2007 Prius won't start without jump starting it

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Cibelly Aguiar, Jan 7, 2018.

Tags:
  1. Cibelly Aguiar

    Cibelly Aguiar Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 1, 2018
    59
    15
    0
    Location:
    Boston
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Hello,

    We are going through a rough winter in Boston-MA, last Thursday we had a storm and the car was covered in snow. I tried to clean it, but I wasn't able to do it, however, I started the car and left working for a good 20 minutes on Friday, a day after the storm.

    Yesterday, Saturday, when I was ready to go out with the car, it wouldn't start. Then, my neighbor helped jump start it, and it worked. But I noticed that every time I was going to turn the car on, that triangle with the exclamation showed up on the dash for less than 3 seconds.

    And today, Sunday, the car won't start up again. I don't know if its the 12v battery, I've been driving this car for around 6 months and it never happened before. Should I keep just jump starting it or should I also buy a triple charger for the battery, or is it just with a new one? I'm new with car stuff, so I don't really know what to do.

    Thank you!
     
    #1 Cibelly Aguiar, Jan 7, 2018
  2. ericbecky

    ericbecky Hybrid Battery Hero

    Joined:
    Mar 12, 2004
    4,379
    3,238
    1
    Location:
    Madison, Wisconsin
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    If you had a non-hybrid car and you need a jump start to start it, you would likely assume that you have a problem with the 12v battery.

    That same logic applies to a hybrid.

    Have your 12v tested and proceed based on the outcome.
     
    #2 ericbecky, Jan 7, 2018
    Mendel Leisk, WilDavis, SFO and 2 others like this.
  3. Cibelly Aguiar

    Cibelly Aguiar Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 1, 2018
    59
    15
    0
    Location:
    Boston
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    II
    I forgot to say that the handle garnish thing broke last Monday, and the part didn't get here yet for me to change it. So the door open sensor is turned on 24/7 on the dash. Can that help for the battery losing its charge? Also, it doesn't lock using the smart key, only on the door.

    Thanks
     
    #3 Cibelly Aguiar, Jan 7, 2018
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    111,181
    50,611
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    very possible. where do you park your car, and how many miles on it?
     
    #4 bisco, Jan 7, 2018
  5. Cibelly Aguiar

    Cibelly Aguiar Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 1, 2018
    59
    15
    0
    Location:
    Boston
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    II
    54B88A12-C1B9-4EF7-B528-3EAEE5430CBF.jpeg 8E94C118-D82C-4ADA-A8A7-66DA7749BA6C.jpeg
    So, it was parked in front of my house. Then after the storm, the cleanup people threw all the snow over the car, for that reaso I wasn’t able to take it out of there.

    It has around 174k miles. But according to my brother (he was the previous owner) he bought a new 12v last year, around January.
     
    #5 Cibelly Aguiar, Jan 7, 2018
  6. padroo

    padroo Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 11, 2008
    2,763
    2,251
    13
    Location:
    Chesterton, Indiana Another third world country.
    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    I would charge the 12V battery and have it tested. Cold weather brings out the worst in batteries.
     
    #6 padroo, Jan 7, 2018
  7. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 14, 2012
    8,023
    4,063
    0
    Location:
    Wellington, New Zealand
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    That means the car has detected low 12 V battery voltage.
     
    #7 dolj, Jan 8, 2018
  8. Cibelly Aguiar

    Cibelly Aguiar Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 1, 2018
    59
    15
    0
    Location:
    Boston
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    II
    So, after a couple days the car is working normally. The day that I posted this was actually the last time it needed me to jump start it.

    Thank you for all the replies
     
    #8 Cibelly Aguiar, Jan 16, 2018
  9. WilDavis

    WilDavis Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 4, 2014
    2,492
    2,154
    49
    Location:
    Top RH Corner of RH Coast on L side of The Pond
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Invest in a small JumpstarterPack, or a maintenance charger, or both. BTW Welcome to PriusChat!! :)
     
    #9 WilDavis, Jan 16, 2018
    Raytheeagle and Mendel Leisk like this.
  10. Cibelly Aguiar

    Cibelly Aguiar Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 1, 2018
    59
    15
    0
    Location:
    Boston
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Yes! I actually bought one on the day I posted this. Thankfully I didn't have to use it yet, and I hope not needing it either!

    Thank you!
     
    #10 Cibelly Aguiar, Jan 16, 2018
  11. WilDavis

    WilDavis Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 4, 2014
    2,492
    2,154
    49
    Location:
    Top RH Corner of RH Coast on L side of The Pond
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    II
    I used mine on a neighbour's Corolla over the weekend. (That's about six times I've been able to help out my neighbours)
     
    #11 WilDavis, Jan 16, 2018
    Raytheeagle and Cibelly Aguiar like this.
  12. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    57,968
    39,995
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    If it's a smart charger, the type you can leave on indefinitely: hook it up and let it run through a charge cycle anyway. You've had a near-dead event, likely not out of the woods yet.

    Can you give more details, charger type, amperage. 2nd gen the max amps should be around 3?
     
    #12 Mendel Leisk, Jan 16, 2018
  13. WilDavis

    WilDavis Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 4, 2014
    2,492
    2,154
    49
    Location:
    Top RH Corner of RH Coast on L side of The Pond
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Just remember to keep it charged up! Not like my neighbour a year or so ago, was so impressed by mine that he bought one, but next day he asked me for a jumpstart since his brand new one didn't appear to be working. Did you charge it up? I asked him... ... charge up? He asked me with a totally blank look on his face! :rolleyes::rolleyes:
     
    #13 WilDavis, Jan 16, 2018
    SFO likes this.
  14. Cibelly Aguiar

    Cibelly Aguiar Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 1, 2018
    59
    15
    0
    Location:
    Boston
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    II
    That was the first thing I did, especially because I was scared of going to work and the car dying and having no one around it to help me. Poor neighbor of yours! I think he should get a new car lol
     
    #14 Cibelly Aguiar, Jan 16, 2018
  15. WilDavis

    WilDavis Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 4, 2014
    2,492
    2,154
    49
    Location:
    Top RH Corner of RH Coast on L side of The Pond
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    Model:
    II
    He ended up getting a new battery (after I'd pointed him to the local NTB store) - he had a Jeep Cherokee and I'd already given him a couple of jumps from the JumpstarterPack which I'd recently acquired, so it was a good test of the thing, and I'd not had a chance to re-charge it in the interim - all in all a good investment! (I think I paid <$100 for mine (3 years ago)) :)
     
    #15 WilDavis, Jan 16, 2018
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)