I have a 2017 Prius Prime Advance, which I parked at my friend's home since mid Feb 2021, while I went overseas for family emergency. I am returning next week and has asked my friend to start the car. He started the car but nothing happens. He put in his small Li-Ion battery charger tool and said that the dashboard lights up but nothing is displayed. He put in the battery charger tool for 5 minutes or so. I am thinking that my friend will probably have to put his charger tool on the 12V Prius batter for at least an hour, so that it gets charged. He also has an SUV and said he has jumper cables and can try through that. Do you guys think this is still a battery issue and needs to get recharged by AAA or by SUV or is there something else that got drained. I did put in the fuel stabilizer as per the direction into the gas tank, before leaving the car in Feb 2021. Anyone with previous such experience of long parking will immensely help.
You can try charging the 12v battery but it might be too late to revive it. Search the forum. You’re not alone. Next time invest in a maintainer or similar.
Thanks Schja01.... Will replacing the 12V battery solve this problem. I have read a lots of threads but nothing is clear on the final solution. Some people said that a dead traction battery means nothing will start. So I still am looking for an answer. I will start with charging the 12V.
Yes, the engine won't start with a dead traction battery, but 5 months is too short a time for it to self-discharge to that point. Even when the battery looks dead from what the driver displays show, there is still energy in the pack.
One of the best reasons to buy a Prius Prime instead of a "regular" Prius, is that, if you have to store the car for several months, you can charge the traction battery yourself right at home with the L1 charger the car came with. If any Toyota non-plug-in HSD car sits too long, about 18 months with a lithium battery or 12 months with a NiCd, the traction battery may self-discharge to the point that MG1 can't crank the ICE over. You then have to have the car towed to a dealership for a "rescue charge", which will cost you about $300. Toyota dealers have a 3 kilowatt charger that can be set to the proper voltage for whatever Toyota HSD vehicle you have, and they plug into the inverter, I think through the MG1 connector. You don't want to let any Toyota Hybrid sit for more than about 90 days without driving it at least a few miles to keep a charge in the traction battery. The 12 volt battery you can keep topped up with any battery charger, but you have to drive the car to top up the traction battery. The voltages are too high and too dangerous to allow owners access to traction battery chargers other than at the EVSE port, which only has power in that circuit when the car's ECM and the EVSE complete a "handshake" that verifies that the EVSE is properly plugged into the J1772 socket on the car. The instant you depress the lever on the charger plug to unlock it, the circuit is disconnected at both the car and the EVSE supply module.
toyota recommends storing the plug in lithium batteries for 'long periods of time' in a discharged state to hv level in the o/m.
