2007 Prius- died two times in 3 days- 12V Battery issues?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by drw, Oct 24, 2011.

  1. drw

    drw Junior Member

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    My 2007 Prius would not start last Thursday- when I tried, the electronics on the dash went haywire, had the triangle of death warning symbol, etc, etc.

    Had it towed to the dealer and was told it was the 12V battery, which to me made sense- so it was replaced and I thought everything was fine.

    But 3 days later, the car died again- this time, it was COMPLETELY dead, when you hit the power button- nothing- absolutely dead.

    Was able to jump it and get it started, and drove it to the dealer. When we got there and turned the car off, then tried to start it again, it was once again completely dead.

    Dealership is looking at it right now- anyone have any idea what may be going on here or experience something similar?? Bad replacement battery? Is it possible it's just something simple like something not hooked up properly??
     
    #1 drw, Oct 24, 2011
  2. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Since you can jumpstart the car, if no warning lights appear when the Prius is READY then it doesn't have a serious problem. It is certainly possible that the replacement 12V battery is faulty.
     
    #2 Patrick Wong, Oct 24, 2011
  3. Rokeby

    Rokeby Member

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    Clearly, something is not right with the situation with the second battery.

    But we'll need more info before proceeding.
    Here's some intitial questions that come readily to mind:

    1. Did you do any investigating before the car was towed the second
    time? (Take out the hatch area floor and spare tire holder and look at
    the battery to see if anything looked wrong with the battery hook up?
    I know it's too late now but a picture would be really helpful.)

    2. Was the car parked outside, or in a garage? (More likely a door or
    the hatch was not closed fully if parked inside)

    3. Whether parked outside or in, did you lock the car on getting out?

    4. Were there any changes to your return home drive after the second
    battery was installed? (New carpooler, stops at a store, etc)

    It is not unheard of for a dealer/shop to install a not fully charged
    battery!!! :eek:

    5. When it was evident that you would be buying the second battery,
    did you inform the service writer/tech that you wanted a printed copy
    of the battery status report that the in-house charger can generate?
    (If they know that you know that there is such a thing, they're much
    more likely to do the full charge.)

    6. How many miles did you drive each day after the second battery
    was installed? (If a partially charged battery was installed it would take
    quite a few miles to fully charge it with the onboard motor-generator.
     
    #3 Rokeby, Oct 24, 2011
  4. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    I vote for a loose/corroded ground wire at the negative battery terminal.
     
    #4 seilerts, Oct 24, 2011
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  5. drw

    drw Junior Member

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    Here is an update- the dealership had the car for a full day, and could not find anything wrong. The replacement battery checked out fine, they put it back in and checked all connections and wires, etc.

    Tried starting it numerous times and it started every time. I’ve had it back for awhile and so far it has started up fine for me several times as well…

    I hate having to worry about it not starting every time I hit the power button, but for now it seems to be working- of course it worked for 3 days after getting the battery replaced.

    Could it have been just a loose connection or wire or something like that?? But if that is what it was, then how were we able to jump it and get it started??

    To answer Rokeby’s questions, there is nothing unusual that happened on my end (like leaving light on, etc) that would have drained the battery.

    I will just keep my fingers crossed that it won’t happen again……..
     
    #5 drw, Oct 25, 2011
  6. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    If the negative is, for example, completely disconnected, you can jump start the car from the contacts under the hood and it will run. It is likely that whatever the problem was has been cured by them taking the battery out and putting it back in again. A bad connection fits your symptoms. There was a girl a few months back that had the same story, and it turned out that the battery negative connection to fenderwell was loose, as a result of some body work that she had done to her rear end.
     
    #6 seilerts, Oct 25, 2011
    1 person likes this.
  7. jdenenberg

    jdenenberg EE Professor

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    Hopefully the work was on her car's rear end :)

    Sorry Seilerts, I couldn't help myself.

    JeffD
     
    #7 jdenenberg, Oct 25, 2011
  8. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    :D I was wondering if anyone would notice
     
    #8 seilerts, Oct 25, 2011
  9. vertex

    vertex Active Member

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    Sounds like the dealer screwed up and forgot to tighten a bolt or 2. I had a dealer leave the TPS loose. Got stuck a mile from home.
     
    #9 vertex, Oct 25, 2011
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