I have a 2012 Prius V with 42000 miles. This morning when I pressed the Power Switch to turn on the car as usual with brake depressed; but the hybrid drive system did not come up. The indicator lights appear and stay. I was able to turn off the indicator lights by pressing the Power Switch without foot on the brake pedal. After a few try and fails, I was able to magically start the car and move it out of the garage. After parking the car outside of garage for 30 minutes, bad thing happens again. The car won't start again. This time only the PLock Malfunction indicator light is on. Now the car is dead sitting in the driveway blocking my other car. Any ideas about the malfunction and moving a dead car will be highly appreciated. The light on power switch is in amber now.
All the symptoms of an end-of-life 12V auxiliary battery under the floor in the right rear cargo area. What is the resting voltage at the fuse box?
Agree 12v battery. A new agm battery sized for your car is a good idea after you verify the 12v battery issue, easiest done with a free load test at an auto supply. The Best 12v Battery Option For Toyota Prius | Torque News Knowing where and how to jump the 12v system is essential as well since access to the rear hatch may be difficult in some cases. Plus its easier to mess up your car back there especially with an old fashion car to car jump. A lithium jump pack has safety features to prevent swapped polarities.
Equals: with the car off, and a digital multimeter in volts scale, connect positive lead to jumpstart point in the under hood fuse box (shown in owners manual in jumpstart section, if not sure) and negative lead to bare metal, either body or engine; see what it reads.
The good thing about this story likely is: After this experience, he will likely know a little more about a battery and why a car needs one to run. Maybe.
