1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Prius won't start humming whirling sound and rotten egg smell

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by T. Hung, Aug 17, 2013.

  1. T. Hung

    T. Hung New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 17, 2013
    2
    3
    0
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    Hi guys,
    I just want to share my troubling experience which may be helpful.
    One morning, I went to my garage and tried to start up the car and it won't start.
    Before I got into the car, I've noticed a humming and whirling sound that is louder than the usual humming. The car was also emitting a weird rotten egg smell.
    The panel lights came on, but seemed more dimmed than usual. I pressed the start button several times, but all it does is turn the instrument lights on and off.
    I did a bit of research, and it ends up that I only needed to swap out the 12-volt auxiliary battery.
    The battery is located at the rear passenger side.
    Since my hatch door won't open without enough auxiliary power, I had to gain access to it by removing the cover to the spare tire. Once I expose the internal latch of the hatch door, I was able to lift a lever by the latch (just like the one for the hood) and push out and up to open the hatch door internally.
    The 12-volt battery is fairly easy to remove.
    I did not order an oem battery through the dealer; instead, I bought an Optima yellow top from Autozone (I don't work for Autozone nor Optima).
    I think they last longer than oem, and they are immuned to drains.
    It has been two weeks now and my prius is running like new.
     
    #1 T. Hung, Aug 17, 2013
    Andrewf and Eclipse1701d like this.
  2. RRxing

    RRxing Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 7, 2009
    2,522
    1,795
    0
    Location:
    NEPA
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    Limited
    Did the original battery have any obvious corrosion?
    Was the battery vent tube attached before you removed the original battery?
    Was the "rotten egg" smell (typically hydrogen sulfide gas) coming from the original battery?

    I know, so many questions... :rolleyes:
     
    #2 RRxing, Aug 17, 2013
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    110,135
    50,051
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    nice write up, thank you T!(y)
     
    #3 bisco, Aug 17, 2013
  4. Former Member 68813

    Former Member 68813 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 3, 2010
    3,524
    981
    8
    Location:
    US
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    I guess one should make a sticky post and list all the 1,000 symptoms bad 12V battery can produce.
    Noise and rotten smell is not the thing that comes first in the mind.
     
    #4 Former Member 68813, Aug 17, 2013
  5. tedjohnson

    tedjohnson Member

    Joined:
    May 21, 2010
    347
    72
    0
    Location:
    Greenfield MA
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Premium
    what was the mileage of the car when it died?
     
    #5 tedjohnson, Aug 17, 2013
  6. T. Hung

    T. Hung New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 17, 2013
    2
    3
    0
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    Yes the vent tube was attached.
    Yes, the smell came from the original battery which showed no sign of corrosion.
    The issue occurred around 49,000 miles.
    Also like to mention that about six to seven months ago we accidentally left the car on over night and found the car completely dead with no power the next day. We got a jump from AAA then it was running fine until recently. So, if a battery had been drained completely then the chances of it becoming cooked like mine is likely to occur.
     
    #6 T. Hung, Aug 21, 2013
    spiderman likes this.
  7. RRxing

    RRxing Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 7, 2009
    2,522
    1,795
    0
    Location:
    NEPA
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    Limited
    Thanks for the update. A little detail like a completely drained battery might have helped us out if we had known earlier.
     
    #7 RRxing, Aug 21, 2013
  8. suirpcd

    suirpcd Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2009
    8
    1
    0
    Location:
    va
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    Did you try to jump start it and it still failed?

    I had these problems (whirling noise near fuse box and, no acc lights, and rotten egg smell) last night, and jump starting it didn't work either, and it was towed to the dealer.
     
    #8 suirpcd, Oct 1, 2013
  9. suirpcd

    suirpcd Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2009
    8
    1
    0
    Location:
    va
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    Just wanted to update my last post to confirm that it was also the 12v battery that died on me. Dealer said it had a bad cell and was causing rotten egg smell (sulfuric acid). I asked if they would prorate the battery warranty but they said it was only for 36 months, and only the replacement battery has the 84 month warranty.

    I never had a battery that failed before 4 yrs on a new car and it refused to jump start.
     
    #9 suirpcd, Oct 4, 2013
  10. Andrewf

    Andrewf New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2021
    1
    1
    0
    Location:
    Houston
    Vehicle:
    2014 Prius c
    Model:
    Three
    I had to create an account just so I could say thank you. This post saved me so much stress and headache. I appreciate you.
     
    #10 Andrewf, Mar 15, 2021
    bisco likes this.
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)