2013 Toyota Prius C One Won't Turn On

Discussion in 'Prius c Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Bordercoyotl, Aug 5, 2020.

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  1. Bordercoyotl

    Bordercoyotl New Member

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    2013 Prius c
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    One
    Hello all. Yesterday when I went to go turn on my car, it wouldn't turn on. All I heard was a weird kind of like buzzing noise coming from the car and all the car displayed was the check engine light. I was having difficulty opening up the hood of the car and my car wouldn't even lock. Later on, it wouldn't even show the check engine light anymore it just wouldn't do anything when I turned the key in the ignition.

    I am not sure what is wrong with the car but I am assuming it is the 12 Volt battery. I just got my hybrid battery replaced at the dealership about a year or two ago and I bought the car as a certified pre-owned in 2017. My dad tried jumpstarting the battery but it didn't do anything and I took the battery to O'Reilly's so they could charge it but they said it doesn't hold charge.

    I am a bit suspicious about whether they may have not charged the battery correctly because I know that the 12 Volt battery for a prius looks a bit different than a regular car battery.

    Does anyone have any experience with this? Does anyone know of a way to check that the hybrid battery is still working correctly? Is there a way to determine that it is the 12 Volt battery and not the hybrid battery that is failing? Is there any specific 12 Volt battery you recommend for this specific prius model? Any advice or help would be appreciated.
     
    #1 Bordercoyotl, Aug 5, 2020
  2. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    Wow... There sure are lots of Prius C problems this Summer! It's safe to assume that your hybrid battery is fine if it's that new and your problem is caused by a failed 12v battery and possibly damage caused by incorrectly jumpstarting that failed battery. First step, get a new 12v battery. Second step, read the error codes and check the fuses.
     
    #2 PriusCamper, Aug 5, 2020
  3. Bordercoyotl

    Bordercoyotl New Member

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    Do you think it is necessary to buy the battery from the dealership or that I could find a battery that is just as good elsewhere? I've seen a couple of other people buy batteries from auto parts stores and install it themselves and they didn't seem to have a problem.
     
    #3 Bordercoyotl, Aug 7, 2020
  4. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    The ones sold at auto parts stores are not new, but rebuilt and in some instances the warranty policy is favorable enough to go that direction. But buying a brand new pack from the dealer means instead of a few years, you get close to a decade. So it has a lot to do with your long term plans.
     
    #4 PriusCamper, Aug 8, 2020
  5. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    Oops. He is talking about a new 12 V battery......NOT the HV one.

    So, yes if you can find the battery in the car AND have a few simple tools, you should be able to change it yourself.....or the parts store might do it for you FREE or cheap.
    Just be sure it is the same physical size and has the same kind of posts where the cables connect.
     
    #5 sam spade 2, Aug 8, 2020
  6. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    You can make other batteries fit in that space, and they will more or less work to let you operate the car.

    They may not be as safe in the sense that they may not have the same gas venting system that the original does, and they uh... may not behave the same way in a bad crash. That's important to consider given that the battery is in the cabin and not under the hood.

    Any generic 12v charger can add some charge to a Prius 12v battery. A charger meant for an AGM battery is best, but if you're just trying to get some amps in there for a quick & dirty test pretty much anything will work.

    From your description, it is very likely that the 12v is hosed and the hybrid battery is fine.
     
    #6 Leadfoot J. McCoalroller, Aug 8, 2020
  7. orenji

    orenji Senior Member

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    OEM battery from Toyota is best and not all that expensive.
     
    #7 orenji, Aug 9, 2020
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