Prius V Electrical Failures

Discussion in 'Prius v Audio and Electronics' started by fixitman, Sep 22, 2025 at 6:34 PM.

  1. fixitman

    fixitman Junior Member

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    Prius V Four, 2015. I'm an itinerant musician who travels and sleeps in my car. I woke one morning, and discovered I was trapped inside the car. I had purposely locked myself in, what with several expensive instruments aboard. The fob seemed like it might be dead, but I had replaced its battery. The doors were all locked. The car's battery was also relatively new. Fortunately, I had a folding military shovel in the car. It took eight heard blows to a rear window to shatter the glass. I had to crawl our through the opening to get out. I then remembered that the fob was on the driver's seat, so a partial trip back through the glass to reach it. I picked it up by the rim, and the car instantly sprang to life. I had not touched a button.

    I have now had a similar experience with a different Prius V Four, 2015. In this case, I went to the car to go to sleep, and discovered a comatose car, with all the doors unlocked except the hatch. Fortunately, I was in a friendly location with no worries about theft. The car was very new to me. I had more than the usual amount of gear, and did not have jumper cables in the car. I managed to scrounge some cables. Getting them clamped on was a PITA! The car woke up as soon as I completed the circuit. I sat in the drivers seat, and started the system. Fifteen seconds later, the engine started, and stopped in less than two minutes. I didn't move the car. It seemed to be doing the usual routine of running a bit to charge the battery, and stopping when the battery is topped off. Given the coma it has been in, I had expected it to run for a much longer time, indicating a flat battery that needed big help. Nope! Markings on the battery indicate it's fairly new.

    PS: Man! Do I wish it was possible to operate the hatch by hand from inside the car!
     
  2. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Flipping one of the manual lock/unlock rockers wasn't an option? Are the rear-door child safety locks applied?

    [​IMG]

    There is a large, high-voltage, traction battery, and a small, 12-volt, aux battery.

    The cycling of the engine is determined by the charge state of the traction battery. The aux battery is slowly getting charged whenever the dash says READY, whether the engine is running or not. From a full discharge of the aux battery, ten or more hours in READY can provide a full charge.

    Maybe brush up on that part of the owners' manual before the next time you might want to do that. Ought to be around page 126.
     

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  3. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    IMG_0056.jpeg
    Some have rigged a pull string or cable when using the car as a home.
     
    #3 rjparker, Sep 22, 2025 at 8:24 PM
    Last edited: Sep 22, 2025 at 8:33 PM
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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