Weird issue, car not starting

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by juliolopezgonzalez, Oct 26, 2011.

  1. juliolopezgonzalez

    juliolopezgonzalez Junior Member

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    Hi all,

    Have been reading you guys for a while and never thought I would be typing this since our 05 has been problem free forever but here it goes:

    Yesterday morning was 20F outside and I came out to make sure that the car would start (1st really cold night here) and started fine. Right after pressing the on/off buttom I proceeded to remove the key from the opening and it beeped a few times. Our car has the keyless but for some reason that morning I put the key in instead of keeping in my pocket. Half hour later my wife and 2 daughters jump in the car and car is d-e-a-d. No interior lights, no nothing. When i put the key in, press brake and on/off I get a red light light up in the on/off button. If I press again I hear a mechanical noise trying to start but it doesn't. I have tried to jump start it, both from engine compartment and rear 12v battery, does not start, same red light. The curious thing is that when hooked up to my Jeep running there are still no lights inside the car, nothing. Some other times that the 12v battery died when we would go on a trip for a month you would hook it up and you would get everything lit up right before you jump started it. That's is what is troubling me.

    Would appreciate any suggestions, since I need to do 2,000 miles next week in it...

    Thanks
     
    #1 juliolopezgonzalez, Oct 26, 2011
  2. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    #2 cwerdna, Oct 26, 2011
  3. firepa63

    firepa63 Former Prius Owner

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    Yup, replace the 12v battery.
     
    #3 firepa63, Oct 26, 2011
  4. nhalber

    nhalber Junior Member

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    I don't know how to get this in. Perhaps you can help. A friend of mine purchased a 2010 Prius in Jan/2010. Drives it 400 miles a month. Has had at least 3 dead battery issues.
    Has been told that she should drive it more.
    Any ideas?
     
    #4 nhalber, Oct 29, 2011
  5. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    400 miles a month is plenty. Most likely she's leaving a light on or a door open. Advise her to get in the habit of locking it always, no matter where she parks.

    If she likes to sit in it listening to music or whatever with the car OFF, that's the problem.
     
    #5 richard schumacher, Oct 29, 2011
  6. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    Now there is an excellent candidate for the new Optima yellowtop.
     
    #6 seilerts, Oct 29, 2011
  7. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    The procedure I cited likely doesn't work on the 3rd gen (2010+)
    Agreed. If they're leaving the car in IG-ON (not READY) for a long time, that'll drain the battery pretty quick. If they leave it in ACC mode for awhile, that'll drain it too.
     
    #7 cwerdna, Oct 29, 2011
    1 person likes this.
  8. nhalber

    nhalber Junior Member

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    Thanks, I'll tell her.
     
    #8 nhalber, Oct 30, 2011
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