Hi! I own a Prius Executive model year 2007. While I was away travelling I asked my girlfriend to occasionally start my car in order to have the battery maintain "some juice". Two years ago my 12v battery gave in and I bought a new one - not a Toyota original but a similar from another brand. Before I left everything was fine with the car and I had no issues with the "not original" 12v battery. Furthermore my main battery pack has always been able to charge and often reside in the green color. I use the Prius for commuting to/from work so I drive it on a daily basis. So here's my problem. As I mentioned I asked my girlfriend to start my car from time to time, and the first time she did this she performed the following steps: 1. opened the car with the key 2. placed the key in the key slot 3. pressed the brake pedal 4. pressed the start button The car started and she left it for attending some other duties. 20-30 minutes later she returned and found the Prius "dead"! She opened the door and tried to press the start button but nothing happened. So far I haven't tried anything but tomorrow I will start trying to charge the 12v battery in order to see if this is the problem. Another possibility I've been thinking about is whether a flat key battery could result in the feeling of a "dead" Prius as it doesn't send an identity signal to the car... I know, a far shot but... I thought I'd share this with you in order to see if somebody else has had a similar experience? Many thanks in advance!
Nothing you outline in the steps your girlfriend undertook should result in a dead Prius. You say she followed those steps then the "Car Started"? Did she actually hear the engine kick in? As usual you're probably correct in checking the 12 volt battery first. I hate to say it, but I'd be suspicious of The Girlfriend. If she didn't press the brake pedal hard enough, she easily could of left the vehicle unknowingly in accessory mode. If the 12 volt was weak? That might of been enough to push it over the edge. Otherwise, there is nothing directly in what she did that should of resulted in your Prius being dead.
If your girlfriend is not used to starting this car, maybe she never got it into "Ready" mode. If that is the case, she would have possibly drained the 12v running all the accessories for 30 minutes.
How long was it between you tracking her how to start the car and her actually doing it? I suspect she actually might have forgotten to pass the brake pedal and had the car in accessory mode rather than ready mode.
Hi all! First I'd like to say thank you all for your help!!! Needless to say, I have now re-charged my 12v battery and started my Prius Next time I'll leave my car with my brother... My girlfriend AND my Prius = NO GO Cheers and have a great weekend all of you!
