Hello, My wife and I will be going on a one month trip and will have to park our 2005 Prius for that whole time. Has anyone had to park theirs for a long time? Are there any precautions or preparations? Should I get someone to drive it occassionally? Any other ideas? Thanks, Rob
Someone here left theirs for 3 weeks unattended with no ill effects. But to be on the safe side and minimise drain, turn off SKS and move all the light switches to the OFF position (that includes headlights, foglights, dome lamps, cargo lamp and vanity mirror lights). I think that's it. If there's anything else I forgot, I'm sure someone else will chime in. Also, with any car, it's good to have to started up and moved every few weeks so if it's possible, get a relative to start up the car and drive it around for 10 mins or so midway through.
If yours is equipped with SKS, look at the bottom of the driver's knee panel, directly down from the collumn, and find the pushbutton switch that says KEY. Push it in. That will disable the smart key system's sensors and reduce drain on the 12v aux battery. I would also make sure that your headlight switch is in the off position. Some folks use the auto-off upon drivers door openening to turn off and on their headlights. If you make a practice of doing this then before you leave be sure to turn your headlights on the stalk. A month of inactivity with as many sources of draw eliminated shouldn't be a problem.
I parked my prius this summer for 2 months while I was traaveling. Didn't do anything special to it. When I started after the period, it started no problem, as if it was yesterday! No need to worry about leaving it for a month!
Thank you all for your responses. I will try to get a friend to start it up and drive a little once or twice, since it is going to be during December and early January. I will be sure to turn off all lights etc as suggested. Mine has SKS etc as part of the 2005 package 6, but I don't use it or the automatic headlight shutoff. By the way, someone has a little signature item that says Prius buyer: greenie, techie or cheapie, pick two. Can I pick three? ;-) Anyway, I really like this car and am having fun as well as saving on gas. Bought it about a week before the Katrina disaster. Talk about timing and dumb luck! Thanks again, Rob
Turn off the SKS in any case and give your friend the valet card and let them put the fob in the slot unless you are selling them a Prius
Well now you tell me! I'm the proud owner of 2 Prius, 05 and 06. (Used to own a 01 as well). As Director of Engineering for a small company in Massachusetts I need to travel at times and ventured off to Cologne, Germany for 5 nights, 6 days at the end of November. I landed at Logan around 6 PM. (This made it 11 PM in Germany, it turned into a long day). After paying the usual $144 at the 4th level garage I approached the car and sure enough the car was dead and so was all of my cell phones. Going back and forth across Terminal A was a chore but it had to be done to call Toyota road side service and communicate with Jack Rabbit Towing! The automobile (05) had to be jumped started by one of the service vehicles, but it turned over nicely. Arguing with my wife while waiting for the tow truck was a chore but sure enough when I got home she was right. The owners manual stated that if you plan on parking the car over an extended amount of time make sure you turn the headlight switch to the off position. (I have never turned this switch off before). Another thing I learned from Toyota and Jack Rabbit towing is that a Prius can't be towed and MUST be placed on a flat bed truck. Also, the clearance for such a vehicle must be 13 feet. While praying to 'somebody' and looking up at the cement ceiling I assumed about 10-12 feet of clearance and was wondering how they would get my auto down the winding ramp to safety. I got lucky. I now wonder if I should park on the top level (open sky) for now on. Also, while waiting the extra 2 hours to get my car started I had to pay another $15.00 to get out of the parking lot. (Fear not, Logan got their money) Hope this helps. Al
As a new Prius owner, I made it a habit to always turn off my headlights manually and everything else. I know the Prius relies on the Hybrid batt and much as it relies on its 12V batt to start the engine...so I want to play it safe. I'm sorry to hear about your adventure at Logan, ...881. Glad you made it out ok after a very long week.
This may sound dumb, but make sure all the doors are closed tight when you leave the car. A dar left ajar will leave the dome light on and drain the 12v battery. I've had a passenger leave the door slightly open on the passenger side. If it hadn't been dark, I wouldn't have noticed. Harry
The Prius can be towed by lifting the front wheels off the ground. (And, of course, disengaging the parking brake). Most, if not all, tow trucks are capable of doing this. (Not sure what happens if you've parked nose-in, however.)
When we were rear-ended and car wouldn't run, the tow truck driver (who really seemed to know what he was doing!) put dollies under both sets of wheels to tow it away. The wheels were strapped so obviously wouldn't move. Has anyone else seen this done?
For a 1 month rest I'd do something more than just making sure the SKS is turned off. 1)For about $20-30 you can buy a float charger for the 12v battery. This is pretty easy to hook up either directly to the 12v battery or to the jump points under the hood. It will assure the 12v doesn't die, will keep it from being unnecessarily drained, and doesn't cost much. 2)Alternatively you can buy a little solar panel that you can attach similar to the float charger that will do the same thing, but without the computer control. 3)If you're just too cheap for either of those you can pull the dome fuse (do a google for dome fuse, there should be a good pdf around showing it's exact location). That will stop all parasitic drain on the 12v but has the downside forcing you to reprogram the radio presets, reset the auto window up/down, etc. But it will work fine and your 12v should be fine when you get home. 4)Having the friend/neighbor drive it will work too if you're comfortable with that and he/she's reliable and comfortable with the car. I'd recommend having them drive it around for about 20-30 min. to assure the HV batter is also kept in top condition. But if you do one of the first 3 items the neighbor option isn't even necessary. We need to have someone make a nice Knowledge Base article on this subject complete with photos (jump points, battery terminals, dome fuse, etc.) and links (where to buy a solar panel, float charger), and how to reprogram the windows/radio/etc. Any volunteers that want to take all the glory and fame that accompanies a KB article?
While I am sure this is a good idea, I have left my car parked at the airport for a month, and once even forgot to shut off SKS. All was well when I returned. How much better if you remember to shut off SKS! (Taking a taxi to and from the airport would have been cheaper, but a lot less convenient, than driving, since at the Spokane airport there is often no taxi waiting, and it can be a half-hour wait until one shows up. And if you are not outside at the taxi stand, in whatever weather, someone else will get the taxi that does arrive and you wait even longer.)
Hmm. There are many occasions that I didn't drive the car for 6 days. Especially in the winter, I only use it once a week (or once in two weeks) to go shopping since I take the bus to go to work. Everything has been normal when I drive after not using it for a week or more. I have never disabled the SKS, but the head lamps and inner lamps are always "off" when I am not using them. I will make sure to drive it at least once a week hereafter, I don't want any trouble.
I just returned from a 12 day trip and I can tell you that my '02 Prius did not feel good at all. The car was garaged at about 40-50F ambient for the time I was away. If it has been outside in the sub-freezing temps, I think it might not have started at all... It started on the first try but I think this was marginal luck if I can say so. Basically, when I turned the ignition key to start it, the MFD (the display for the speed) lit up as it should but almost immediately faded away to black. I normally turn the key to light the display, wait a second or so, then turn it all the way to start the car and the display does not dim in the process. But in this case the display faded, I got scared and I turned the key all the way to the start position quickly. After a 1 second or so of a quiet pause with the display blank that scared me quite a bit, the car started OK and there have been no issues since. The 12 V battery has recharded iteslf apparenlty after driving the car for a while and my display no longer dims when I try to start the car. So, I would not worry for a week but anything longer than that might be a real problem, especially if your 12 V battery is not new.
Am a super new Prius owner (Option 2 - Oct-2008) and a brand new Priuschat member (joined 12-12-08) still trying to learn how to navigate.. What is an SKS? Is it Smart Key system? What should I do with it for long term parking? How do I disconnect and connect it? Had parked my Prius in the garage for 6 days last month and it was DEAD on day 7. Had to have it towed and the dealer installed a new 12V battery. Am wondering how some have parked for weeks without a problem. Sugona
For at home parking, if one was going to be gone for a month or more wouldn't it be easiest/surest to disconnect the auxilliary 12 V and hook it back upon return?
I've left my 2003 Prius several times for up to a month and have had problems where I needed jumps. I now carry a Schumacher Instant Power Jump Starter in my trunk when I leave the car for a week or more and I have had to use it several times. This has only happened in the winter as I've never had an issue during warmer weather.
sugona you press the SKS button underneath the steering wheel, near your left knee. that disables the SKS system. one week on a new car you should have been ok - make sure one of the lights wasn't left on - like the little one in the back of the trunk.
