# 2008 Prius: Why does my radio stop when I turn off the engine? **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Created:** [October 25, 2019, 11:43pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2008-prius-why-does-my-radio-stop-when-i-turn-off-the-engine/151503 "2019-10-25T23:43:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MaryGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7993a0/32.png) [@MaryGeorge](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MaryGeorge)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2019, 11:43pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2008-prius-why-does-my-radio-stop-when-i-turn-off-the-engine/151503/1 "2019-10-25T23:43:22Z")
Is this common with all hybrids/electric cars? Or have I just not set something correctly? ---
**Author:** ![VOLVO-V70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8e8cbc/32.png) [@VOLVO-V70](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VOLVO-V70)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2019, 11:46pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2008-prius-why-does-my-radio-stop-when-i-turn-off-the-engine/151503/2 "2019-10-25T23:46:56Z")
This is one of those things that should be covered in your manual or you can play with the menu on your radio . ---
**Author:** ![oldtimer-11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e79b87/32.png) [@oldtimer-11](https://community.cartalk.com/u/oldtimer-11)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2019, 12:10am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2008-prius-why-does-my-radio-stop-when-i-turn-off-the-engine/151503/3 "2019-10-26T00:10:22Z")
So you don’t drain the starting battery. ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2019, 1:25am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2008-prius-why-does-my-radio-stop-when-i-turn-off-the-engine/151503/4 "2019-10-26T01:25:09Z")
Some brands leave the radio on, and some turn it off. GM vehicles leave the radio on for several minutes or until you open the door. We’ve had 3 Honda’s since 2005, and all of them turn the radio off when the ignition is turned off. ---
**Author:** ![thegreendrag0n](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/thegreendrag0n/32/9265_2.png) [@thegreendrag0n](https://community.cartalk.com/u/thegreendrag0n)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2019, 2:35am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2008-prius-why-does-my-radio-stop-when-i-turn-off-the-engine/151503/5 "2019-10-26T02:35:15Z")
press on your “start” button once, without touching brake pedal, you will get into Accessory mode, where the radio will work, while the rest of the car will not Prius is trying to prevent your AUXILIARY (12 volt) battery from draining, so it turns the radio off in OFF mode. Prius starts engine from the high-voltage (AKA “torque”) battery, so you will not be able to drain it, but in order to give the engine command to start, you have to have auxiliary (12V) battery working ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2019, 2:58am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2008-prius-why-does-my-radio-stop-when-i-turn-off-the-engine/151503/6 "2019-10-26T02:58:48Z")
What cars don’t turn off the radio like this? ---
**Author:** ![PvtPublic](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/pvtpublic/32/13089_2.png) [@PvtPublic](https://community.cartalk.com/u/PvtPublic)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2019, 9:53am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2008-prius-why-does-my-radio-stop-when-i-turn-off-the-engine/151503/7 "2019-10-26T09:53:56Z")
Our Caravan will leave the radio on for either a set period of time or until a door is opened. ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2019, 1:38pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2008-prius-why-does-my-radio-stop-when-i-turn-off-the-engine/151503/8 "2019-10-26T13:38:23Z")
> [@texases](#): > > What cars don’t turn off the radio like this? GM cars. The radio remained on after shutdown in my 1998 Regal, 2003 Silhouette, 2009 Cobalt and 2010 Cobalt. We can also use the charging ports when the car is off. We can’t do that in the three Hondas that’s we have owned. ---
**Author:** ![Purebred](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/purebred/32/46796_2.png) [@Purebred](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Purebred)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2019, 1:43pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2008-prius-why-does-my-radio-stop-when-i-turn-off-the-engine/151503/9 "2019-10-26T13:43:06Z")
The radio stays on for five minutes on both of my Fords. Stay on indefinitely in the accessory position, though my truck will give a warning of potential battery drain if used for a longer period.