My report after storing 2011 Prius III for 5 months

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by stevengolfs, Apr 14, 2012.

  1. stevengolfs

    stevengolfs Junior Member

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    2011 Prius
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    Three
    Back in October of 2011, I asked this forum for advice for long term storage of my 2011 Prius III. I mentioned that my wife and I would be spending the winter down south, and that my Prius would be stored in my garage for 5 months. I'm pleased to report that everything worked out just fine! What I ended up doing was to buy a Battery Tender Waterproof 800 through Amazon and connect it to my 12 volt battery. I left the positive and negative connections that power the car's accessories attached to the battery and simply placed the red and black clips on the battery terminals. I over inflated the tires by about 3 to 4 pounds and placed paper towels under each wiper blade. That's all there was to it. I didn't have to do anything else, other than add Stabil to my fuel tank. When we returned on April 1, I was apprehensive about starting the car, but after removing the Battery Tender, the Prius started as though I'd never been gone. I hope that this information will be helpful to others that may need to leave their Prius unattended for a long period of time. Thanks for all the helpful advice that Prius Chat provides. I'm sure loving my Prius III. With the spike in gas prices, it's nice to know that I can pass a lot of gas stations before I need to refuel. Have a great Spring & Summer everyone! Steve
     
    #1 stevengolfs, Apr 14, 2012
    6 people like this.
  2. spiderman

    spiderman wretched

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    Welcome back Steve, glad all went well.
     
    #2 spiderman, Apr 14, 2012
  3. Big Steve

    Big Steve ramblin wreck

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    Just got my 2012 Prius Four yesterday. Reading these posts has me wondering... We will be going away for 15 days in October, with the Prius in a public parking lot... protected... Do I need to worry about the 12v battery when we return?
     
    #3 Big Steve, Apr 14, 2012
  4. HaveNoCents

    HaveNoCents Conservative Tree Hugger

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    Supposedly you are right on the cusp. Do a search there is a long thread about this. I'm going to leave mine for 3 weeks in June. Toyota recommends that you take off the negative cable of your battery if you are going to leave it more than 10 days if memory serves, but there are people that have had a dead battery, and others that have not. I guess it matters quite a bit as to the current condition of your battery's charge, and it's age.
     
    #4 HaveNoCents, Apr 15, 2012
  5. stevengolfs

    stevengolfs Junior Member

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    Three
    Hi Steve,

    You may need a jump to your 12 volt battery (but probably not). In case you do....be sure to read your owner's manual as to the proper way to jump the battery. It isn't the same as with conventional cars.

    Steve
     
    #5 stevengolfs, Apr 15, 2012
  6. rcf@eventide.com

    [email protected] Member

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    I was able to "jump" an '07 Prius whose 12V battery had run down due to storage with a gel-cel battery. This is the kind of battery that is normally found in a small computer UPS and was rated at 12V 7.2AH. They're inexpensive ($10-$20, sometimes including the UPS!) and readily available. Their self-discharge rate is pretty low; certainly they will hold up for a couple of months. If you prepare one with a couple or wires attached and leave it in the car while it is in long-term parking, you'll have cheap insurance against a run-down 12V Prius battery.

    Richard
     
    #6 [email protected], Apr 15, 2012
  7. eastender43

    eastender43 Junior Member

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    My wife leaves her Prius at the airport Parking lot in winter...and she now knows it is mandatory to have a Solar panel in the windshield ...or you will be SOL in 2 weeks...the ECU's draw enough power to flatten the battery.especially
    in the winter....especially when she returned to MSP and it was -28F at 2am...she drove for an hour ...and it still would not start after she got gas...cold batteries do not take a charge...so now she puts a VW solar panel in the windshield,and even if the car is covered with snow,it keeps the battery charged,and it starts,every time.even in the worst of winter....same battery ,BTW...so it was not a bad battery...we winter in the Caribbean so we have to leave the HYBRIDS here alone ,on their best behavior...not ideal,but they are not able to be driven..these VW panels are used during shipment and are available on ebay for $25..you do have to wire them to a hot circuit,as the lighter is dead with key off..
     
    #7 eastender43, May 19, 2014
    peterjmc and ou812 like this.
  8. ou812

    ou812 Junior Member

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    I've left my 2010 at BWI for 3 weeks with a solar trickle charger on the floor connected to my Optima Yellow Top in the rear, no problems at all.
     
    #8 ou812, May 19, 2014
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