Good Afternoon My 12v battery died completely while I was on vacation, so its been sitting completely dead for a period of 3-10 days. I have some specific questions with regards to its replacement and was hoping I could get some answers as I was unable to find them via digging around. 1. I read that once I get a jump start I need to get to a dealer ASAP to have it replaced or it will be dead again the moment the car stops. Is this true ? I left my car at my parents house which is unfortunately out in the boonies, so I am looking at a bit of a drive and it'd be great if I could stop on my way. Also, what happens when I come to an intersection where the engine shuts off ? Does that count as such a stop ? If so, how can I drive it to where I need it to get to ? 2. I understand that the dealer provided and Optima batteries are the 2 main choices, but what about any of the other ones, for example like the ones found here List: Search for 'battery - automotive' | O'Reilly Auto Parts ? Any feedback would be appreciated. 3. I will also be performing some more maintenance, would like to replace a belt and do a few other things. There was a button somewhere that disables the automatic functions so that the engine / fans don't start, I forgot where that button is and can't find the manual, can someone please tell me how or where to disable the auto / hybrid functions for maintenance ? Thanks
1. depending on how bad your battery is it may take a charge and restart. There is no guarantee. If you have a portable jump box or another 12v battery that you can bring with you to jump if necessary that would be good 2. There is also the Exide FP-AGM51JIS which is the best IMO 3. If you are doing a belt do it with the car powered off.
OK, got it, my dealer is actually selling the Exide batteries, I was kinda hoping to get this going today, but, will just have to wait til tomorrow. With regards to the belt, obviously the car will be powered off, but, even then the fan can auto start, and I am in California, sometimes it gets real hot here, hot enough for it to start up, I have seen it do so plenty of times. There was a way to disable the fan (these sort of automatic functions) and prevent exactly that from happening, but its a 2008 car and I simply havent had a need to perform any thing other then standard oil / filter / tire replacements on it until this time. I forgot where or what it said about this in one of the manuals, and I have lost the manuals since then but I distinctly remember reading something about this. And now I am unable to locate the info again. I do remember there is some sort of a button somewhere for this or a sequence of buttons ?
You can pull the fuse that controls the fan, can't you....??? Asking, not sure? I don't have my manual handy, but if you register your Prius on the official Toyota motor corp. website, you can access a digital copy of the manual, which should tell/show what you need, including fuses... You need your VIN to register the car. It will also tell you, once registered, about all recalls and if and when any of them were performed on car.
O yea, I forgot about that One more question, since my car is completely dead its a bit of a pita replacing the battery with the hatch closed. Anyway to open it without power ? I took down the seats and got the old one out from the inside but it sure would be nice if I could open that hatch for when I get the new one tomorrow, the sun and closed windows (again no power) are a little harsh. Thanks
You can apply 12v to the jump-start terminal under the hood from another battery/car/boost box (make sure to use correct polarity) to energize the car's 12v system and open the hatch. Ooh, you might only do this if you're pretty certain your 12v + terminal in the trunk isn't shorted to the body, since the old batt is already out. I don't think the Prius runs the radiator fan when powered-off, like some cars (Audis come to mind). I've never encountered a Pri with the fan running when off.
There is a manual release also below the hatch from inside but if you have power from jumper cables just use that.
Watch the video, he shows you how to open the hatch from inside, it's halfway through the video or so, if I remember right...good to know how to do it, anyway....even if you end up jumping the car, which I would not do, based on horror stories about jumping the Prius.... Just a tip, a search on Google would have quickly found an answer for you also....
Thanks a lot, I did search on google and youtube, maybe was using wrong terms or something, not sure, but all the results I got didn't provide me what I was looking for, anyways, figured I would get better feedback here with regards to various details.
Hi I don't know if you are still dealing with your battery issue... but I had this problem before and had to replace it... here is a link to when i originally posted it... I hope it helps! Horrible Sulfur Smell need new 12 volt battery? | PriusChat
As some of you have undoubtedly found out the hard way (I did) that the back latch will not open if the battery is disconnected. My solution to that was to get a remote starter switch from the auto parts place and fasten it to the neg terminal of the battery and the cable end and run the cable out of the hatch and close it. The battery is still isolated, but the hatch can be opened by pressing the starter switch button and holding it in while I unlock the hatch. When you release the starter button, the battery is isolated again. Just make sure that there is no one in a dangerous place where that brief energizing will threaten their safety.