Battery Dying Way Too Soon

If you don't turn on the car, the traction battery won't charge the 12V. You don't need to run your car on ICE, just turn on it, it should charge the small battery.

Also, it might be a good idea to buy a small battery charger with jumper cables. I think it just needs very small amount of electricity to boot the system in stead of crank the ICE.

 

There is no way this should be needed for a one week duration. Something is goofy on that car to kill the battery in a week.

 

This is actually a good idea, not so much for yourself, but for others. Since you can’t jump anybody with your Prime, you can offer this instead. A little easier to carry than jumper cables, too.


Unsupervised!

 

Since you can't jump anybody with a Prime, who is carrying jumper cables?

 

Strictly a comparison since jumper cables take up as much space as the EVSE. Also in case anybody is thinking about taking them along for the ride. Like carrying a spare.



Unsupervised!

 

jumpers can be helpful when you need a jump

 

I hope you still take it to the dealer. It’ll be a written record of it happening and if enough of this happens then this might prompt Toyota to look into it.


Unsupervised!

 

Good point. I had forgotten needing power.

 

I'll have to rethink this strategy if I leave town for a few weeks without taking the car. Leaving it plugged in for 2-4 days without driving the car has not caused problems. From the owner's manual:

"When the vehicle is left with the charging cable connected, the electricity consumption amount of the 12-volt battery increases due to controls, such as the system checking, operating. When the charging cable is not needed, immediately remove it from the vehicle."

 

Were you referring similar to this? https://www.costco.ca/Boostmi-Pro-Portable-Jump-Starter-and-Personal-Power-Supply.product.100410499.html

 

This one has had good reviews from a few friends:

 

Ah,Ha.
Finally, the question of why is answered.

You leave the Traction battery cable inserted for days and all the while there are parisitic electrical drains.
And in this thread you state that after driving for twenty minutes the 12v was still dead, well, the 12v needs to be fully charged, or it will not hold enough of a charge to start the prius, hopefully, anyone else that has the same habits will learn from this thread.

 

I don't think so. The OP noted that "No, it wasn't plugged in when not in use", so it wasn't the parasitic drains that was causing the original problem. Either OP's battery is not holding/accepting a charge, or the car isn't charging the 12V properly.

 

The SKS could easily be the culprit. Earlier Prius generations had a switch to turn it off for when leaving the car parked for extended periods. There could be a 'hidden' way of turning it off on the current model.

Lead acid battery life is shortened with deep discharges. Once drained dead, the chance of dying again goes up.

 

Yep. The cutoff for lead acid is 50% discharge. Lifetimes are shortened by temperature and the amount of time left at discharge as well.


iPhone ?

 

I have that exact same one. So far, I've never needed it. But it does seem to hold its charge for a long time.

 

I think there is a setting for this in Carista. "Stop monitoring for car key signal after..." then enter the number of days.

 

gen 4 Sks can be shut off with fob. not so with prime?

 

Edit - there is a way to do this, page 280 of the Prime owner manual. It is titled "Electronic Key Battery-Saving Function."

Learned another something new today...

 

that's too bad. i wonder if it wouldn't fit because of the remote conditioning.

as far as sks is concerned, it has never affected my pip in the 10 weeks i let it sit.