Hello. My friend has a 2005 Toyota Prius. Earlier last year, her car was parked for six months. A situation arose where the car had to be moved. I knew the car was inoperable due to a dead 12V battery so I replaced the battery. I thought she told me it was a 2008 Toyota Prius so I got her a battery for a 2008 Prius. The car worked fine for a while, but the "triangle of doom" came on. It seems to go away when the battery terminal is tightened. I, however, cannot get the terminal to tighten properly. Is there some difference between the 2008 and 2005 Prius 12v battery that I should be aware of that may be causing a problem or causing the terminal to not tighten correctly? Thank you!
Thank you for the reply. The battery terminal connectors do not seem to be secure on the battery. I suspect that the wrong bolts are used in the terminal connector, but I have not seen the stock ones so I do not know for sure. Any properly connected terminal on the Prius should not have any play in it, right? That is how it has been in every car I've owned.
Check that everything is stock. It is possible a previous owner changed to larger (SAE) terminal clamps to use a battery with SAE posts. The stock car comes with smaller JIS (Japanese Industrial Standard) posts. If the clamps are the larger SAE ones, you have two options: 1) buy a couple of converter shims or swap the clamps back to OEM. This assumes you currently have a direct swap battery with JIS posts (aka pencil posts (PP)).
Thanks for the reply guys. The original bolts for the terminal are lost, and that is what I think is causing the problems with the car (the battery terminal has a lot of play in it). Any ideas on where I can get the original bolts for the terminal without having to buy the entire terminal? Thanks!
I'm not sure whether it is just a difference in understanding terminology, but you aren't looking to replace the bolts, you need to get new clamps. Take the ones you have to an auto parts store and see if they can supply the equivalent in JIS size. Another option is go to a pick-and-pull or dismantlers and see if you can get the bit(s) you need from them. For the negative it should be easy, maybe just get the whole negative strap and replace it. It will be interesting to see what the positive connection looks like. Any chance of a photo? If the worst comes to the worst, you could get what you need from a dealer parts dept. For a price!
Also there is a small rectangle spacer plate on oem connection screw, if thats missing it will give too much slack (i forgot to reinstall one and wasted 10 mins scratching my head. Tried to attach a photo but cant get it posted, google prius (or any toyota) battery terminal conn and youll see what I mean.
