2006 Prius wont start, and no ticking noise

Yes, it has happened to me.

More than likely it is the 12v battery. To test it follow the procedure in the first post of this thread:

Weird stuff happening? MPGs dropping? Test The Battery | PriusChat

Post back with the three voltages mentioned.

 

Have you tried testing the 12 volt battery with the MFD?

If you are unable to run the test with the MFD, then use a "digital" volt meter. Measure the voltage of the 12 volt auxiliary battery. You have two places where you can do that. One of them is the jump point under the hood. Simply place the positive probe directly on the jump point and the negative probe on a unpainted metal surface. The strut bolt behind the fuse box is a good place to touch the negative probe to. Read the voltage there and report what you read.

The other place would be to measure the voltage directly at the battery which is located under the floor boards in the right rear of the hatch back.

More than likely you will find your voltage is low and that is what is causing the problem. If you find the voltage is not normal, I would at that point obtain a new 12 volt battery and install it. IMO, if you read anything less than 11.8 volts your battery is history. At 10 volts or less you definitely have at least one bad cell. A fully charged AGM type battery will measure 12.8 volts with no load when measured at the battery posts.



Don't be surprised when you price that little battery. The cheap yellow top will run you in the neighborhood of $150. The higher amp/hour Toyota battery that is being sold today at the dealers usually is right at $200. Also expect to pay at the minimum $50 to a maximum of $150 if you have a dealer replace your battery for you. That amount is in addition to the cost of the battery.

You can easily change the battery yourself with just a few tools. For more information on that topic, refer to the second link in my signature below. You will find the job is fairly easy if you take your time and use the proper tools. Also take the time to read post #8 in that linked string. I posted a detailed explanation of how to do the job, what tools are needed as well as some hints that will save you time and grief.



Best of luck to you. I hope the information helps you.

 

Agree, it's most-likely the 12v battery.

The Prius does not have a starter solenoid or starter motor that operates from the 12v battery like conventional cars, so there will be no clicking sound or slow starting like a conventional car when the 12v battery is poor. It just either will start or it won't.

The ignition switch (push-button start) is very rarely an issue on the Prius. It is much more reliable than a lock-cylinder switch.

The battery gauge on the dash measures the state of charge of the high voltage traction battery, not the 12v battery.

 

Sorry to thread hijack. New poster, occassional lurker, first post. I've got a 2007 Prius (non-touring). Didn't want to litter the board with a new thread about something similar. This morning, I started my car fine, then remembered to retrieve something from back inside the house. Turned off the Prius, entered/exited home, back in the car a couple mins later and it won't start.

Bear with me, cause this happened 4 hours ago and I've been through stages of anger and rage - plus, I've negotiated a way into work and have been putting out work fires since. I "think" when I hit the power button, the power light was red and a check engine light came on. I hit the power again and nothing - but now my fob is stuck. During this time, I try to turn off any battery sucking extras - Garmin, radio, climate, etc. Then, I notice my kids must have left the backseat dome light On (for over 12 hrs).

I hold down the power button until the car turns off and releases my fob. Give it a minute and check around to make sure I'm not forgetting to check anything. Try again - more lights come on but they are very dim - I think I remember seeing my dash info (mph, etc.) come up. More warning lights. Power down car again.

Get my wife car and connect the jumper cables to the + post under the hood, in the fuse box. Negative to a bolt post across the way. Hit the Power, and EVERYTHING lights up - bright, I notice the gas is saying I have 1 bar - but I just filled up a couple days ago. I think EVERY light in the central, alarm-type area comes on. But, the car won't shift into D, R, or N.

So this morning, I've had a couple hrs to do some Internet research and have the following questions. (I am sorry in advance if these questions are answered all over, but I've relied mainly on the Newbies page and the Search function).
- I don't have a voltmeter. Can I still run that diagnostic test with another car jumping my Prius?
- I've read/heard it sometimes takes up to 30 mins to charge (from another jumper vehicle) before the battery is charged enough to start the engine. I didn't have time this morning as I had to get to work. Should I try this or is this is waste of time?
- Dealer quoted me $225 for battery alone. I've tried a couple auto parts-type stores. Then, read someone you have to buy these OEM batteries from the dealer. Then, I saw a post (maybe on youtube) that they picked one up from an O'Reillys auto parts store. So, are auto parts stores carrying these 12V batteries now? I need the car Monday so I don't have time to order online and wait.
- Seen a couple youtubes on changing the 12V battery myself. Seems straightforward but, then again, so did changing my headlight bulb and that was a nightmare. General consensus on doing it yourself?

 

Changing the battery yourself isn't a bad chore at all...probably easier than replacing the headlight bulb.

Doing the 12v battery test on the display won't tell you anything useful if another car is connected to the jump-start terminal.

You can see if your auto parts stores have any Optima DS46B24R in-stock. That's a direct-fit. There are also other, direct-fit (or close) options you may be able to find at an auto parts store. The group 51 batteries are close, but I think they require a different size post terminal. Make sure the replacement battery has a vent tube connection.

If your 12v battery happens to be the flooded type (mine was), you can get sometimes get some extra life by adding distilled water to each cell so it just covers the plates inside and placing the battery on a long, slow charge. Don't add water if you have a glass-mat battery (fiberglass mats in between the plates instead of liquid)

Here are instructions for that:
Prius Auxillary Battery Not Maintenance Free | PriusChat

 

I just replaced my 12v yesterday. I got it for - $150 with free shipping and no tax at Streetsideauto.com They have the direct replacement. The folks on the board are right, replacement is easy. Make sure you have a 10 mm wrench and a few different metric sockets with extensions on there. Entire job won't take you a half hour.

 

You can't run these tests with another battery jumping your car. You will then just simply be reading the voltage of the battery that's jumping your car. Once your car is started, take the jumper cables off and let the car stay in Ready On or running for about 8 hrs or so. It will not hurt your car to do so and the HSD will automatically turn the car on and off as necessary. After you do that, turn the car off, wait about 1 hour and then run the tests.

Yes, it can take up to 30 min but, that's not usually the case with a Prius. It is very important to correctly observe polarity when jumping a Prius though.

OReilly's does sell a Prius batt (although its not always in stock) and so does Optima. I've heard of people getting one from the dealer for $190. IMO, the battery is very easy to replace DIY.

 

Thanks for the quick replies! Unfortunately, time is not my friend. Can't seem to find a local auto parts store that carries this. So it's looking more and more that I'll have to buy from the dealer. So if I have to go to the dealer anyway, I'll see what their charging for labor.

Any ideas on why the Prius won't jump start? Do I have to let it sit longer with the other car connected?

 

Are you 100% positive you correctly observed polarity when jumping?

 

Sorry, usnavystgc! Your post popped as I was crafting my 2nd response. I mentioned the battery cable config on the Prius - on the jumper car, I had both clamps on their respective battery posts. Is that right?

 

Sounds good/right, the only other possibility is your battery has a shorted cell and is putting such a load on the jumper battery that it won't allow the car to start.

 

Thanks! I'll let it go for a little longer, when I get home, and see if there is success.

 

Without knowing your level of technical expertise, there are things that you could do to determine your problem but, I don't want to encourage you to dive into something yer not comfortable with. If you want to know what they are, let me know and I'll tell you.

 

At this point I want to isolate the problem to the 12V battery. A lot of signs seem to point to this. Will the voltmeter test do it? If so, I'll see if I can borrow a voltmeter from one of my neighbors.

 

Yes, you should be able to isolate it using a voltmeter.

How many times did you try to start it after jumping it? Sometimes after a power loss, the ECU's get comm tied and it may take 2 or more tries to get them all back in sync. If you only tried it once, I would recommend charging the battery and trying again. I would disconnect the battery while charging. Do you or your neighbors have a charger?

 

Unfortunately, I don't have a standalone charger.

I will probably do the voltmeter test and go from there. As mentioned, time restraints limit my choices. I still haven't been able to locate a cash n' carry auto parts store that has this 12V in stock. Firestone did a lookup by make/model/year (previously - I didn't have the Optima details Tanglefoot provided) and said they have a Prius battery in stock - but their out-of-the-door price was $13x.xx. I think they must be mistaken but I'll call back and doublecheck.

 

Ach, never mind. Ignore this post.

 

Your best bet in my opinion is to go with the battery that Toyota is selling today. It is a 45 Amp/hr battery. The coveted Yellow Top Battery is a 38 Amp/hr battery.

I cannot comment on the Firestone battery.

As other's have stated, the 12 volt is pretty simple to change. From everything you described, it is pretty obvious that your 12 volt battery has failed.

You asked why it did not start right away. A lot of time when the Prius is rebooted (basically what you did with a dead battery) the power button will take a couple of cycles for all of the ECU's to respond properly. It is also normal for the gas gage to show one bar as you saw. It takes a minute or so for the gage to start working properly whenever the 12 volt connection has been disturbed.

I suggest you only jump when absolutely necessary in a emergency situation. It only takes one incorrect jump to do well over $4000 dollars worth of damage to the Prius.

To confirm the 12 volt is bad, measure the voltage at the battery itself with a digital volt meter. If it reads anything under 11.5 volts, the battery is discharged. 10 volts or lower is extreme discharge and a possible bad cell. You can alternatively measure the voltage from the jump post under the hood. However a truer measurement will be found at the battery itself.

To make a long story short, change the battery and you will be back in business. Below is a chart that will give you an idea of what the battery should measure when fully charged. Refer to the AGM list for correct voltages.


Read the attached file for detailed information on what Toyota says is the proper procedure to change the battery.

There is also a link in my signature below (2nd link) Refer to post #8 in that string for a detailed post of what I did when I changed our battery. There are a couple of tips and tricks found there that are not in the attached pdf file.

Best of luck to you!

 

Well, I found a Firestone Complete Auto Care that says they have the battery. He said the Interstate Battery rep is there now so he checked with him, to make sure it was for a 2007 Prius. He came back with a price of $203, $233 out the door. I told him to doublecheck and call me back. He called back with the same price.

I am still skeptical of this Firestone place because when I go on the Interstate Battery website and check for Prius batteries, it returns a picture of the Optima battery I've been seeing - hopefully it's not just a stock photo. But, the Interstate Battery price shows $239.xx.