Hello, and please help. I've never had an issue with my 2010 Prius except for an occasional need to jump the battery after leaving a light on. Today after finding I left the interior light on, the car wouldn't start. I assumed the battery had drained, but then something strange happened. The car would not fully shut off. The starter button shows a red light and there is a loud continuous beeping sound even when the door is closed. Additonally, the car will not lock. When I foreceably locked the doors, they unlock right away. The yellow exclamation point warning light on the left side of the dash is on as is the malfunction indicator light that looks like an engine. I tried to jump the 12volt battery through the charging port under the hood and got absolutely no response at all. And the continuous high pitched beep is still going after an hour. Any thoughts on what can be wrong? All dealerships near me are closed for the next two days. Please help.
Those who do not learn from History, are doomed to repeat it! History 101 - if your battery is more than 4 years old, and I am being generous there, and when "things" start acting up, replace the battery! Get an Optima, I have found them to be the most long lived in a Prius! There are plenty of posts on battery issues, for all generations of Prii, they make an interesting read! History 102 - If you kill the battery to less than 10 volts, replace it. It's a time bomb waiting to do you at the worst possible moment! Recharging just delays the inevitable!
I don't change my battery out every 4 or 5 years, I monitor the health of the car often and will know when a battery is getting weak. For those that don't monitor often, changing every 4 or 5 years is the right thing to do
Shhhh, not so loud – my battery will hear you! When my car was about 3 months old, the battery was drained until it was D-E-D Dead. I used it on a Saturday, and not again until about the following Friday or so - when I discovered that the battery was dead. Measured with a multimeter - 0.4 volts dead. I got it jumped, let the car charge the battery up, and it's still doing fine today - 6 years later. Yeah, sometimes draining the battery can weaken it irreparably - but not always. Both before and after that incident, my battery measured about 12.5 V while at rest. It's still at about that same level, so I figure I might still get a while longer out of that thing before it finally needs replacing...
