I have been having somebody drive my 2005 prius once a week because I am away on business and won't be back for the next couple of months. Last night the person babysitting the car said it wouldn't start without a jump start. (I'm hoping no permanent damage was done with the jump start) It worked after that and they drove it on the highway for half an hour to charge the battery. But it wouldn't start again so they let it be. I am thinking maybe it is just the 12 volt battery that needs to be replaced. But I can't get anybody to fix it until I get back. I am worried that the 200 volt battery will be damaged if nobody drives it for the next two months. Would that absolutely kill it or is there a chance it would still be OK?
The HV battery charge holds up quite well. I don't think 2 months would do anything to that HV battery.....1 year would be a different story.
^^^ agreed, you'll be fine. really, the only reason to have someone drive it is for the 12volt battery. next time, put a tender on it.
1. 30 minutes is not sufficient. There is no need to actually drive the car, it just needs to be made READY and can be sitting in the driveway. 8-12 hours would be more like it to fully-charge the 12V battery. Obviously you want to make sure the car has sufficient fuel and that it will not cause a safety issue sitting there when READY. 2. You do not have to worry about the high voltage traction battery during a two-month storage period.
That's somewhat of a relief. I won't actually know what's wrong until I get back and look for myself. But it sounds like it's probably the 12 volt battery. Thank you all for your help.
The high voltage battery is nearly 10 years old. Another perfect candidate for a high voltage battery maintenance charger. Look in the PriusChat shop. Hybrid Battery Preventative Maintenance Grid Charger for 2004-2009 Toyota Prius - PriusChat Shop You purchase helps support PriusChat. If an older battery is left unused for a long period of time it can slowly self-discharge too low. Then the car will throw a code saying "replace hybrid battery". Ignore that warning light. Install a high voltage charger instead. Then bring the battery voltage back up to an acceptable level.
