Long term parking

Since it is awkward to reach the hatch mechanical release, the easiest process is to remove the nut on the dedicated jumpstart terminal within the main relay/fuse box (10 mm socket needed), remove the wire below the nut, then close the red plastic cover on the terminal so that the wire cannot touch the nut or stud. This is equivalent to disconnecting a battery cable at the rear of the car.

Regarding sugona's query about why the battery died after a week, my guess is that the car was not driven sufficiently prior to storage so that the battery could reach a full charge - or else the battery may simply have been defective. For good 12V battery health the Prius should be READY at least 30 minutes each week.

 

Patrick,

Thanks for that, I wondered if something like that might be easier. For the 2010 perhaps Toyota could provide a handy shut off or a ready fastening point for a disconnected terminal? I realize that presets could be an issue so this would be a good opportunity to add a feature such as a USB port to download presets to a USB stick, then upload them when the terminal is reconnected.

With regards to the problems that some have had with short downtimes, a weak (as in old) battery is likely as well. On other vehicles I've had the OEM battery could often hold on through an extra winter or more when it was clearly on its last legs (5-7 years.) I could really tell during the coldest spells, but those little engines barely needed a nudge to crank.

 

Hi Shawn,

Good idea. Considering that you can buy several GB of portable storage at retail for a small two-digit dollar price or less, it would seem reasonable for 3G to have sufficient non-volatile memory to store owner presets and not lose them when 12V power is removed.

 

Force charging the HV to green before any storage is a good procedure. Fully charged HV = well charged 12v.

 

I left my Prius for four weeks without switching off the SKS. When I returned, I had to unlock the car by pressing the unlock button on the key fob the first time I unlocked the car. After that, it recognized the key fob fine. I still think it is smart to turn off the SKS.

 

i am also planing to leave my 2008 in my garage for a whole month.

but, to be on safe side i'll turn off SKS and i'll leave the doors unlocked, but of course closed, and i never use automatic drive ligths, so that should be not an issue.

that should allow me easy entry in the car even if the 12v battery goes dead.

before i leave for the trip i plan to drive the car down the hill towards my home so that SOC on my scangauge is close to 80%, and that should help with the main battery charge.

i am thinking that instead of leaving the trickle charger on 12 v battery for a whole month unattended and worrying if the Chinese-made charger is going to blow up or if something else may blow up due to some defect in the charger -- i can just place a 12 V battery in parallel with car's 12 V battery.

I have brand new 12V 18 Ah battery from a Power booster appliance that would be perfect for this application.

this additional battery should help prolong the time that 12 V battery can keep its charge, so that i do not have to reprogram the radio, power windows and turn off again that annoying backup "beep".

since the car is equipped with 'starterguard' that disconnects vehicle's 12 v battery at some preset voltage (i would like to learn what voltage is that), when/if the voltage of 12 v battery drops to certain level then the starterguard would disconnect the 12 volt battery from the vehicle preventing further battery drain. So, with starterguard -- i should be safe from draining completely the 12 v battery, and extra 12 V battery that i can leave in the trunk connected to vehicle's 12 battery should definitely help.
But, even if this planning fails all i would need to do is press reset button on starterguard to reinitilise the starterguard relay, and of course then i would need to reprogram the radio and windows.

as long as vehicle's main 201v NiMh battery pack is ok -- i can deal with the rest.

any comments on this strategy?

 

Thanks, jeromep I found the SKS button on my '05 Prius but I have a question: If I disable the smart key sensor, how do I re-enter my locked car when returning from my trip?

 

babyrhino,

Have you owned your '05 since new, or did you just buy it recently? If you bought it new, I'm surprised you haven't noticed by now the push-buttons on the fob. They work like the buttons on any other brand's fob (for lock, unlock, & panic), but then we are so spoiled by the SKS system that we usually never take our fobs out of our pockets & therefore hardly ever look at them.

If you do as jeromep suggests (& you lock your car), then when you return just use the unlock button on your fob (& don't forget to return the "KEY" push-button down by the steering column to its outward "SKS ON" position). But if the 5-yr old 12V battery didn't hold its charge (& it may not simply because of its age---not because you did anything wrong), then use the metal key from inside of the fob & use it in the driver's door keyhole to get into the car. To remove that metal key from the fob, move the little slide on the end of the fob away from the keyring & while still holding it in that position, just gently slide the key out.

Admittedly since the black plastic head of the key is so small, it may be difficult to get a good hold on it to turn it in the keyhole. Because of this I had my local hardware store cut/grind me a spare from a blank with a much bigger head (ilco #'s X217 & TR47) that I keep attached to the little ring. Turn the key clockwise to unlock & counter-clockwise to re-lock. You should be able to hear the lock release (unless I'm only hearing the noise because my original battery has never died yet & still has power to work the electric release relay). With a dead 12V battery, the turning of the key in the driver's door keyhole may be more stiff with only manual actuation. That's why I'm glad I had the larger head metal key made because every so often I want to leave the car running with the A/C on for our dog in her crate in the hot weather.

If the battery did die & you got into the car with the metal key, you can now pop the hood & lift the cover off the fuse & relay box behind the driver's side headlight (the 2-level latch is at the front, feel up from the box surface onto the 1st level & move your finger along that raised 1st level until you feel the 2nd higher level, then press on that 1st level right next to the 2nd level rise & the latch should release, tilt the front upwards & slide the cover towards the rear to unhook the 2 rear catches). The positive jumping terminal is under the red plastic swing-over cover to the left rear of the box & just use a bare shock/strut bolt for the negative or black cable.

WARNING : Don't let the other 2 ends of the cables touch each other and be VERY CAREFUL NOT to get the polarity reversed, or you will be facing a very expensive repair around $4,000. Hope this helps you.

Ken (in Bolton,Ct)

 

Okay, so I'm going to park my 2009 Prius for 6 months. Here are the facts:

- It will be parked in an enclosed but unheated garage near Denver, CO
- I will turn off SKS and all lights and make sure doors are closed but not locked
- I'll use a Deltran Optimate 3+ battery tender to keep the 12v battery fresh and charged (it works; I used it all winter on a Sienna)
- I'll get the HV battery up to all blue bars before I go (green if possible)
- I have a neighbor who will disconnect the charger and run the engine every month or so (he'll start engine but not drive the car)

Is this all I should do? Does the car really need to be driven (or just started)? If he starts it every month and the engine shuts down after 15 minutes, is that enough to keep the HV battery healthy?

 

The engine itself won't necessarily run, unless you keep the gas pedal floored. It will then run until the traction battery is fully charged, and shut off.

 

Thanks for the reply.

The engine will run long enough to get to operating temperature and heat the catalytic converter. During that time, I assume it will charge the HV battery, even if it's just a little. So, is this enough to keep the HV battery healthy?

If not, then we'll have to take that Prius to AZ along with our other one. We'd like to avoid that because (a) it is another long day of driving and a lot of miles on the car (each way), and (b) we already have a Miata in AZ and only have a 2-car garage, so a Prius would have to sit outdoors.

 

One more question.

If I set the inside car temp to (e.g.) 75, then would that make the car run longer during the once-a-month charging sessions and thereby charge the HV battery better?

 

Ask your neighbor to make the Prius READY once every two months, and leave it in that state for 30 min. You don't need to worry about the HVAC system, it would be fine to leave that system off.

That time period should be enough to keep the traction battery charged up.

 

Thanks Patrick.

We should be heading South (to Red Mountain Ranch in NE Mesa) next weekend, the leading edge of the annual "Snowbird" migration.

 

That's great.

In Tucson, one benefit for year-round residents is the Dining Club card offered by the Arizona Daily Star. For a $20 investment to purchase the card, you can benefit from a "buy one, get one free" entree discount at a large number of Tucson-area restaurants. This year's card will expire at the end of October as the snowbirds arrive for their annual migration, and the restaurants can count on more business.

There are 12 houses on my street. At least four of those homes are owned by snowbirds. The good news is that I have an agreement with one of the snowbird couples to use their garage when they are out of town, in return for keeping an eye on their property.

 

That's your reward for spending six months in "the land of the nuclear summer." Cheaper meals, rental cars, airfares and golf rates, and no reservations/advanced purchase needed for restaurants and shows. Thanks again for your help.

 

Sent you a PM.