Hybrid battery or 12v?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by kaiz, Jun 7, 2025 at 11:17 AM.

  1. kaiz

    kaiz New Member

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    2008 Prius
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    II
    I am trying to sell my 2008 and have been traveling near-constantly for months so it's been sitting in my driveway far too long and driven far too infrequently. I had to jump the 12v a while back and it started up and drove as normal. A few weeks ago, I tried to take it out for a drive and needed to jump the 12v again. After the jump, I haven't been able to drive it. Power locks work, proximity key works, and it starts up seemingly normally, with the AC and radio kicking on, but when I try to shift it into drive, it goes into neutral and won't move. The screen says "PROBLEM" and "MAIN" with a battery +/- symbol. My OBD scanner showed the P3000 code and that the battery cells were all green except for a single red one (but I've driven with a dead cell in the past with minimal issue).

    The battery jumper I used was malfunctioning, and I forgot to get the OBD read of the 12v, so there's a chance it's still low. But the hybrid battery has been dying for awhile now, and even when it drove, the dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree. I'm not sure if the 12v is still too low to start the car fully, or if the hybrid battery is officially dead. If anyone can give me pointers on making the determination, please let me know what I can check or how I can get it started again.

    Thank you in advance!
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    you can get a free load test of the 12 volt at most auto parts stores.
    if that checks out, it is likely the hybrid battery, but a better scanner (like tech stream or autel) can give you the sub codes.
    it could even be rodents chewing on wiring
     
  3. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    You have a basic code scanner? Go out and hook it up read the codes don't forget or write down . Now clear . The light s go out . Now clear again even tho no codes . Now do car ready?
     
  4. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    Before anything you're 22v AGM battery needs see 12.3 12.7 . Less bad and comm issues a coming. Straighten out the 12 volt and then do the stuff above did start ?