meter? Replacing it apparently involves a Toyota dealer matching the new one with the car's exact mileage; I got a quote of ~$1300 for getting that done.

   Whether it's battery or high voltage leak (?) or combo meter or something else, it looks like I need to have the dang thing towed to a Toyota dealer.

   

6. 

   Joined:May 11, 200599,10744,9130Location: bostonVehicle:2012 Prius Plug-inModel:Plug-in Base

   testing the 12v battery is easy, or just replace it if original. but if you can't do that, a dealer would be your best bet.
   how many miles on her?

7. 

   Joined:Dec 10, 2015410Location:North CarolinaVehicle:2012 PriusModel:Two

   96K miles on her (though I think it's a him). I've seen enough reports of others that got this message saying the battery wasn't the problem after checking that, that I feel the need to go with a full diagnostic, despite being frustrated over 1. not being able to handle it myself, and 2. the likely high cost.

   I was never good enough with auto mechanics to take on simple things like VW maintenance or even oil changes, so I shouldn't be surprised I can't just fix this one myself; but I was hoping maybe I could.

8. 

   Joined:Mar 5, 2018100Location:Dearborn, MIVehicle:2013 PriusModel:V

   Were you able to find out the issue? My car is doing the exact same thing.

9. 

   Joined:Mar 20, 2018 430Location:PittsburghVehicle:2010 PriusModel:V

   We had one similar issue in 2011. It ended up being wire pinched and grounded right off the fuse box and also fuse was blown. I would check good under the hood and fuse box area.

10. SOLUTION for a car that doesn't have any other problem:

    If your battery drains (maybe you forgot a light on) this problem might appear. Disconnect the battery entirely (I mean either the + or -, I read from a Toyota mechanic that you need to disconnect in order to reset/wipe some codes/warnings in the computer). Reconnect, boost the car and it should start unless there's another problem (like mentioned above, cables shorting and whatnot).

    Andrei

11. 

    Joined:Nov 14, 2019100Location:Ebensburg, PAVehicle:Other HybridModel:N/A

    I have a 2010 Lexus HS250h with 200k miles on it. Today I experienced the same issue on a vehicle that has NEVER had any problems. I assumed the problem was a weak battery so I tried to jump it with my other car...after about a half hour of charging it, no luck. Then I hooked it up to a Diehard battery charger which connects to a power outlet in my garage. In less than a minute, it solved the problem completely. The car immediately turned over and all systems were functioning normally. I know NOTHING about cars, but I think it may be possible that the steady 120v current from the Diehard could have reset something in one of the computers. I’m not sure if this qualifies as a solution, but I thought I should share it with anyone who might be interested.

12. 

    Joined:May 27, 20201030Location:CaVehicle:2010 PriusModel:Three

    So this just happened to me today after using the Accessory port to try and run a tire air compressor to fill it’s tires. Apparently the battery is super easy to drain this way and it threw that P Lock error and wouldn’t stop making a humming noise. It was chaos and the worst part is it was the lady’s car. Anyway, i explained to her it was probably as simple as the battery being drained but she was flipping out (she’s an electrical engineer who builds satellites lol ) . I told her I’d call AAA and they’d be able to probably jump it no problem abc then charge it up. She kept saying she wanted AAA to replace her battery with OEM, which I explained they don’t do. Lol anyway, long story short they ended up coming jumping it and works like a champ. So this error is likely just the battery’s way of telling you it’s tapping out

13. 

    Joined:Sep 5, 2011100Location:USAVehicle:2011 PriusModel:Four

    Old thread, but this is what worked for me. My battery had died and I did a jump start/recondition. When I turned the car on I got the p-start malfunction error. The car did actually turn on. When I went to check the fuse box, I noticed the lid was not on all the way. After checking the fuse and securing the fuse box lid on all the way, I restarted the car and the error went away. Perhaps there is a sensor that can tell if the lid to the fuse box is not on all the way

14. 

    Joined:Jan 6, 2022220Location:UsaVehicle:2009 PriusModel:Four Touring

    2009 prius 120K miles. Bought used, has it inspected, all checks good. Drives fine for thousands of miles, took it for a recent 15 min drive, turn it off. About 5 min later, I came back and won't start, all lights flashing on dash, full gas tank shows 1 bar, won't shift, eventually all squares in the drive/park/reverse grid on the dash flash the borders and then engine check light comes on and also the triangle.. Try two more times to start, same result, lthe second time lights eventually stop turning on , car acts like 12 v battery is dead. Go to jump the car, car turns on and the middle screen says " "There is a problem with the transmission "P" lock mechanism Park your your car on a flat surface and fully apply the parking brake." While the car is running, I fully push the parking brake down, let it stay there for a few seconds and press it again to release. We removed the jumpers, I turn it off, try to restartt car goes back into fail mode, redo the jumpers, turn the car back on and then depress the parking brake fully, wait a second, release. And the car works. Ran an ODBI scan after it was running and no problems noted. This has been a reliable car, not sure what to make of the problem or the fix, but the car appears to know what was wrong and knew the message to display to fix it. Not sure why it took a jump to get there, can't say if this is a fix for all, but it worked this time.

15. 

    Joined:Jan 30, 2022100Location:USAVehicle:2013 PriusModel:II

    2013 Prius II. After a snowstorm, I parked close to a curb and slightly up on it because the snow was so high, I couldn't tell where the curb started. Once I realized the right front tire was up on the curb, the car was already turned off. So, I pushed the Start button, and got this message: "P Lock Malfunction When Parking, Park In Flat Place And Apply Parking Brake Securely."

    I put the car in Reverse to move it off the curb and got this message: "Shift to P Position When Starting". I pressed "Start" to turn the car off and it would not fully turn off. When, I pressed "Start" again, the "P Lock" message came back. Emergency brake was secure and the car was in Park the whole time.

    I went in the house for about 10 minutes to Google the messages and came across this Prius Chat forum. Before trying to start my car again, I first opened and securely closed each door including the hatchback. I pressed the Start button again and the error message was gone. Not sure if the error went away because I let my car alone for 10 minutes or if it was because I opened and closed the doors before trying again...or both. Note, I've never had this problem happen before.

    

    

16. 

    Joined:Jul 11, 2016355940Location:CaliforniaVehicle:2010 PriusModel:III

    That solution worked Thanks even Toyota did not know how to fix it when I called
    I hate it when cars get so complex that a little problem has you running around and you need to go to school just to know how to fix simple problems.

Why does my Prius says shift to P position?

How do I get my Prius to park?