2007 Toyota Prius Totally Dead

Sounds an awful lot like a dead 12 volt battery. It typically happens from lights. Sometimes headlights are accidentally left on, sometimes an interior light is accidentally left on, sometimes a door (especially the rear hatch) is not closed all the way.

Have you tried a jump start yet?

 

Operator error is the simplest explanation. Anyway, the 12V battery is used to boot the computers so when it is dead absolutely nothing will happen.

For heaven's sake *be careful* if you want to jump it yourself. Jumping a Prius backwards can do hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of damage to computers and wiring harnesses and will void the warranty. Safest to have someone sent by a Toyota dealer do it, and not some random good Samaritan or tow truck guy.

 

Last I knew, draining a Prius 12V battery set it up for early death.

Has that improved any in the last couple of years?...

 

Just to be clear, when you say "set it up for early death" the "it" you are referring to is the 12V battery, not the Prius.

 

Yes, totally draining -any- lead acid battery will shorten its' life. Even deep discharge, though not as much as a "starter battery".

1. Open hood.
2. On the drivers side, you will see a largish black plastic fuse box. Remove the lid.
3. Inside you will see a red flip-over plastic cover. Under that is a terminal. Connect a clean 12V positive lead there (for example, a 12V battery). If you are using another vehicle, leave the other vehicles engine off. The Prius will only draw about 50A for 1/2 second to get to "ready".
4. Connect the negative lead to the bolt on the firewall above the fuse box.
5. Press the Prius brake pedal and push "Start" to get the "ready" light on.
6. You may now remove the -ve lead from the firewall, then the +ve lead from the fusebox. Replace the fusebox lid and close the hood.
7. Run the car for at least an hour. You don't actually have to be driving, just leave it on. The battery will recharge. See if you can find out -why- the battery drained (if you exit the car from the passenger side the headlamps will not turn off, as an example).

 

If you have AAA service, you might as well make use of them, but as a note for those who might be reading this, and who feel comfortable that they know how to safely jump start their vehicle, and who aren't a member of AAA or any similar service. . .

Be aware that the 12V battery is actually in the back of the vehicle. The drivers door can be unlocked with the metal key when the power is drained. If you then fold down the back seats, you can climb in, remove the false floor in the back and open the rear hatch with the hidden release on the inside. If you then remove the cover over the 12V battery, you can connect the jumper cables from the back of the vehicle.

 

Would not let AAA or any service that specifically doesn't know Prius to charge battery from rear battery. When you open trunk compartment battery sits under a panel on right passenger rear side and has clamps etc. holding all in place when removed are nasty to get back correctly.

Jump start the Prius from the post on the fuse box as noted in the other post instruction, whoever does it, then let it run to charge the battery.

If the car goes dead again you may have inherited a battery that needs replaced. You could try taking it to the dealer to recharge but many times just doesn't hold if it has been drained so badly it may need replacement. At Prius dealer depending on year of car the battery and possible bracket that may need to go with it will run $125- $150.

When work was done on my Prius to convertible conversion, the car sat for 7 months while they did the work. When got it back, battery was dead; no amount of charging helped the battery back to normal charge standard & this was a brand new Prius. The battery was replaced; now works fine.

exproducer

 

I don't know where they had that hidden release. I looked and looked for one. The service department at the dealership told me there is no way to open the back hatch without voltage to release the lock.

Exactly where do I find this release?

Thanks,

Ron

 

Hi Ron,

See my post #33 in this string: http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-t...ging-after-dead-12v-battery-4.html#post743846

 

Service advisors are worthless. They are human buffers. Once again, that confirms how little some service dept people know .......

Remove folding floor, look over and into rear of tray and you will see a small pop-out cover, remove cover and you now have access to hatch latch.

 

Page 376 in my 2007 owner's manual.

 

I have 45k miles on my car right now...I'd say 4 months ago I encountered the same problem...totally dead. I didn't know but I had a samaritan help me jump it...we did it from the back...car came back to life and haven't had a problem.

I love the prius...toobad I almost traded it in for a 08 lancer evolution

 

Hi - I was reading this post and wondering.... if I ever need to jump my 08 Prius (hopefully I'll never have to) can I use one of those portable chargers with the attached jumper cables? Is that safe? I have one that I keep in my car in case of an emergency and I'm alone, but now I'm wondering if it's not a good idea.
TIA

 

Use of the portable charger is safe, as long as you make sure the battery polarity is correct when connecting it to Prius.

You'll need to periodically check the portable device to ensure the battery within is charged up and ready to perform when needed.

 

Hi All,

There are a few things that can prematurly drain a Prius 12 V battery. One is a reported drain by some JBL stereos. The other is the overhead light. The control and markings are too close to the light to be able to desern the markings in the dark, with the light on. The light blinds you if you look at it. And of course with the light on, as the controls are not lit, one cannot read them either. Consequently, you cannot see which way the switch needs to go to set it to turn out when the door is closed, versus the position when the light is set "always-on". Due to the time delay (rediculously long!, your out of the car already right!) after leaving the car and closing the driver side door, one can easily leave the car with the light in the always-on switch position.

My work around is to never used the light for daily activity. And if I do need it, I turn it on and then right back off manually. I would rather have the inconvience of finding my way around the inside of a well known Prius cockpit in the dark, than come back to a dead car. This is one of those cases where Technology (computer controlled cockpit light) is a step backwards. In Old cars the light came on when you opened the door, which is when you need it really. It was simple, and not easily faked out. In the Prius the light comes on when you stop the car, but you can easily leave it on accidentially.

The proper delay time after closing the door should be less than 5 seconds, 2 or 3, I think. Not the 30 to 60 seconds it is now.

While I love my Prius. This is the biggest pet peive I have about it.

 

Another thing you should ALWAYS do: Lock your car at all times.
The reason? The car won't lock if you leave a door ajar. The same not-quite-closed door will leave the interior lights on and over time drain your battery.
Door locked = interior lights off.