I'm hoping to get the peace of mind that comes from having strangers that have never seen your car diagnosis it. I was out mothers day shopping with my son, and we saw a car show, in my rush I think I turned the car off before I put it in park, after waiting a few minutes the car came back on and reset back to factory settings. we drove home at home, but when I went to shut it off it acted weird again and the power locks did not work and the maintenance light was flickering, is this something to worry about or will everything be cool in the morning? thanks
tried to do the 12volt checks couldn't figure them out, went through the day and everything was fine, till we went to leave the park and she didn't start, after calling the tow truck and my sister she started. went home turned her off and she wouldn't restart. Im going to buy a new 12 volt battery tomorrow and hopefully be able to install it on my own. thanks for the help
If the Prius will start when jumped, then there is a very high likelihood that installation of a new 12V battery will solve your car's problems.
I am concerned that if you couldn't figure out the checks (they're very simple, see Weird stuff happening? MPGs dropping? Test The Battery | PriusChat), that you may do something bad while changing the 12 volt (e.g. reversing polarity, which would likely blow the inverter, resulting in a 4 digit repair bill). If the car has HIDs, then it's advisable to just toggle between off and the parking light position, instead of all the way forward to turn on the headlights. No reason to unnecessary cycles on the HIDs. If the car is an 06 and on its original 12 volt battery, it's almost certainly toast now. Do the check after the car has sat many hours or is in the bad state. We'll need 3 voltage values. But again, if it's the original 12 volt on an 06, don't bother. It's toast.
+1, what cwerdna said. Changing the 12 volt in the Prius is not too difficult. But it is not easy and simple either. Several things have to be moved. Certain tools have to be used also. Depending on your mechanical skills, you might consider paying to have it done since you said you were having trouble just running the test. If you feel confident that you can DIY, I suggest you click on the second link in my signature file below and read the entire string. Also pay close attention to post #8 in that string. Lots of folks have changed their 12 volt with no problem. However a lot of folks have also had difficulties doing it. Ron
ended up paying to have the battery replaced, even though it killed me on the inside. I'm going to retry the checks when I'm alone in the car, thanks for all the help.
yes, a bad 12v will keep draining the hybrid battery causing the ice to run more to charge it up and reducing mpg's.
