My mom has a 2 year old Yaris Hybrid with 20 000 km (~12 500 mi) on it. Today she notified me that the car refuses to start and there's a clicking sound. Below I've attached a video on what happens when trying to start the car. Anyone have any idea what's going on with the car? The weather where my mom lives has been pretty cold for the past week, with temperatures going to -20C (-4F) and below. Last time the car was driven was approx three days ago. Personally I'm wondering if the 12V battery of the car could already be dead at this point. My guess then would be that the relay is trying to engage the HV battery but fails. Although that sound in the video is quide damn loud when compared to the HV battery relays on my GEN2 prius. I haven't seen the car live in this condition as my mom lives about three hours drive away so not exactly sure if the sound really is that loud as it seems on the video.
Not that I know of. This is the first time the car has had issues starting. The distances my mom drives when at home are rather short as far as I know and the car doesn't get driven every day. She does visit my aunt who lives near me every two months or so, which should charge the 12V battery as it's a 3 hour drive in one direction (6h total). If it indeed is the 12V battery, then that's a really short lifespan as the car is only 2 years old. The car was due to go for yearly maintenance next thursday, but apparently didn't make it so far.
is it a little battery in the hatch like the prius? if so, a car driven that infrequently should have a maintainer on the battery, it's a known weak point under those circumstances. a long drive every two months won't help much, and cold weather is a battery killer as the charge goes down.
As far as i know, it has a 12V battery under the rear seat. After hearing of this I also thought that installing a battery maintainer will probably be necessary. Currently the car only has a block heater. Never thought that a maintainer would be necessary as non-hybrids have been fine in same use. Then again those cars probably had bigger 12V batteries as it was also needed for the starter motor. Annoying how there is no warning for a low 12V battery, considering that at least on the Prius you can see the voltage from the diagnostic menu.
i think you're onto something. the prius 'c' over here has the battery under the seat. i don't know how big it is.
I concur on the 12 volt. It is a smaller battery that might not be getting fully charged back up on short trips. That could lead to shorter life. Also can't rule out the battery not being suited for the region. Does the car have the smart key system? That can be further drain on it while parked. The gen2 manual warned to turn the system off when parking for extended time. Check the Prius c forums here; it is the same hybrid system. Perhaps someone has been able to install a larger battery. It won't solve the not fully charging, but the larger capacity for buffer means it will take less wear from such events.
Is it normal for the gas gauge to show empty, say until the car starts. Or could it actually be out of gas?
The car does indeed have a smart key system. Wasn't aware that it increases battery wear as my own Prius doesn't have one. Regarding the gas gauge, I don't know if it's normal for it to show empty on start. Very highly doubt that the tank would be empty anyway. What's more odd about the dashboard is that on on one part of the video the TPMS light keeps flashing along with the parking light indicator. Also the temperature is constantly showing E instead of an actual value. Since it isn't my car though, I'm not fully aware what a normal startup looks like.
No, the outside temperature indicator, below the speedometer, to the right from the clock. It's showing E °C as the outside temperature. As to the fuel gauge, I don't know if it's supposed to show empty at that point since the car isn't mine.
I think the "E" temperature means that the sensor can't report that low a temperature. Doesn't get that cold in Japan...
Might also consider the possibility that the 12V battery is just discharged. The charge cycle wasn't enough to keep up with the demand, and it eventually got too far behind. Try charging it before replacing.
That would be really odd, since the temperature in the garage according to my mom is about -13°C. Personally I've never seen a car that couldn't show temperature like that, even my Gen2 Prius goes well below -20°C. Wish I could, however since It's my moms car and she lives 3 hour drive away, charging is out of the question at the moment. Will just have to wait for warmer temperature and possibly heat up the garage.
That actually sounds like the 12 volt battery is so low that the computers aren't even starting up fully, and the cluster is getting intermittent power. Charge or replace the battery.
The 12 volt is also responsible for booting up all the computers. If too low, wonky displays could happen.
Thanks for all the replies. The problem was a bad 12V battery as many of you assumed. Thanks to the help of a neighbour my mom got the battery recharged and the car started normally. The battery will get replaced and a battery maintainer might be installed.
Our car will sometimes sit two or three days. I've taken to just leaving my CTEK 4.3 charger in the corner of the garage by the right front fender of the car, and convenient to wall outlets as well. If we've driven the car previous day, but are not going to on current day, I'll pop the hood, and connect the charger, start it on it's standard charging protocol. It'll run to completion in maybe 4~5 hours, but I just leave it on, till the next time we use the car. It will not overcharge, just acts as a maintainer. Guess I was completely off-base regarding low gas. Oh well.
