Howdy All, This is one part story, one part question. Over the holidays, I left my 2010 Prius at a major valet airport parking lot for a week. On the day of return, my flight was delayed by a few hours, putting me home at 10pm New Years Eve instead of 6pm. When I got to my car, I couldn't get the trunk opened to get in my luggage, which I thought was strange. When I got inside and tried to start the car nothing happened. I quickly discovered that the battery was dead. After review of the owners manual, I located the emergency jump procedure, and tried that. While I succeeded in getting some accessories to start, dash lights, dome lights, etc. I was never able to get enough power to start the car. However I was able to get enough power to discover that I was out of gas. Strange given that I left the car with 1/2 a tank. A quick review of the mileage and my records of last fill up showed that the car was not driven far since I left it, leaving me to the conclusion that they never shut the car off, letting it drain both the gas tank and the battery. The next morning, AAA came and jumped the car, started right up and it is running fine. So, after that winded tale, my question is, is it ok for the battery to have been fully drained as it was? Did this experience cause any permanent damage to my car? And finally, is it possible to prevent this from happening in the future? Thanks much! Brian
OK... 12-volt battery run down isn't a 'good' thing, but it didn't ruin the battery, just like running a car out of gas won't wreck your engine. I'd love to know how THAT happened btw.... You're probably going to hear horror stories about both. Try not to worry about it. Your car is still under warranty, and 12-v batteries are pretty cheap, and you have AAA. Relax and have a happy new year!! Good Luck!...and :welcome:
1. Welcome, Brian. 2. No, it is not OK to fully discharge the 12v battery. Deep discharges shorten the life. Use a trickle charger overnight to get it back up to a full charge. 3. I don't believe there is any serious damage to anything else. 4. Don't give it to a valet to park.
I agree 100% with ETC(SS).......it was just that your valet did not know how to shut down the Prius....Your car will be fine....In the future just educate the valet on shutting down your car....
Wait am I the only one to notice the obvious? If it is a Valet, how did they bring your car to you? Wasnt there someone who came up to you and say "sorry we cant get your car started"? I would be furious and demand they pay for my gas and jump as it is clearly their fault. Vadalism and theft is one thing but this is clearly a case of negligence and ignorance.
I used to be a valet parker at a country club when I was a teenager . That's why I never allow valet parking of any of my vehicles!
The Valet did NOT bring the car.. the OP said they "went to the car", I'm guessing because at 10pm on New Year's Eve, no valet was present. .. so the valet that "parked it" failed to shut it off, it seems. ... and since you can't lock the car while it's running, that's not good either!
Valet "services" seem to be popping up all over the place - sometimes not optional. With very few exceptions I HATE having to use valet. I used to live in condo building that had commercial space in the ground floor. It was an almost daily event to see the valets floor the nice sports cars once they turned the corner (and usually with no headlights if it was dark). BTW, does the car continue to run if the key is removed from the car? I guess so based on the OP's story.
Yes, it does. And better, you can't lock it while it's running. I can see not locking when the FOB is inside, but not locking while it's running is a very bad idea (you can obviously drive off in that case, since the valet did).
I suppose a person could remove the mechanical key from the FOB while the car is running and lock the car doors, leaving the FOB inside. I've never tried it, but why anyone would do that, I don't know. Happy Motoring, Tom
Well this is certainly ONE reason I NEVER let ANYONE drive my Prius or 4Runner! Valets are persona non grata in my life! Youtube is full of examples of these clowns!
My Prius V beeps like crazy if I try to leave without shutting it off. It's happened a few times and saved me because I didn't know it was still on. LOL I guess unless the valet left the key in the car it's possible for it not to beep. But who would leave a car without a key, especially a valet?? Don't the valets use the key to help keep track of what car is parked where? What did he do when he got back.. scratch his head wondering where the key was? lol So all this doesn't make sense to me. If it actually happened to me and I found the key laying in there, I would have been fuming and not only refusing to pay, but insisting they pay for all damages including a new battery. That battery would have certainly froze up if you were anywhere freezing. That happened to me back in the day when I had left my key in the ignition of an older car. Once the battery drains, the liquid inside is water.. it freezes and destroys the battery if the weather is sub-freezing.
My Gen II with smart key starts and runs without the key in the ignition, and seemed to continue running when with the keys outside as I walked away. The valet probably assumed the car was off when the engine stopped and went into electric mode, and thought he had locked the door when he walked off, leaving the car on unintentionally.
The older GII cars came with a deck of little cards which were intended to be given to valets, so they knew how to operate the car.
Some clarifications on my original post. 1) It was a long-term airport valet service. While I am reluctant to use a valet service, over the holiday week it was $10 a day cheaper for parking while I was away. I felt the $80 savings was probably a good idea. 2) As to how the car got to me. The valet service (run by a major car rental service BTW), brings the car back the day of your return. And actually, my flight was delayed by 5 hours, so if I arrived as scheduled, everything probably would have been fine. Car would have been running, but not out of gas yet. 3) When they move the car from their long-term lot to their pickup/drop-off lot, they leave the key in the car. This is why they didn't hear the three loud beeps that occur when you exit the car with the key, while it is running. Most everyone at the service understood how to operate the vehicle. Unfortunately for me, there was one person that works there that does not, and that happened to be the person working that evening. Everyone else at the place was very helpful, they provided some gas to get it going and helped with the jump (However they could not provide enough power and I had to call AAA). They even credited my weeks worth of parking for their mistake. Hope this helps to clear up a few questions. Brian
I am "supposed" to use the same type of valet service if possible when parking at airports for my company, since its cheaper than taxi & cheaper than parking at the official airport lot. But I haven't been (I still just grab a cab) for the exact reasons that you have experienced. I know Priuses have been around a while, but that doesn't mean that some new valet guy will have experience in turning it on / shutting it off you know what I mean? Too bad I donated my Honda Civic that the Prius replaced - that old but reliable car I have no problem leaving at airport lots, shopping malls, city, etc...
Valets left my 2006 on for more than 5 hours at the Holiday Inn-Midtown twice without emptying the gas tank. The giveaway was that the car was delivered with the traction battery drained. Maybe turning the headlights & radio on when surrendering the car will help.
