2010 prius — biggest screw up

Thanks for the clarification,Fstr. You are correct.

That being the case, I would look for a set of "compact" jumper cables. The Prius would be an ideal application for these, as it doesn't use the 12v battery for starting the ICE, so the starting current draw is low. The compact cables are small, and could be stored elsewhere.

I have a stiff sided, compartmentalized black tote that I keep in the cargo area. I store my jumper unit in there, so I can easily reach it from the back seat without opening the hatch.

Best wishes,

 

i hate to burst bubbles... but... you can jump a prius through the cigarette lighters. the second you plug power in, the radio turns on ( regardless of key )... that allows the booting computer power... i wonder if you can still do this with the Gen III models...

 

The 2010 automatically disables the SKS after 3-4 days so it doesn't need the switch.

Many recent cars suffer from this type of problem as there are more systems that need to run all the time - supposedly the BMW 7 series has an endurance of only 7 days!

kevin

 

I looked at the 12v battery in my 2010 Pr-III + Nav, and the stickers do not seem to indicate battery capacity (ampere-hours, Ah).
Does anybody know the actual Ah rating? Maybe around 30 Ah?

Also, I did not notice any "vent" or connection on the battery.
Is there an actual battery-attached vent, if so, where?

There is some sort of "sensor"?? mounted on the battery hold-down bracket, attached to what appeared to be a bundle of "wiring" going to the back.
Is this a "suction" vent of the battery area, not actually connected to the battery at all?

How can a battery be BOTH "sealed" and "vented"?

 

See the links provided in quoted post. You'll be directed either to my original post (with its own link to the TSB) or follow the link shown below to go directly to the TSB.

No, you aren't asking too much.

I think one of the issues may be that the cars, as shipped from Japan, include the key fobs which are keeping the SKS going the entire time. When the key fobs are taken away from the car, the SKS will shut down after 3-4 days.

 

Not necessarily. They have to draw a line in the sand somewhere, keep their warranty costs down and maintain a level of customer satisfactoin. I'd imagine the 10 days was a conservative number w/reasonable engineering margins and other factors considered like storage of smart keys nearby. Could you imagine if the limit of 10 was established and it's known that on the 11th day, all Prius 12V batteries will die?

(Another example: IIRC, the 2nd gen Prius' max cargo + passenger weight limit was 810 lbs. Not a good idea if the car's designed that when you have 811 lbs. that all hell breaks loose: car falls apart, tires burst, suspension collapses, etc.)

After all, how would you like it if dealers just let the batteries run totally dead, charge them, let them run dead, etc.? Pretty soon, you'd have a bunch of cars running around w/batteries w/their lives unnecessarily shortened and needing premature replacement, possibly under warranty. That doesn't lead to very happy customers.

 

So,
Then why do none of my other vehicles establish a storage interval that I'm not to exceed without dis-connecting the battery?
Oh, and you simply just can't establish limits as tight as you suggest. Too many variables. In aircraft design, what you are referring to is called "scatter factor".
Either way, I doubt that the Prius 12V battery will die before it would on any other car. Besides a dead 12V battery is no big deal. The traction battery on the other hand could be. If I were to leave the car for an extended period of time, I think I might ensure the traction battery had a high SOC before I left the car, just to be safe.

 

Are you talking about a "valve regulated recombinant gas battery"
[ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VRLA_battery]VRLA battery - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]
They are sometimes referred to as SLAB or sealed lead acid battery, but in reality, they aren't really sealed.

 

Parking long term in the sun, consider Solar PV "charging":

One could use a 5-6 watt Solar Module (small PV panel), around 15 volt nominal, about 0.3 amps max short circuit (and around 22 volts max open circuit). About $60 to $110, 1 pound, and a size (approximately 9" x 9" up to around 11" x 20") that would fit in the "flat" rear hatch window (if parked facing North) or on the front dash (if facing south).

Add a 12 or 13 volt zener (to limit the the charging voltage), a 10 ohm resistor (for safety), and a diode (to prevent draining the battery).

Providing 1 to 3 amp-hours a day might be enough to keep the 12v battery charged.
If not, a larger PV panel could be used.

However, this would not help those parked out of the sun.

 

Why not just pull the dome light fuse? That is what Toyota does when they ship them from Japan to the US. One of the first things the dealer is supposed to do is put the fuse back in. This might reduce your battery drain a bunch.

 

If the dome light is off, how would pulling its fuse help reduce the 12v battery drain?
Thanks, Gary