I think my battery died....

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by bostoneener, Mar 30, 2008.

  1. bostoneener

    bostoneener New Member

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    I have a 2001 Toyota Prius, and my mother tells me that she hears my alarm or horn going off, so I go out to check, the alarm/horn is no longer going off but there is clicking/thumping noise coming from the engine. I get in the car to turn it on see if it will tell me anything and it wont start, the dash comes on lightly, no radio, and my headlights turn on. Anyway so I'm asumming my battery is dead since I left the car door open a few hours earlier, I shut the dorr and turned the car on to see if it had died and it hadn't. So should I jump it or call the dealership?
     
    #1 bostoneener, Mar 30, 2008
  2. Rae Vynn

    Rae Vynn Artist In Residence

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    If you haven't done it before now, then your 12V battery is probably dead.
    I don't know about the 2001 Prius... if it has the same little battery like the newer ones, you may have to call the dealer to get one.

    Once it's properly installed, assuming it has a full charge, the Prius should start right up.
     
    #2 Rae Vynn, Mar 30, 2008
  3. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    Have you tried jump starting it yet? That's the first thing I'd do.
     
    #3 efusco, Mar 30, 2008
  4. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    BTW, and no insult intended if you already are aware, but you have 2 batteries in your car. The HV traction battery and a small traditional 12V lead-acid battery like every other car. The only one you're concerned with here is the little 12v.
     
    #4 efusco, Mar 30, 2008
  5. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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    As I read the original post, the Prius was able to start – is that correct? If not, proceed with jump starting with great caution to connect battery polarity correctly.

    In either case, a replacement 12 v battery may be in your near future. Alternatives to the (somewhat overpriced) Toyota original battery have been discussed here. If you can’t readily locate those discussions by searching, let us know.
     
    #5 tochatihu, Mar 30, 2008
  6. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

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    If you have the original battery, it's now seven years old. I've never had a car battery last that long. It's a good lifetime for the little 12-volt battery in a Prius. If the car starts, drive it to the dealership and have the 12-volt battery load-tested. Replace it if it tests bad. If it does not start, try jump-starting it. (It takes a minuscule fraction of the power a regular car takes, since "starting" only means booting up the computer. After that, the relays bring the big battery on line and the DC/DC converter supplies the 12-volt systems, and charges, or tries to charge, the 12-volt battery. The big battery supplies the power to actually start the engine, once the computer has booted up.) Once you get it started, drive to the dealer and have the little battery tested, as above.
     
    #6 daniel, Mar 31, 2008
  7. bostoneener

    bostoneener New Member

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    Thanks for all of your help, So I was waiting to jump start my car till this morning when it was light out, and I go and try to start my car again and it starts.....whats up with that? Also when it first started it told me I was out of gas (the last bar was blinking) so I drove it around the block and it came back....Any thoughts? or just weird?
     
    #7 bostoneener, Mar 31, 2008
  8. pewd

    pewd Clarinet Dude

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    thats symtomatic of a battery about to fail
    have the 12v battery tested/replaced
     
    #8 pewd, Mar 31, 2008
  9. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    #9 hill, Apr 1, 2008
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