So yesterday my 2012 Prius v did not turn on (at least engine did not start) on the first go. I actually spotted the TPMS indicator on (it actually was not, although I didn't realize it at the time) and thought maybe there was some tire issue (I did have a TPMS issue a while back), so got around inspected them, and finding no issue, came back. Pressed the start button again, and the car powered up. At the time, I thought perhaps the start/stop button was just a bit sticky or something due to the extreme cold (it was around 5F yesterday and today). I drove about 20 km total to and from work, then in the evening went for some shopping errands, probably another 15km or so with a couple of stops along the way. No issues at all when starting up when returning from work or doing the shopping. This morning, same thing, except it took several tries for the car to start. This is now going to be this car's third winter. The only difference is that this winter, the car is now parked outside in the driveway, because we have an EV that needs to be charged inside our single-car garage. I did also accidentally run the battery down when the vanity light was left on, about a year ago I believe, however I don't think that this time around we have left something on by accident. I may try to put it on a battery trickle charger to see if that helps. Fortunately it is not supposed to be as cold for the remainder of the week. I certainly have no qualms about taking into the dealer to have the battery tested (it needs its 40000km oil change anyway), but on average, should the 12V be able to make it through several years (and Canadian winters) without issue, or is it something I need to be prepared to replace after driving the car for less than 3 years?
What did you do after running the battery down a year back? If just a jumpstart-and-drive-around, It could be it never fully recovered, and at this point it may be walking wounded. In your shoes, I'd get the dealership to test it. They should have testers that can determine more than just the at-rest voltage of the battery, check it's cold cranking amps. Once a battery's been run down and just jumpstarted, it's more vulnerable to ongoing deterioration. It's best when something like that happens to hook it up to a smart charger, let it run through a complete charging cycle. Even then it's a bit compromised, but still in better shape.
When it ran down before is actually when I purchased the trickle charger and charged it for several hours, no issues until now.
Ok, good to know. Yeah, could get the dealership to test it. Or if you want to get another tool, the Solar BA5 tester can check it's CCA. Other places can test too: I was purchasing a battery (for another vehicle) in Canadian Tire, and they checked the CCA for me, with a shop quality tester, very nice. They may have a Motomaster battery that's exact fit, and likely more CCA. I know they have one for our Prius, I believe it's a rebadged Exide. Prices have gone up recently. For our regular Prius two dealerships quoted $273 for the OEM Yuasa. I ended up going with Optima, through SaskBattery, for about $50 less. They shipped to BC for free, and only charged me GST, no PST. You can also get those through Amazon.ca, but I think they even mention they are working with SaskBattery, and it's a bit more $ that way. The SaskBattery site is not that good for determining what battery you need. If you first go to the Optima site and check your vehicle, then you can check for that at SaskBattery, or Amazon: Tractor Battery | Forklift Battery | YELLOWTOP® | OPTIMABATTERIES Looks like the Prius v battery is the same as regular 3rd gen Prius. Here's my notes on batteries, might help you: OEM 12 volt battery: Toyota Part No: 28800-21171 Battery info: GS Nippon Denchi YUASA S46B24R-GS Cold Cranking Amps: 310? ----------------------- Cold Cranking Performance (Amps) SAE/EN1: 310A ----------------------- Info from: New 12v Battery, Part #28800-21171 | PriusChat From Britprius, part no: JIS46B24R length: 238 mm (9.370") width: 129 mm (5.079") height: 227 mm (8.937") ---- Actual battery we have (direct measurement/observation): Battery id: S46B24R GS YUASA length: 9 3/8" (238 mm) width: 4 7/8" (124 mm) height: 8" (203 mm) (plus posts) post dia's: Pos: 13 mm (approx) Neg: 10 mm (approx Weight: 310 ---- Optima Yellow Top: 8171-767 DS46B24R Group Size: GR#51JIS: 46B24R CCA: 450 CA: 575 Length: 9.272 in Width: 5.024 in Height: 8.885 in web page: ---- Canada Tire alternative: MotoMaster Eliminator Ultra model 10-5122 (rebadged Exide battery) ---- Above Canadian Tire battery is rebadged: Exide FP-AGM51JIS
I would buy a "Battery Tender Jr." or a "Plus" (adds additional millivolt regulation helpful with longterm extreme temperature environments) that has a microprocessor control and consider hardwiring it into the fuse box bolt made for jump starting so that you could charge on freezing nights. It has an excellent algorithm to avoid overcharge and also avoids discharge sulfation of the battery. It comes with ring terminals in addition to small "standard" jumper clamps. Then a quick connect leaves the cable in the car and the charger at home. A 25' extension cable on the 12v side makes remote charger location easier. Of course, a new battery is ultimately required, but you could probably get more years out of the current one and then a new one later. Obviously you probably use an engine heater, but that does not help the 12v battery located in the back. Battery Charging Basics Link and attached
I never cease to wonder at how many "my car doesn't start" stories crop up the first arctic blast of cold air that hits an area. By all means load test the battery, desulficate and charge it if at all marginal, use a maintainer on it and replace it if in doubt. Don't keep a charger on for too long that isn't a high end smart charger that turns off when the proper voltage is reached. I used a maintainer when I kept a car outside in the ice/snow for extended periods of time. Never had problems when I used abroom to scrape the snow off so I could drive it. Reminds me I want to replace the battery in my wife's '2011 Avalon not because she has had any problems but just because it is going on 5 years old. No sense in having a problem. In my garage I have a load tester, charger and maintainer. And every car has the best 20 foot jumper cables money can buy.
On the same "first ultra cold snap" theme, I suspect any latent range anxiety of Tesla owners bubbles to the surface as real concern.
Thanks for all the great info regarding replacement batteries. I did not even end up hooking up the battery to the charger but just went for a long drive when I came back in the evening and haven't experienced any more problems. I'm going to have the battery tested when I take it in for the oil change. I think the voltage is OK but suspect that the CCA will test on the low side - to be confirmed.
Is the CCA shown on the battery? On OEM Yuasa on mine it wasn't. With some Googling on Yuasa's site I think I determined it was 310, still not 100% sure. I've retained that OEM, there was no core charge with SaskBattery, and someone here suggested I just hang onto it as spare, for a while. I hooked it up to my latest smart charger recently, then tested CCA after, it was showing around 275. So, a little under the rated CCA but not bad.
We purchased our 2012 v from a non Toyota dealership.. the OEM battery would not hold a charge despite their initial attempts to jump it, charge it for us... (Mendel probably remembers my questions) lol Ultimately, they replaced the battery with a Delco replacement. other than being yellow, it appears to be an exact fit.. We've had no problems w/it on even the coldest of days.. I had no idea Delco offered a battery for a Prius.. but didn't totally surprise me since it was a Buick GMC dealership.. It's not a very big battery..
Are you confident the Junior is capable of Fully charging the OP's 12v on those freezing nights? Or even at several degrees above 0 (C)? Even if he was very patient?
I bet it is the wet type sealed "maintenance free" battery. If this is the case, demand the correct AGM type 12V battery from this dealership. Your Prius vagon requires the AGM type battery; this is for safety in event of an accident.
A tender or maintainer doesn't charge fully depleted batteries but keeps them fully charged for long periods without overcharging. For that you need a more robust charger (though there are now expensive units that will do both). Many maintainers won't even attempt to charge if the battery is initially below 8.5 volts. And when they do charge, it is slowly and carefully with voltage sensing circuitry to turn the charging off lest it cook the battery. The Tender-Jr is an inexpensive maintainer. I used a similar maintainer from Ctec over the winter storing an AGM equipped sports car for months at a time when the car was 50 feet from any plug and the maintainer was plugged in via a long outdoor extension cord. Did this for 7 winters. Called it hibernation. Never failed to start at the first request from the key. Modern cars are helpful and smart with all their convenience features and they draw current using their sensors to detect your keys presence for example. They also shut down some of those features as time increases from when you exited the car. But they still draw enough current that a maintainer is a good idea if you are leaving any modern car for more than a few weeks.
Similar excellent experience with the CTek 7300 smart charger/maintainer on both AGM and Li-ion batteries on 'line' and occasional use vehicles and backup power generator. The CTek will also recondition a completely flat battery.
Good Point, I'll have to check the part number and get specs off the battery.. I thought it was an AC Delco AGM battery..
