Prius dies in parking lot twice with same issue

That error message is a red herring produced by low voltage on the 12V bus. You aren't the first to get it. Another red herring error message can be produced by not shutting the driver's door. I forget the exact wording, but it's pretty scary sounding and relates to charging.

As for your dead battery, most likely something was left on. If you are completely sure that nothing was left on, it could be that your battery is getting old.

Tom

 

In both instances the battery condition and connection tightness were checked by the dealer and found adequate. In both instances the car had been started and used within and hour or so. There were no low temp issues. Both fobs were tried.

 

This problem just happened to me today. Same exact message on the monitor and 2005 Prius will not start. It was a rainy day. My brother went and checked it out. He said he opened the fuse box and blew air in it. He started it and it worked! It is working right now. My fear is if I use it, will it have the same problem again.

 

If we had a nickel for every time a dealer checked a bad Prius battery and declared it good Danny could fund this site without advertising. I have zero confidence in dealer battery tests, at least regarding the small 12V battery.

Tom

 

stevelesak: Do you have a volt meter? What does the 12 volt read at the terminals after you've left it overnight. We've frequently found that dealers "testing" the 12 volt yields useless results.

If you've drained it flat 2x, the OEM 12 volt might already be done for.

 

Run the test at http://priuschat.com/forums/newbie-forum/73400-weird-stuff-happening-mpgs-dropping-test-battery.html after the car's been left overnight.

If you're still on the original 12 volt, it's almost certainly toast and in need of replacement now.

BTW, it's best to not respond to a Gen 3 thread since you have a Gen 2.

 

OP, she has either a Three (cloth seats) or a Four (leather seats) Solar. There is a Maintenance Mode available on the nav display. I believe the instructions are in the posted thread.

Just because the dealer pulled a new battery off the shelf doesn't make it good. The new battery I bought lasted 6 weeks before failing.

Get the voltage readings on the 12v & look for lights left on (particularly the deck) or loose connections. Random electrical problems are a bugger to diagnose. The dealer & mechanic are not going to invest any time chasing it down so unfortunately this will be your (her) job.

Will the 12v take a trickle charge?

 

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• Riverview Toyota
• 2020 W Riverview Auto Dr
• Mesa
• (480) 994-9922