Prius c battery

what the prognosis?

 

To update all. This may be the tenth time I have run down the battery on the Prius C by only leaving the key in the ignition overnight. This is not a smart key! Each and every time I could charge it up again, at this rate I will never need a new battery. Somebody said this is a Super Battery, what does that mean? Why does leaving the key in the ignition drain the battery? The owners manual says nothing.

No prognosis, no diagnosis, no printed material anywhere. I may go bug the dealer, I like to watch them squirm.

Traditionally Yes, I agree. The Prius C 12 Volt is different.

 

"This may be the tenth time I have run down the battery on the Prius C by only leaving the key in the ignition overnight. "

This is the first thing you need to stop doing. It is very likely you engage a circuit with the key inserted (mechanical key) that is responsible for the discharge. Second, the 12VDC battery is not new tech on the Prius C. How the the current is controlled to it is where any "change" may exist. After 10 discharges to 4VDC your battery needs replacing. Maybe not this second (if you contain the battery draw problem now), but you have drastically reduced it's life expectancy.

 

I like that.

 

what brand and model is it?

 

Proprietary info, battery cannot be obtained outside of Toyota

 

wow. i wonder if there is a way to test it when it won't start the car to see what the bottom parameters are.

 

What is amazing is the Battery charges up to 13.4 Volts. My normal 6 decade long habit is to shut off ignition and pull out key. You can't do this with the C. After stopping car, put in Park, set emergency brake, disconnect seat belt and finally remove key. To compound these gymnastics, the garage door is down, it's dark in the garage and I have now totally forgotten the key. Incidentally even in daylight the key is somewhat hidden. So, out of sight, out of mind. I am going to attach a bungee to the key which will be in my way upon exiting, that should remind me! Of course with my PIP, The procedure is easier and in no way enforces good C habits.

 

that's funny, i was wondering why you were forgetting. surprised it doesn't beep at you when you close the door.

so, you put the battery back in the car, and it's good until you leave the key in the next time?

i wonder if the one is smaller than the c's with sks, like the lift back.

 

Yes

Which one?

NOT A SMART KEY

 

dumb key? i meant if the battery in the c-1 is smaller than the c-2 with sks. like in the gen II's.

 

The Prius c Dismantling Guide (available as a PDF from various online sources) describes the rear seat removal procedure in great detail as you must remove the bottom of the rear seat in order to replace either the traction or auxiliary battery.

The procedure is as follows:

1) remove the passenger side plastic piece and set aside,

2) remove the middle plastic piece and set aside,

3) remove the driver side plastic piece and set aside,

4) using your hands, locate the cushion release latches which are about 12" from each of the passenger and driver side, and a couple of inches underneath the front edge of the cushion,

5) lift up on the cushion, and remove.

Service the battery.

Reassemble in reverse order.

 

Does the whole seat need to come out for just 12 volt battery removal, tho? I'm thinking just the step 1 item.

 

See Andy's post #59 above:
Prius c battery | Page 3 | PriusChat
He seemed a little irate when I suggested the same thing.

 

Thank You Peter. I'll give that a go maybe this week.

Sorry to have given that impression. The method that Toyota provides is outrageous. One must get down on his knees, remove clips, access hole where battery is located, gently shimmy this battery out and hope the cables are long enough, disconnect one connector and hope the Neg/Pos, you are not sure which, doesnt ground out accidentally. These were my thoughts about 3 months ago when removing battery. Reinserting is equally difficult because of the limited space. Also when in properly inserted there's a indentation in which it sits on. I don't remember a tie down strap ? ?
Thruout this procedure you will also need a flashlight in your 3rd hand. Since Toyotas brilliant HV/EV foray they seem to have incredible problems with 12v battery placement. They could have put the battery under the hood with a special cable built in cable running back to the electronics in the rear. The battery is unique to Toyota and the cables are Japanese size. I had the 1st year Camry and the cables and battery were standard. I personally think that these changes were a ploy to increase profits and requiring visits to the dealership.

 

when is someone going to invent a decent 12v battery the size of a tomato?

 

I sympathize with your frustration. I've only had to access my battery once, and that was to add the cables to feed my house-power inverter, no removal of the battery required. I agree that it's an awkward spot to get to.

 

i wonder if they did that to keep the hatch space spec at the max possible.

 

Ease of access for maintenance, that's so old school.

 

This underseat battery engineering SNAFU is giving me an itch to trade it in for the upcoming plug-in especially if the rumors are to be believed that it will be unveiled alongside the hybrid.

 

okay, i won't repeat myself.