How long can I store my 2010 without doing damage to the traction battery? What precautions should I take if not driving it for a month or more?
No the traction battery will not be harmed. Keep it in the garage of course. Next you might want to get a battery charger for the 12v batt. For my 2007 the manual states to trickle charge at no more than 3a hr. SKS with the 2010 I'm not sure, but turn it off. I don't own a 2010, but in general it should be the same guidelines the traction battery will be fine for just a month, no worry. The 12v could use a little trickle charge though, won't hurt anything. If you don't have a smart charger for 12v/6v batteries, Honestly I would just garage it and forget it. If it's a major concern perhaps have a friend or somebody trustworthy come by and drive the car a couple of times during the month. vector smart charger http://www.battery-rechargeable-charger.com/vector-VEC1087C-car-battery-charger.html black and decker and other brands out there aswell. I own the Vector, it works well.
As I recall the hybrid system battery (the NiMH high voltage one) will be fine for at least six months of non-use - it's in the owners manual. As many will tell you, the 12V lead-acid battery -can- fully discharge if left parked for long enough. This can be any time between about 3 weeks and two months, depending on battery and owner, it appears. You have several options here: 1. Disconnect the -ve terminal of the battery in the rear of the car when you are parking for several months. Note that if you do this and close the rear hatch you will have to crawl over the rear seats to release the hatch - it's an electric lock using the 12V battery. You -could- energize the car from the boost terminal in the underhood fuse box with another battery and then open the hatch in the normal way. 2. Purchase a "battery tender" and install the "pigtail" in the underhood fuse box. You then plug in the battery tender and connect it to the pigtail when you leave the car for several months. It will not overcharge the battery, won't damage the cars' electronics, and will keep the 12V battery fully charged. It -will not- have any effect on the HV battery (won't keep it charged etc). So you still have the limitation of that battery's storage time. 3. Have somebody you trust run the car each month for an hour or two. This will bring the HV battery back to the cars' preffered charge level and will charge up the 12V battery. You don't have to drive the car to do this, just put it in "ready" (with an open garage door of course). The engine will run to warm up the cat, then when it is needed to charge the HV battery. The 12V battery charges from the HV one. I wouldn't do this for more than about four months. You'd want to have someone drive it after that, to ensure the engine gets up to full operating temp to boil out the condensates from the oil.
On page 49 of the manual it talks about the smart key disable. On the GII you had to manually turn off the smart key if you were going to be gone for a period of time. Now it automatically does it if you don't enter the vehicle for 5 days or more. So there shouldn't be as much worry. I would probably disconnect the battery if it was going to sit for more than a month.
Now I'm a bit confused. It was my understanding that there was not a separate 12V battery, it all uses the traction battery on GenIII. True or false? Jay
False - 12V battery jumpstarts the computer and energizes the relays to turn on the 201.6V HV battery to the inverter.
Well, most owners want it to be bigger to lengthen the time the car can be left unattended! It's about 30 A-Hr now. Many of us think it should be a 50 A-Hr deep discharge unit (like the Optima yellow top size 24 unit - hint hint). It would be nice to have enough room to offer that as an option. Heh, an Optima option!
Actually the GII would also shut off the SKS automatically, only not until 16 days of non-use. Another little known fact that is in the owners manual.
I'm now on my third deployment where my Prius stayed behind in the garage. Each time I've disconnected the 12V battery negative cable. Each time I've come home, reconnected the cable, and had the car start right up. The traction battery charge was always at the maximum amount of blue bars, too.
You can get the small Optima (38 A-Hr) in there but the "standard size" Optima (size 24 I think) is 1" too big. Either way you will need terminal adapters or you will need to change to "standard size" battery terminals. The adapters are available from an outfit that sells them and the Optima small battery for the Prius. When I looked at the GIII it seemed the battery is the same as the GII. But it was a "prototype", so a current owner may want to have a look at the production car. There is a pinch weld on the floor of the space that limits the width of the battery as I recall.
Has anyone actually had experience with storing the GEN III for more than a month? without disconnecting anything? Please only respond if you own a Gen III as previous models are very different. Thanks
I don't see how the suggestions above are not valid (Esp. since it was asked in a Gen 3 forum) plus how is it "very different"???
We got back from a cruise vacation and our Prius started without any issues after over a month. The car was parked in a secure covered parking all the time.
