I've driven Toyotas for years. Several times, in various models, i've had what I considered "early" starter failures. I finally figured out on my old Previa that I could simply replace contactor brushes (a couple hours labor to save $150 US -- not bad for a school teacher). Today I drove my 2008 (brand new -- to me) Prius for the first time, and was perusing the owners manual at lunch. "Hmm," I said to myself, "this baby shuts off at every red light? That could add up to a LOT of starter motor cycles!" What seems to be the average life-span for a starter in these little electronic wonders? In the same general vein, I'm used to about three tropical years for a good (AC Delco) lead acid battery here on Guam. I always get a good pro-rate on the replacement. Should I be looking to replace the 12V starter battery on my Gen II 2008? (it has about 30,000 US Miles at this point). Is it warranteed (assuming I buy the OEM part)? LOVE the car so far -- feedback on these issues would be very much appreciated.
Ai adia (Pronounced Eye uh-day). A fine old Chamorro (Guamanian) phrase meaning, well, basically, "I myself (or something or someone else) else screwed up, and whatcha gonna do?" I just found a reference on the starter (non) issue. Remember -- always try the search function BEFORE asking a silly question!
As long as you don't drain the 12V battery by leaving the hatch and/or cabin lights on overnight, I would say that you should enjoy at least 4 years service life. In the continental US incl. Alaska, the battery has a two year warranty. If the warranty length is important to you, then you should consult your local dealer since Guam is supplied by an independent distributor (not associated with Toyota Motor Sales USA).
The 12V auxiliary battery is one of the most likely parts to fail, and there are precious few drop-in replacements. Because it is located inside the passenger compartment it must be sealed lead-acid or AGM, rather than your standard flooded lead-acid AC Delco. An Optima yellow top deep cycle battery is better than OEM for about the same price, and at least one seller (elearnaid.com) ships USPS flat-rate Priority with all of the required installation hardware.
GuamKelly - there ARE no silly questions here ... just all of us silly members Starter motor / starter moter 'battery' ... ya gotta describe your terms a bit better for the Prius. As others hint, there IS no starter motor, nor is there (in the strict sence) a starter motor battery. First, the teeny 12volt aux battery boots up the entire system. Once booted, the large/high voltage traction pack powers the car ... and recharges the teeny 12volt aux battery. The teeny 12volt aux battery can afford to be teeny because it supplys NO cranking power, to a starter motor. The electric motor/generator ... powered by the high voltage traction pack is what actually re-starts the ICE. It's a highly bullet-proof system, and that's why there are few failures, considering the millions of units out on the road world wide. We replaced our 12volt aux battery once it was about 5 years old ... not because it failed ... but just because it is the easiest item to replace, and the most likely thing to fail, eventually. If you abuse the teeny 12volt aux battery it WILL NOT be forgiving ... so if you turn the accessory power on ... run your sterio & interior lights and/or headlights ... well ... you can pretty much kiss it good bye. It's teeny size should tell you that it's not designed to put out a bunch of power to run for a good amount of time, the way a bigger 12volt battery is, which oftne has lots of starter motor cranking power. Hope that helps explain what powers what. .
No biggy. We get lots of new readers doing their initial research. Sometimes a duplicate thread is unnecessary but in this case, it answers the same questions others are having.
Great lead on the Yellowtop! I just got my car yesterday. This weekend I'll install new tires and check the state of the 12v battery. Will order the Yellowtop if it's not in excellent shape, since the OEM seems to be the Achilles Heel of our cars. When I put a DC voltmeter on the OEM battery, what minimum voltage am I looking for?
That depends on what state the car is in at the time: OFF, 12.0 to 12.8 ON, 13.8 to 14.4 (this is the charging system converter voltage) ACC, not much less than 12 depending on the load (headlights, etc.) For the built-in diagnostic procedure see http://priuschat.com/forums/newbie-forum/73400-weird-stuff-happening-mpgs-dropping-test-battery.html
