I jumpstarted a car and my 2010 prius wont start

I think another factor is what brought the other vehicle down. If the battery was healthy but they left the headlights on all day, the battery may actually recover given an hour of "rest" to make a good starting effort. Boosting a car like that can probably work pretty well. If the other car's battery is old or compromised (internal short, say) or if the starter's binding any jumper start will be a challenge.

 

Read the Owner's Manual. It's filled with info that will help you avoid other inconvenient and/or expensive mistakes.

 

Too bad OP didn't come back to provide his follow up. So far the feedback is one way.

 

If you must charge the battery in another car, take the other owne'rs keys. If he tries to start his car with the cables hooked up, it can cost $4000, and he is not going to pay it. Once it is charged, unhook all the cables and give him the keys back.

But seriously, just don't jumpstart with a Prius.

 

As others have said it is best not to use your Prius to jump start other cars. But if you must, in an emergency, remove one of the Prius battery cables first. Then the only thing at risk is your 12V battery, it may need to be recharged because it is only about 35 AH, it probably won't be damaged however. Also if you do disconnect a battery cable you will loose your audio presets.

 

So it sounds like Toyota engineers install a kill switch when a burst of voltage goes through the system? I thought that is what the fuse is for? Sounds like the dealership just changed the fuse and that's it. The rest is testing and diagnostics.

Thanks to the Prius community for the idea of just simply unplugging the negative terminal from the battery directly and do a boost with the system isolated instead.

 

I've said it before and I'll say it again. DO NOT use the Prius battery to start a car! It's not a "starting" battery. It's designed for float operation, not high current discharge. It will work, but it will dramatically shorten the life of the battery.

But if you're wanting an Optima I guess using the stock battery to start another car will hasten the replacement.

 

^^^Do you know what the specs, are like CCA rating and others are, for our stock OEM Gen3 battery?

 

just my .02... i jump start people all the time. car fully on... jumpers connected to the battery (i also have a civic battery and not a prius battery... though i jumped people just as much with the prius battery.... much larger vehicles actually)

if someone has to jump... keep the prius in Ready mode... connect up to the 12v... if your screen or interior lights flicker out.. you overloaded or semi shorted the system, at that point do not jump that vehicle as it has a short.

bit key point here.. do not jump a vehicle that has a short... (just act like i repeated that 4 times)

anyway... connect up the cars.. let the other one sit for at least a minute (act like you're getting ready)... have the other person try to start. no longer than 2-3 seconds per start.. and give it a good 30 seconds or a few minutes between attempts.

 

I don't mean this as an indictment of the OP.

But IMO, with any modern car? And especially with a Prius? I simply would not agree to jumpstart someone elses vehicle.

I know it's unfriendly, and you could risk a friendship...but IMO with Prius or any vehicle the number of systems that can potentially be damaged if something is handled wrong, makes being a good-samaritan too risky.

I hate to say it, but I kind of feel like, sorry...call AAA, or a friend with an older car, or buy a portable jump start system.

But I'm not going to risk my $20,000+ vehicle to start your $600 van.

Does that make me a bad person? I'd love to be a nice guy, but I think vehicles and electrical systems and ECU's have significantly changed since the 70's, 80's and even 90's when basically all you were doing were connecting two batteries.

I think especially if I owned a Prius, I'd just have to tell friends and people, Don't ask....because Prius don't jump start...

 

Normally there is no switch, just a fuse. Some owners and some dealers install a switch to protect the battery during long storage, such as parking at the airport. Some of these are battery-minder type switches which automatically disconnect in the event of low voltage. Presumably the OP's Prius was outfitted in this manner.

Tom

 

It's a good lesson learned and I'm glad you post it here.

 

Maybe the HV battery relay? I can't see the service plug coming undone in this situation. Anyone else care to comment on what "switch" was turned off?

 

i want more info about this "switch" too... pics?

 

The dealer saw the OP was really worried (we are probably partially responsible for that) and in the line of keeping your customers happy, replaced the fuse no charge, telling the owner it was a switch to instill confidence in the car. At least that's my theory.

If true, that dealer deserves kudos from us and from Toyota Corporate.

 

I have a jumper battery I keep in our Prius. The only time I've used it is to charge or power something during a power outage but it is there too for jumping cars.

That reminds me, I need to charge it again.

 

I already commented: Some Prius have a battery saver switch that automatically opens when battery voltage falls below a preset level. This device is installed between the 12V battery and the rest of the car. If you leave a light on, or something like that, the automatic switch will kick off and keep the battery from going completely flat.

Presumably, the OP's 12V level dropped below the trigger voltage during the jump, causing the automatic switch to trigger.

These devices are third party, installed by the dealer or owner. Here is an example:

12 Volt Battery Saver Auto Disconnect Switch

Tom