2007 12v battery dies (4th time)--please help

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by bnprius, Aug 23, 2008.

Page 2 of 2
  1. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2004
    7,664
    1,042
    0
    Location:
    United States
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    At their age I'd have to recommend that someone else regularly put the car into READY (driven or not) for 30 minutes every week. The odds of forgetting about the car or some other oversight (such as not noticing the multiple functions of the power button or not pushing hard enough on the brake pedal so that the power button does what is intended) are too great.
     
    #21 richard schumacher, Aug 26, 2008
  2. Mr.Vanvandenburg

    Mr.Vanvandenburg Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2007
    1,310
    534
    0
    Vehicle:
    2020 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Limited
    If they turn the car off by hitting the power switch twice after park they are going to have a drained 12v. Or not hitting power at all after park, don't know the outcome of that. I know myself I make those kind of mistakes, so it seems the most likely cause is operator error. Especially since the dealer has replaced the battery and probably checked the system before doing so. I am putting 6K a year with 80% short trips and have had no problems in 18 months. Other than error on their part, it is necessary to measure what is going on with the 12v, and then the car can be blamed.
     
    #22 Mr.Vanvandenburg, Aug 26, 2008
  3. bnprius

    bnprius Our Prius at 200K

    Joined:
    Aug 21, 2007
    25
    7
    0
    Location:
    Ypsilanti Michigan, USA
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Mr. Vanvanderburg, you might be onto something about user error, as I've not properly turned off my Prius on occasion, too. And the "Power" button appears to have different functions with/without one's foot on the brake pedal (the manual gives details).

    Patrick, another thank-you for the how-to diagnostic info (#20)--I'll try this out on my Prius first! And what a surprise to find another with an elderly parent who is a Prius owner-driver. My mother would have been terribly disappointed had we purchased anything but a Prius, and that was before they bought one of their own.

    Bill N.
     
    #23 bnprius, Aug 26, 2008
  4. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2008
    18,200
    6,490
    0
    Location:
    Green Valley, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Hi Bill,

    My dad was an early Prius advocate and bought a 2001. Then he bought a 2004 when the 2G model was released. (I became the second owner of both vehicles after they logged 15K miles and were 3 years old.) He decided that he wanted a 2007 to benefit from the rear camera; although the 2004 has a dealer-equipped backup proximity sensor system which works well.
     
    #24 Patrick Wong, Aug 26, 2008
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)
Page 2 of 2