A better 12V battery?

you can have a local wrenched put an optima in for you. whatever you buy, make sure it has a full charge before installing it. it might be a good idea to try to install it yourself. then, you could haul it up to your condo once in awhile and put a charge on it. or ask if you can watch how it's done.

 

But, I do know that when you can no longer run on the hybrid system battery alone, yes your 12V battery will need to crank your ICE.


Maybe you know 12v batteries, but you obviously don't know how the Prius starts it's ICE.

 

do you have a batteries plus store in your area?

 

I predict that regular use of a battery tender will end your battery life problems.

I can guarantee you that the 12V battery plays no part in cranking the engine.

As far as your moral dilemma is concerned, the battery tender should draw less than 10 watts. That's 1/4 of a kWh per day. If you pay as much as $0.30/kWh this means you'll be using less than $0.10 of electricity a day.

 

Obviously, living in LA, you have no clue what it means to not drive every day. I would suggest that until you learn that AGM batteries are lead acid and until you live in a walkable city, you stop giving bad battery advice. You just don't know what you think you do. All 12V batteries, AGM or not, work better if they are used frequently.

You sure made a lot of assumptions in your statement. I'm not sure why you came to this forum if you already have all the answers.......

 

...perhaps revealing some misanthropy

 

AFAIK, the 12v is only used to power up the electronics and has no part in "starting" the ICE. You can read more in this thread:
Is the Prius starter different from regular starters? | PriusChat

 

Are you seriously this anal or just pretending?

 

i think the hybrid battery is disconnected for safety reasons when the car is powered down, so, no charging the 12v.there's a guy in another thread installing a deep discharge marine battery. not sure how it's working out.

 

The car was in my driveway when I replaced the battery.

 

Not sure if the G3 has a button to disable the SKS system like the G2 but if it does
There's a little power savings by shutting it off.
On the g2 its under the steering wheel. U then have to use the mechanical key which your
Familiar with to get into the car.
If it was me I would install a 12 volt battery switch to disconnect the battery when storing the Car. JC Whitney. Like an RV uses.
Do anything u must as constantly messing around with the 12 volt on a Prius is just
Very dangerous to your wallet.

 

i think the g3 is in mfd programming, but not sure.

 

Me neither. Never seen it discussed on the G3
Forum. I suspect its not used anymore.

 

I think this is a repeat but it is important:
That is NOT an inevitable result.
If you get a small automatic charger and connect it overnight one day a week, your battery should last many years......unless there is an unknown factor at work here. The picture will be a bit clearer if/when you can take some voltage readings.

And to repeat the "moral" part of it too:
If you were to leave an automatic charger connected 100% of the time for a whole month, it probably would use about 50 cents worth of electricity because it effectively shuts down when the battery is full. Using it only 4 days a month might use 20 cents worth........might.
Then, who pays the bill for the power coming out of that outlet ? If it is the condo association, are you not paying "dues" for maintenance of the common areas ??

So listen.......please.......here's the bottom line:
It sounds like you are going to be stubborn and not take the advice of several people here to use a tender.

Next would be to make sure you take a trip of 30 miles or so once a week. It sounds like you won't be doing that either.

You have indicated that you KNOW that your present usage patterns would be hard on ANY battery yet you persist in bashing the one that Toyota provides.

I think you need to GET REAL.
Either do what is necessary to fix your own problem or spend a few bucks to get a better AGM battery (which might not totally solve the problem either). The dealer can not stop you from doing that.

I think this "discussion" should stop here because some comments are being mis-interpreted and further exchanges are likely to accomplish nothing useful.

NOW.....please read my whole post again and understand that I am trying to HELP and mean no disrespect with anything I have said.

Well.......look who is talking.
The 12 V battery NEVER cranks the engine.
It just doesn't work that way.

 

That's exactly why I said he doesn't know how the ICE is started. Certainly not cranked by the 12V.

 

Can't you see that you contradicted yourself with these 2 statements???

 

But, I do know that when you can no longer run on the hybrid system battery alone, yes your 12V battery will need to crank your ICE.

That above part with the BOLD is a partial quote from previous post #21. Should have made that clear.

 

That does explain it, but sure made your posts confusing.