Power Loss

What mode were you in? Were you in IG-ON or READY? If latter, where you in any "gear" other than Neutral?

 

DO NOT run your Prius for too long in either ACC or especially ON (formerly known as IG-ON) otherwise you will drain the very small 12 volt very rapidly, which isn't good for it.

I have a 2nd gen so I have no seat heaters (weren't available). ACC should be where the stereo works but you don't see any dash indicators. ON should be the above + turn all the warning lights initially and leave most of the dash indicators on. See pages 164-167 of your manual.

If you want to sit there w/the stereo and esp. the seat heaters for a long period, you should be in READY mode (READY indicator on the left). Being in READY mode allows inverter to supply power to the 12 volt bus, charges the 12 volt and allows the ICE to fire up to maintain charge on the HV battery.

 

Concur!
You may want to start learning how to replace your 12V battery.

 

Don't do that. That's the simple answer.

Tom

 

Owners manual says...

Code:

[B]Auto power OFF function[/B]
If the vehicle is left in ACCESSORY or ON mode (hybrid system is not operating)
for more than an hour with the shift position in “Pâ€, the “POWERâ€
switch will automatically turn OFF.

Ken@Japan

 

UK model turns ACC off after 1 hour to prevent flattening the 12v.
just beat me to it Ken ;0)

 

Charge that 12V asap. 2 amps for 10 hours.

 

The "huge battery" (the HV battery, in the metal box that runs the width of the vehicle) is not in use when you leave it in ACC or ON (aka IGN-ON) mode. It's running off the tiny 12 volt in the rear corner which is not being charged via the inverter while in those two modes.

This is why you should be in READY mode if you want to run the radio, seat heaters or any accessories for any length of time.

 

To sum up: leave it Ready, shifted to Park, and the parking brake set. Then you can listen to the radio until it runs out of gas, which will take something between two days and two weeks.

 

Perfect 12V monitor for the Prius owner:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B000EVWDU0?tag=priuschatcom-20

 

Your Prius must be Ready and not in N to allow the engine to charge the battery. If you sit in Park the engine will come on and charge when necessary, then turn back off.

In Acc mode the small 12V battery is on its own; it doesn't get recharged by the big battery no matter how dire the level of charge.

In Ig-on the 12V bus is being supplied by the big battery, but the engine cannot come on to recharge the big battery. All of the circuits are powered up in Ig-on, so it doesn't take a long time to run down the big battery.

Tom

 

My car losses power sometimes when I am driving it. I have to pull over and restart and then it is fine. Has anyone else had this problem?

 

Hmmm, good clear explanation of the difference. I was never quite sure which did what. Thanks!

 

Can you give us more details? Do warning lights come on? Is the engine revving high, or is it completely off? Do you hear the hv battery fan running in the back?

Power loss while driving is definitely not normal.

 

No warning lights come on. Not revving high, everything seems normal. I told my dealer about this and he said he did not have any other complaints.
Car is fine otherwise. Can it be bad gas?