Leaving the Prius at airport for 2 weeks

You shouldn't have a problem with your Gen III. You might need to use the remote button to unlock the car when you get back. It might shut down the auto unlock feature to save battery power.

 

I've had my Gen III at the airport for 14 days at a time. This includes the dead of winter and the hottest parts of the summer. She starts right up every time when I return. Of course, your results may vary.....

 

There's probably a 99%+ chance that it will be uneventful. But just in case I would avoid parking with the front of the car against a wall since this makes jump starting a bit more difficult and it makes towing really difficult -- since the front of the vehicle would have to be jacked up to allow the installation of dollies.

 

I guess this must be a record? But ... I left my 2010 Prius in the garage for 2 months while we went to New Zealand. No problems at all when I got back and starter her up.

 

Had no problems after a 12 day trip last year. I just made sure I had full bars before parking to be on the safe side.

 

i left it at the airport for 10 days and the battery level didnt even go down?

 

Like I said...

 

I park my have parked Prius for cruises at the terminal several times a year (longest was 28 days) and have never had an issue... If the site is uncovered I do put a car cover on it (at the cruise terminal in LA there seems to be a lot of sooty like particulate that had accumulated on my Prius) for trips longer then a week. I have never had any issues with the battery or key fob unlocking the vehicle...

 

The battery indicator on the dash is for the "traction battery". This one is -fully- disconnected from the car whenever you turn the car off. It takes more than 6 months for the charge to drop noticeably. Do note that the -indicator- may show a drop (or increase) that is actually a phantom reading.

The battery everyone is concerned about is the 12V one. You have no indication of the state of this one unless you have non-OEM equipment on board, such as a "Scangauge II" or you use the maintenance menus and I'm unsure if this will work on the GIII. IF this 12V battery is in poor health and IF you then leave the car off for a long period of time it can loose enough charge that it won't be able to put the car in "ready". Or if you leave lights on, which is pretty hard to do on the GIII I think. Haven't had the patience to check though.

So relax and watch the blinking lights.

 

Lead acid batteries should last about 2 months sitting idle without charging. However, since the Prius's electronics do use small amount of power even when the car is off, I personally didn't want to take the chance of having a dead battery whenever I leave my Prius sitting without being driven for a long time. My solution is I hook an additional 12v battery in parallel to the 12v battery in the Prius. The one I got is a small tractor battery which you could pick up at any lawn and garden place for around $40. Having an extra battery, this set up should provide enough power for the Prius's electronics for two weeks.

 

Isn't the battery for the Prius in the trunk however?

 

Yes, but you cannot open the rear hatch from the outside with a dead battery and the designated jump point is inside the fusebox under the hood.