Will park at LAX for 13 days. Dead battery for sure?

I must have missed it.

 

What does "SOC" stand for?

Rob

 

State Of Charge

 

I certainly can't say I'm surprised by that.

 

How many Prius's sit in the dealer lot and have dead batteries?

 

Not being defensive. Strange you should say that. Yes, I am stating things strongly, because it's ridiculous to throw around major accusations based on a couple of stories. (Not even sure I've seen more than two, actually.)

So now, after one posting and then a couple of "Yeah, that happened to me" stories, some people are claiming it's a design/manufacturing flaw in the Prius and that's causing newcomers and others to be afraid enough that they're asking "Will park at LAX for 13 days. Dead battery for sure?". In fact, people continue posting, "Hey, how about if I get a 12v battery disconnect mechanism?", etc, because threads like this give them the impression that there is a systemic problem.

When you call them on it and say, "No problem here... I've done it." and we have many, many more people saying that than the other way around, you get the "Well, who can say for sure?" evasive answer. It's a Conspiracy Theory without any aliens or the CIA. (So far.)

The burden of proof is on those who believe/imply there is a design/manufacturing problem. There are not widespread reports of dead 12V batteries in the media. There are not dozens of people on these forums. Rather, there are one or two incidents mentioned on these forums and many more who say "no problem for me". Sounds a lot like any other car you might pick: some batteries die, and the most likely time to notice it is after it has not been charged by driving for a while.

 

This is serious enough for Toyota to recommend disconnecting the aux.battery if the car is not going to be used for two weeks.

I called Toyota Customer Care yesterday and asked them what should I do if I go away for 14 days. The rep. on the phone said she would have to research it and put me on hold for a few minutes. When she came back on she stated that most likely nothing will happen, but that "they (Toyota) recommend that I disconnect the battery." She said that I should bring my car to my dealer so he can show me which fuse to pull instead of an actual physical disconnect at the aux battery.
I really have to think that this is totally ridiculous. A high-tech wonder and I have to disconnect the battery if I don't use the car for two weeks.

 

If your that concerned about an issue, then I would think you would want to do that. If you read GUSSOM1's post, they returned from 16 and 14 day vacations without any issue. And there are other safeguards in the 2010. I don't think of this at all as a design flaw. I would think if you had a full Hybrid Battery at time of parking and ensured you had all lights off in the car, and "REMOVED" the fob from the car, you should return without incident. But another thought, is have a friend or relative go start it midway between, in case and let it run for 15-20 minutes without the A/C on, Radio etc..

 

They also prohibit you from putting aerosol containers in the luggage compartment, suggest that you have your 12V battery checked by a technician before driving in winter, prohibit you from leaving the vehicle running while stopped if it is snowing, prohibit you from exceeding the speed limit, suggest that you lightly depress the brake pedal after each time you pass through a puddle, prohibit you from leaving glasses or soft drink cans in the car when it is in the sun, prohibit you from driving over or near flammable materials, prohibit you from shifting into netural while the car is moving, require you to use only Toyota wrenches on your lug nuts, prohibits you from spilling liquids in the car, recommend that you wash your car IMMEDIATELY if you drive near the ocean or get it dirty. You are prohibited from disassembling the electronic key, yet you are told how to disassemble it in order to replace the battery. You're also prohibited from using the back door's handle to close the door.

I stopped listing things when I got bored, but could go on. I couldn't find it in the manual, and perhaps it was from a previous car, but I've had manuals that recommend draining the oil and putting the car on blocks if it wasn't going to be used "for some time", which could be interpreted as a matter of weeks.

My point is, Toyota, like every company that does business in the US, has a TON of warnings and recommendations that are simply CYA. Unfortunately, someone might install a new stereo system incorrectly -- in a way that drains the battery -- and then leave the car for a couple of weeks, then sue Toyota because the battery ran down, so Toyota has to give the truthful answer, "Nothing's likely to happen" followed by the legalese "disconnect the battery".

Again, I've seen about four threads on this topic so far, and as I remember there have been a grand totaly of 2 or 3 owners and 1 or 2 "I had a friend who had a Prius" stories about dead batteries -- par for the course with any car. Along with five or six of us who have left our cars for weeks with no problems at all. It's not a real, systemic design or manufacturing problem, based on what I've seen. Speculation that it "might be" because Toyota lawyers are covering their butts or because someone had a 12V battery that was dead after they hadn't used the car for a while -- which is how most failed batteries come to light -- doesn't prove anything.

These threads get people worried and talking about "dead battery for sure" or asking where to buy battery disconnect devices, based on a couple of anecdotes. Disconnecting your battery has many negative effects and installing a bypass device can be dangerous, and based on a couple of negative stories -- which are more than balanced out by positive stories -- we're going to scare people into that?

 

I experenced this problem, I parked my Prius at the airport parking lot for 6 days and when I return the battery was dead. Just make sure everything is off. If the battery is dead there's no problem in jumping the battery. I purchased a battery pack for future trip just case the battery goes dead. Check your owners manual..

 

This is so right. I am repeatedly amazed at how a couple of stores on the Internet can convince so many people that something is fact. It is truly amazing.

 

If you had a problem after six days, then you probably have a defect with the vehicle. This is not a design issue, but a problem with your particular vehicle. My car has repeatedly been left unused for weeks at a time and it starts right up. So, unless you believe my car is blessed by the Toyota gods, there is something else going on here.

 

Convenience. The 12 volt may be a little tricky to get at.

 

Few if any, considering the demand.

 

What? You don't like crawling into the hatch area from the front, removing the floorboard while you are on it, pulling off the little plastic cover, and fumbling for the hatch emergency release fob? What's inconvenient about that?



Tom

 

From my reading of the owner manuals:

(a) the Gen II SKS is automatically disabled after 14 days of no response from the Smart Key.

(b) the Gen III/2010 SKS with Entry Function is automatically disabled after 5 days of non-use of the SKS entry function, and the Gen III/2010 SKS without Entry Function has no automatic disabling.

 

Just to add my experience with the Gen II. I was gone for 3 1/2 weeks last summer. My car sat in the garage for the entire time (although I did turn off the SKS). Upon my return it started and ran without problem.

 

I am lost. I found the part in the manual but what exactly is the Entry function? it looks like how you get in the car by using the sensors on the handles but don't all the Gen IIIs have it?

 

I'm lost too.

I don't know why the Gen III/2010 Owner's Manual distinguishes between SKS with Entry Function and SKS without Entry Function because, as far as I know, all Gen IIIs -- even the Prius II -- have SKS with Entry Function (at least for the driver door).

Maybe Toyota is planning a Prius I that has SKS without Entry Function?