I left my car for 2.5 weeks, have 21 miles on the EV when I returned. Drove it once, started fine, and then drove a mile to another place and parked. Now car won't start, dead battery? My bad (very bad, after a 24 hour plane trip, so a bit out of it), I think it is possible I left the car on after I drove it the second place a mile down the road. So if I left it on would that cause the 12V battery to run down, or is it that I left it for 2.5 weeks, or something else why car won't start? Any thoughts for this travel zombie? Thanks
It probably just needs a jump start. Get the battery checked-out tomorrow. I'm assuming the car wasn't plugged-in and charging that entire time. That will draw down the 12VDC battery too.
Thanks, I will try to jump start it. I assume just plugging it in now, from what I've read online, won't get the 12V to a level to start the car. Yes, it was not plugged in the entire time.
While your traction battery is charging; portions of your 12VDC systems are energized to ensure power to ECU & cooling fans; it's not really designed to provide a 'recharge' of your 12 VDC battery - though it does get some voltage in the process. I believe that your 12VDC battery is below 10.5 VDC, that's about the voltage the can't close the relays to engage the DC-DC converter, to put the car into ready mode. I need to put my gen4 on a battery charger about once a year, when I find it below 11.5 VDC - car still goes into ready mode at that level. I didn't have this problem when my car was a daily driver, but now that I'm retired and only drive a few times a week, I've noticed the battery getting low and I do unplug the car when the battery is finished charging.
Sounds like the 12V battery was drained by normal car functions while parked. It had the charge for the first start, but was left too low for a second. A mile is nowhere near enough time to replenish the energy used for starting. Leaving it on might have been the best plan
Yep, most likely that 12-volt needs some TLC. My wife is retired so her Corolla Hybrid 12-volt battery is low even after a week if she doesn't drive it somewhere....so 2 1/2 weeks would really leave it low.
Thanks for the inputs. I got the battery jumped with AAA, and wanted to get a new battery but AAA said they don't have batteries for Prius prime. AAA did put a meter of some kind on the battery and said it was no good, needed to be replaced. So once started I drove directly to the dealer, and surprisingly, to me, it was replaced under warranty once they determined it would fail. Blew some time but that is a nice ending to a car story. Btw, dealer said it would be a $400 battery - seems crazy and unlikely, do they really get that for a battery.
toyota dealers having been charging $400. for at least 20 years. hey, there's a sucker born every minute, and car dealers know how to take advantage. congrats on the free replacement, you can bet toyota won't pay them $400.!
$400? Wow, for our 2017 Prius, I replaced the 12-Volt with one from the dealer just last August and it was $261. Maybe they charged Toyota $400 for it. I do like the TruStart batteries, though...comes with an 84 month warranty and I noticed the CCA went up to 470, a lot more than the one installed at the plant.
Last time I checked, Wally had them for around $175. You'll need to clear out your trunk; if you want them to install it. I've been looking; ever since I've had to put the car on a charger every once in a while. It still test good with my old carbon core battery tester; but diminished. I may replace it if I can find a really good deal. Don't know since I still remember $50 batteries; EPA, recycle mandates?????? That 84 month warranty is depreciated against that $400 retail price, so if that battery makes it past 42 months a battery on a dealership sale may be a cheaper buy than exercising that warranty option. I used to play that game when I worked in an auto parts store, in high school. I was amazed that a few of them would insist on the warranty; even though it would cost them $20-$30 bucks more. Maybe it was me and they just didn't understand. The customer is ALWAYS right.
The 12V battery was probably low even before your trip. The Prius charging systems have historically been notorious for that. If you can use a charger or battery tender to bring it up to full charge before your trips, it should survive much longer periods of non-use. (I don't like leaving such things plugged in while I'm away.) Charge it up again went you get home. Not sure my RAV4 plug-in is much better. Just a few errands after returning from a trip, it gave me a low battery warning while sitting in a parking lot in ACC mode for just two minutes. (Don't know if current Prii give such warnings, I don't remember my Gen3 doing that.) Put it on a slow charge at home, it didn't finish until the next day. Modern cars have a lot more 'always on' circuitry than old-era cars, so drain the battery faster while parked. The spouse's near-daily driver, a base level 1989 Integra, rides through long travel absences much better than my 21st Century vehicles.
Curious how you even managed this, copies and pastes, sort-of, here: $15. in a text file the graphic is gone
