Hi -- I am new to prius. I am car shopping (don't own one yet) and am deciding between the Prius C and a gasoline car like the Scion xD. My lifestyle is such that sometimes I go travel overseas for work for months at a time. Sometimes one month, sometimes three months, sometimes seven or eight months. Obviously this is not ideal, but I have heard of many people that have left their gasoline vehicles in storage (w/traditional battery disconnected) and come back and their vehicles are fine. So question -- is storing a Prius any different? Any better? Any worse? Many thanks.
You do not want a vehicle powered via a High Voltage battery. Toyota warns against storing a Prius over 3 months without starting the car for 30 minutes. http://www.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/om/OM47784U/pdf/sec_01-01.pdf (page 4 of the PDF, page 33 of the Prius v manual)
Thanks for that. Hm, I wonder if that means that the Toyota Dealership can readily just recharge it? If I had to tow it to the dealer to recharge I would not mind at all, it's a small price to pay. I just want to make sure that I would not be doing irreparable harm to the battery...? Hm.
My understanding is that each Zone has a HV battery charger and that the dealership has to borrow it. http://www.autoshop101.com/forms/Hybrid15.pdf (Page 6 of the PDF)
ensure you dont have ethanol fuel or add a fuel addidtive for ethanol or your fuel system will be SHOT!!!
As stated previously, a hybrid vehicle should not be considered for purchase if it will sit around for months without use. Yes, you could tow it to a dealer and have them recharge the HV battery pack assuming they had a charger. The problem is that the battery pack life will be shortened.
We have left our Prius for five months with absolutely no problem with the high voltage battery. The 12-volt batter was left on a battery maintainer and stabilizer was added to the fuel. The charge indicator on the high voltage battery didn't even drop one bar over the five months. Perhaps the storage temperature has something to do with the rate of discharge. The Prius was stored inside with temps between 42 and 75 degrees F.
