We're retired and divide time between San Diego and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. We fly to SMA, where we don't need a car. Our general pattern is to spend 2-3 months in SD, alternating with 2-3 months in SMA. We'd love to buy a Gen III Prius, and are poised to do so in the next few months. After reading posts by Gen III owners, though, we're concerned. It sounds as if it's harder to reach the battery on this model, disengage it, and harder to disengage the smart key. Neither of us is mechanical, but we're methodical and can learn something that's not too complicated. We want a Prius because we like its size and configuration, and not having to fill a gas tank often. Like being green. We're replacing a 1987 Volvo 740 Turbo with 240,000 miles that was going strong until totalled (rear-ended.) We treat our cars well and keep them around. (At age 58, the Volvo was my third car.) If the Prius isn't practical, we're thinking of a Honda: Civic, Accord or CRV. Appreciate any suggestions. Thanks in advance.
You can easily pull a fuse/plug under the hood and disconnect the 12V battery for storage. Alternately, consider using a battery minder to keep the 12V battery charged. Tom
I just clunker ed my 87 740 Turbo wagon 370K miles for my new Prius. I've owned it since August 3rd and have never regretted my decision at all. 500 plus miles per tank and less than $25 to fill it up is a real bonus. The only really down side compared to your Volvo is you have to start imagining where the corners of the car are. Side mirrors are pretty much useless at seeing where the rear bumper is. The hood is so steep and short you have to guess where the front corners are also. I'm starting to wonder about the battery issue if it isn't another old wives tale. We'll see as time trudges on and more people chime in. I have a 97 960 I use strictly for highway travel and it sits for three to four months at a time in an unheated garage. It always starts right up when I get it ready for a trip.
Tom answered your question about how easy it is to take care of the battery. There's a jump start terminal for the battery under the hood that is readily accessable. For the SKS - you don't need to do anything. It will shut itself down if the car is left unattended, I believe it's in 3 days but I couldn't find the source. In the users manual I found 2 fuses related to the SKS that you could pull. If you wanted to pay your dealer, they can also deactivate/activate the SKS too.
The simplest solution is Tom's. The dealer will show you the fuse to pull (they pull them when the car is in the showroom). Note that they also wrap the hatch loop (the lock mechanism) with duct tape so people can still open the hatch. Otherwise you wouldn't be able to open it with the 12V battery disconnected (or dead). The 12V battery is just as easy to access in the GIII as in the GII. It's pretty simple.
Aggie: Although not something I mentioned in this thread: http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii-2010-prius-main-forum/70850-passed-our-gen-3.html Part of our thinking on passing up the Gen 3 was that the new Prius would sit 3 months every year. The 12 volt battery can be handled easily enough by shutting of the SKS and I would, like Tom, recommend a battery minder. The real issue in my mind is the hybrid battery. If we had proceeded with the car I figured I would need to have someone come power up the car once or twice over the 3 months and just let it run for awhile to make sure the hybrid battery stays charged. This is something you don't have to worry about with a conventional car. My 95 blazer sits 9 months a year in a very cold northern Wisconsin garage. In the spring I reconnect the 12 volt and fire it up. I'll let Tom and some of the other engineers here speak to the issues of the hybrid battery sitting "long term" and if 3 months at a time is too long... but it was in our thinking.
Self discharge isn't much of a problem with the HV battery. It will self discharge, as will almost all batteries, but it takes a long time. All I would do is make sure the HV battery was charged into the normal range before storage, in other words, don't put it away with a low SOC. Tom
The owners manual says the hybrid battery is good for six months of no use, so it's probably ok for a year.
