2008 Prius with 199,994 miles. It's been running fine; no issues or indicators that anything was amiss. I parked it in the garage Friday night, looking forward to being able to snap a picture turning 200,000 miles on the odometer. . Yesterday morning I walked out to a Prius with no indication it has power to anything. No open door light, no smart key flashing on the dash, nothing. Hooked it up to a Power Tender. This morning, still nothing but blank. The 12v is due to be replaced (7 years old) but before I take it out of the car and try to find a replacement out here I want to make sure that's all it is. 1. Would the 12v fail so totally without any warning? Around these forums I'm used to a weakening 12v affecting other systems before it fails. 2. If you suspect it's something other than a simple 12v replacement problem, how do I get the car out of the garage and onto a AAA flatbed tow truck without damaging it?
What are the odds of this happening at 199,994 miles? If you have AAA, they will come out to test the battery. They also have a service that will replace the battery for you (but I'm not sure they do it on a Prius). Either way, AAA will jump start the car and get you out of the garage. The battery if dead (most likely at 7 years), a battery tender won't do anything. It's made to maintain a good battery and not charge up a bad battery.
What he said. Plus: A loose or corroded battery cable can cause that too but batteries DO suddenly fail at random times. Having a meter to check voltages would be helpful. Hopefully a tow truck driver will know how to properly move it.
Thanks for the replies. It's Sunday and the dealer is 45 miles away so I'll leave it until tomorrow morning before I call AAA just in case it needs to go there.
Walmart now offers the correct size AGM battery for the Gen 2 Prius for around $170 out the door. When I did an online search of the local wally worlds, 2 stores each had one in stock. EverStart Platinum AGM Automotive Battery, Group Size S46B24R 12 Volt, 410 CCA - Walmart.com
1) definitely, happens all the time with prius cause it doesn't spin the engine 2) i think it's the 12v
While not the most common failure mode, it can fail that suddenly. I've experienced such on previous vehicles. While no need at this moment for just a 12V battery swap, they should be able to just drag it out. The parking pawl is robust, the car won't be damaged. The tires might not be the happiest, but they have been built for locked-wheel skids since before any of us had ABS. Some tow folks may put down some soap or other lubricant so the tires slide easier. There are threads somewhere here about how to unlock the parking pawl when the car won't start, but involve more work and Prius expertise than can be expected from a common tow service.
Thanks for pointing me in that direction. The local Autozones, O'Reilly's, etc. didn't show they had it in stock today and I'd have to wait until tomorrow. I normally avoid Wally World. Las Vegas isn't doable since it's 70-75 miles away but the Bullhead City AZ store shows it in stock about 10-12 miles from here. I'll get a ride over there when my wife picks up her prescriptions at CVS this afternoon in the Acura.. I knew I could count on you guys to come through.
Thanks for the tip but no luck at Wally World. The battery they carry in not vented and doesn't work with the smart key system. The guy in automotive indicated they they don't properly describe batteries on their website. He looked it up on their internal automotive info screens to back up his assertion I was looking at at the wrong battery for my car. All was not lost. My wife and I went to Lake Havasu in her car and we had a really nice lunch date on the way back from the dealer. New battery installed and the car fired right up. All I have to do now is reprogram little thing like radio presets, windows and whatever else needs to be programmed. BTW, for non-mechanics like me, the Axle Addict website has very clear and easy to follow step by step instructions. https://axleaddict.com/auto-repair/How-to-Change-A-Prius-Battery-12V-Battery-Replacement
That's interesting. Was the battery they had identical to the one in the link? Because that one in the photo and the description is certainly a S46B24R vented AGM with the JIS terminals for the Gen 2 SKS Prius.. I may have to run to the local wally world to see if their "stock" matches.
It was identical to the link with the same labels and all but it was not vented. Interesting, too, was that their battery selector in the store did not list a Toyota Prius for 2008. Problems like that must come up often enough since the local clerk knew not to trust their own website and immediately went to other means to verify that what I needed was not the one linked to. I'm just really happy that there were knowledgeable and helpful people all around including my wife, the people here at Priuschat, the clerk at Walmart, the people at Anderson Toyota ( a sales rep saw me carrying in the old battery and carried it to the parts counter while another carried the new one out to the car) and AxleAddict for the great installation directions. Plus, we had a great lunch a Panda Garden in Needles just off the I-40. It's not big or fancy but the food is outstanding. It's run by a Chinese couple. He cooks while she handles the waitress and hostess duties. I think her brother is the busboy. We love it but don't get down to Needles very often.
So everything was the same except it didn't have the vent port located here? Although, it needs to have one on the other side for the Gen 2, if it has them. This is actually a little interesting now. If you look at the photos in the link, some are obviously with the JIC terminals (like below) and show a vent port on the negative side of the battery, and other photos show the same sticker, but the battery obviously has standard terminals and a later photo shows a side view of the negative side with no vent and standard terminals. Sounds like their photos aren't matching up very well. Makes me wonder if they have some standard Group 51 battery photos mixed in with it.
No vent on the positive side. To tell you the truth I don't know if the one they have has a vent port on the negative side since I was mainly concerned with making sure the battery they had was vented where I needed it to be.
So, I happened to be in a local Walmart today and stopped by the car battery area. I found this battery and it is exactly what is required for a Gen 2 with SKS. Correct JIS terminals and correct connection by the (+) terminal for the vent hose. The vent connection at the (-) terminal is blanked off. No doubt about it, it's the correct battery. One thing I like about it more than other replacement batteries is that is has a great handle.
Sounds like the one at my local store is a mistake that happened somewhere along the line and has been pushed all the way to the store shelf. Anyway, the correct battery is in the car, it's working well and I will know what to look for when I replace it again in 5 years or so. Thank you for your assistance.
Hopefully this whole thread helps someone out. It's great to see another option out there, especially when it's 20% or more less expensive than the current choices!
