New 12V battery not recharging in 2015 Prius

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by HM_, Jan 15, 2025 at 11:01 PM.

  1. HM_

    HM_ New Member

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    Approximately 9 months ago, I replaced my 12V battery after receiving a "low auxiliary battery" notice when turning off the car. I bought the car used in 2022 (it is a 2015 Prius) and assumed it had the original 12 volt battery, so I figured it was just time for it to be replaced. A couple months after replacing the battery, I started having all kinds of weird electrical issues (car could not locate the key even though it was in the vehicle, car would detect the key when it was not in the vehicle, issues with it starting, issues with it "hard" reseting when turned off). I brought the vehicle in multiple times to have it looked at, and no one could find any issues with it. In an effort to rule things out, I even had the key replaced. Another month goes by and I get another "low auxiliary battery" notice. I decide to try to charge the battery externally, and low and behold all weird electrical problems disappeared. Another 3 months go by and I get another "low auxiliary battery" notice, so now I know for sure that the battery is not being recharged the way that it should be, but I also know that this battery is working properly when charged.

    So my question is what specifically could be causing this? I don't have any issues with the car other than this. I get great gas mileage, I don't have any accessories plugged in that would be draining it, and I'm almost certain the brand new battery I got was not a dud. I have checked the connections to the 12 volt and they seem fine (no corrosion, not loose, etc). I also had the inverter looked at and the inverter coolant replaced after this started happening, and it seems to be fine, but maybe it needs to be looked at closer? Please help!

    P.S. For context, I travel far for work so I drive about 6 months out of the year (cross country). But when I am home (the other 6 months), I probably only drive a few miles once or twice a week. This issue has happened both while I travel and while I'm at home.
     
  2. MAX2

    MAX2 Member

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    Problems with the 12v auxiliary battery are quite common.
    Short trips do not have time to charge the battery, which after the car is turned off continues to actively consume energy by various systems.
    What battery did you use? Manufacturer?
     
  3. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    All you want to do now is confirm you are in fact charging so you have the 12 volt open in the trunk of the car and the hatch up and you measure the voltage across the battery terminals the two round silver things on top of the battery You should be staring at 12 volts or 12.5 volts for a fully charged AGM battery any lower and you're falling into a black hole fast with low voltage. Then go up and ready the car all the lights on on the dash the car says it's ready now go back and put your two test leads on the same two terminals you just had them on looking at the voltage we just talked about It should be 13.5 to 14.5 with the car readied If you don't have that you probably have a charging problem to the 12 volt because right now in this mode you should be charging your 12 volt there is no alternator to turn around and around no belt on the front of the motor remember so this is being done by a circuit in the inverter that's taking some of your 211 volts and stepping it down to 13 5 to 14 5 volts to charge the 12 volt battery If you don't see that you don't have that and you're not charging. If you do see that and you have that you're not driving the car enough All this has been documented for well 10 years with this model so you're going to need one of those little silly chargers you put on your motorsports equipment like scooters and snowmobiles and whatever else you might have where you live motorcycles and things a little one to four amp trickle charger that you'll attach a harness to your battery drill a little hole in the plastic plate push the little plug up through the hole so you don't have to go through all this every time to access this plug you just installed and you plug that to your battery tender which is the thing you bought to keep your battery topped up and you plug that bad boy in during those 6 weeks or when you're only driving 5 minutes every month that might help you You can see how this is done by googling attach a battery tender to my motorcycle it'll show you a smaller battery how they put the harness on how they put the harness somewhere where they can access it with the plug that goes into the outlet in the wall and all of that and you'll do that to your car. And maybe never have a problem again until the next thing
     
  4. ASRDogman

    ASRDogman Senior Member

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    You could have a defective 12v battery. Which brand did you get? OEM Toyota battery?
    Or something else?
    When the car is "ready", what is the voltage to the 12v battery? It should read between
    13.5-14.5 volts. If it's not, there is an issue with the inverter.
    How did you have it checked? Who checked it?

    If you don't drive the car much for 6 months, the battery will not get a complete charge.
    You should probably charge the battery for once a month or so.

    When you drive cross country, when you get to where you're going, do you go back to
    short trips? Bring your charger....
    If you drive for 3 or so hours straight, that should be enough to top off the battery.


     
  5. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace 2025 Camry XLE FWD

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    Stupid question, but did you put in a vented AGM battery like was originally in the car or a flooded or MF battery? The car's charging system, expects an AGM battery and the hydrogen gases must be vented outside for safety reasons.
     
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  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    You aren’t driving enough, keep a maintainer on it
     
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  7. BiomedO1

    BiomedO1 Senior Member

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    IMHO; things need to be properly tested - rather than guesses with blind replacements. I realize that testing cost money but that's the ONLY way to diffidently nail down a problem. I know it's cheap to replace parts and if the problem goes away - the assumption is that was the problem. Until you run into something like what your experiencing.
    I'm guessing you have a parasitic draw in your system. If your DC-DC converter wasn't working, you'd be dead on the road somewhere within a few hours - faster if the headlights are on.
    Take the car to an automotive electrical shop. They should be able to nail down your issue. If that's too expensive, you can just keep it on a smart 2+A trickle charger. Keep a fully charged jump pack under your seat for those cross country assignment.

    Good Luck...
     
    #7 BiomedO1, Jan 17, 2025 at 4:12 PM
    Last edited: Jan 17, 2025 at 4:21 PM
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