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12V battery fully drained, won't jump start either

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by toyolover, Apr 1, 2013.

  1. toyolover

    toyolover Member

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    The 12V battery must have been drained completely over the weekend. None of the lights (interior and exterior) are working. The car won't start even using jumper cable. I guess the 12v battery must have some juice remaining to power up the computer in order to jump start the engine. Am I correct in this assumption?
    My Prius is only a little over three years. What is the warranty on the 12v battery? I read that the OE battery is not the best. Has anyone had the 12v battery replaced under Toyota warranty within 3-4 years? How long would I expect the OE 12v battery to last?
     
  2. Former Member 68813

    Former Member 68813 Senior Member

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    I believe it's 3 years. What does your warranty booklet say?
     
  3. kenoarto

    kenoarto Senior Member

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    Is it possible you left a light on over the weekend?
     
  4. toyolover

    toyolover Member

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    Dealer service supervisor told me it is 3-year warranty only. OE battery from Toyota is $270.
     
  5. kenoarto

    kenoarto Senior Member

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    A bunch of that quote is installation. If you use one of the 25% off coupons that come in the mail, and do the install yourself, the price isn't all that bad.

     
  6. toyolover

    toyolover Member

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    My wife said she saw the dome light was on when she came home but she forgot to tell me. It was 36 hours later when I found out the car couldn't start.
    I tried jump start it with my other car but even with the jumper cable connected (at the front hood jump port), all the lights were still out as there was no jumper cable exist at all. My concern is if I left my car in the airport for a few days and face this situation upon return, how am I going to get the car moving again when jump start doesn't even work? That's why I am assuming the 12v battery must not be allowed to drain completely so the car computer can "boot up" first before even recognize the battery juice is too low.
    I took the battery out from the trunk and charging it now. I hope it will work as normal when I put it back tomorrow. Otherwise, I'd have to buy a new battery.
     
  7. toyolover

    toyolover Member

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    Toyota Canada dealers are never as generous as those south of the border. $270 is parts only, $35 for labor extra. I can install it myself but this battery is almost 5 times more than the regular one on my Camry.
    Just curious about the price in Chicago area because I will be going at the end of this month. May be I will buy one and keep as a spare.
     
  8. kenoarto

    kenoarto Senior Member

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    Been there, done that! Best rule of thumb: always lock the doors, so lights go out.
     
  9. kenoarto

    kenoarto Senior Member

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    20% Off
    Any Part We Have In Stock (excluding accessories)
    Toyota models only. Please present coupon during write-up. Over-the-counter only at parts center. For more information on this special or any other parts special here at Chicago Northside Toyota, please contact our Parts Department at 773-728-4474. All prices plus fees and taxes. Picture may not represent actual product/service.

    Offer expires: 04/15/2013
     
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  10. kenoarto

    kenoarto Senior Member

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    TRUESTART GENUINE TOYOTA BATTERY

    Meets Today's Severe Starting Demands, 24-Month, 100% Replacement Warranty, 84-Month Limited Warranty, 60-Month Proration

    $98.76 Sale Price
    Toyota models only. Please present coupon during write-up. Over-the-counter only at parts center. For more information on this special or any other parts special here at Chicago Northside Toyota, please contact our Parts Department at 773-728-4474. All prices plus fees and taxes. Picture may not represent actual product/service.

    Offer expires: 04/15/2013
     
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  11. toyolover

    toyolover Member

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    Thanks a million for the two links.
     
  12. tankyuong

    tankyuong Senior Member

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    Or use led lights,takes way longer to drain
     
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  13. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    This is a major reason I swapped all the interior lights to LEDs.
     
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  14. NutzAboutBolts

    NutzAboutBolts Senior Member

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    Just lock your car when you leave and make sure all the lights are off. That will solve all this battery problems :)
     
  15. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    I set all the "convenience" lights to be completely off (won't turn on when you open hatch or door).
     
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  16. P-man

    P-man Junior Member

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    Unless I'm mistaken, for the Prius you don't want a battery that "meets today's severe starting demands". Batteries designed for starting cars have the ability to deliver the very large amount of current required for a short time. In trade, they don't tolerate a deep discharge and are effectively ruined by as few as one, and at best just a very few. Prius doesn't use the battery for starting the engine, but just booting the system, so it doesn't need to deliver the very high current of a standard starting battery. And you'd like it to survive a deep discharge if that were to happen. What the Prius needs instead is a deep-discharge battery more akin to the ones used for golf carts, wheelchairs, and outboard trolling motors.
     
  17. css28

    css28 Senior Member

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    There was another incident like this. The jump starting port under the hood is peculiar in that it is only conductive (metal) on one side. At the same time some jumper cables only conduct from one jaw.
    Unless the battery has an extraordinary internal short just about anything should be able to provide the current to get the Prius to ready state. Leave a door open and fiddle with the jumper clamp until the dome light lights. You should be able to proceed from there.
     
  18. genoneptune

    genoneptune New Member

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    Thanks for the tip about the cable being conductive on one side only. Solved my problem!
     
  19. E-GINO

    E-GINO Active Member

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    I have had a similar experience some weeks ago, when I got home after one week trip I found my 3 years-old Prius battery dead. Luckily, during last winter I had bought a smart charger specific for AGM batteries (a CTEK MSX 5.0 unit), I have let the charger working the whole weekend desulfating the battery, and apparently the issue with the battery has been fixed, since now I am consistently reading 12,7 V with the multimeter, when I check from time to time.
    Furthermore, since when I bought the charger I left connected to the 12V battery the CTEK proprietary quick connect plug, I just lowered the rear seat and connected the charger through the plug, piece of cake. That's because the trunk did not open with the 12V battery dead...
    [​IMG]
     
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  20. css28

    css28 Senior Member

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    There *is* a way to open it but you have to crawl in from the back seat and open a trim cover to access the mechanism.
     
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