Dead 12 volt battery after 1 week

Most likely they left something on, or the trunk ajar. Under those circumstances the car will beep at you when locking but it will still lock.

As to shimmy: some new import cars do arrive out of alignment because of being tied down on the ship. Does your dad notice a problem? It is possible that the handling and ride are sufficiently different from her previous car that it just feels like it's out of alignment. Mine certainly felt alarming for the first few weeks until I got used to it. If the car pulls to either side or if the steering wheel is not centered then the dealer should certainly check it. If those conditions don't exist she might consider waiting a few weeks and seeing whether the "alignment" problem magically goes away... uhh, but the dealer will have the car anyway to recharge or replace the 12V battery and look for an electrical problem, so why not check the alignment at the same time.

 

imho, if leaving for more than a few days, disable the SKS. not supposed to be a problem leaving it up to a few weeks, but i deal with people who experience problems that are not supposed to happen when concerning batteries. (cellphones) and i can tell you that the ONLY hard and fast rule that applies to any battery operated device (including your Prius) is that YMV and to take all precautions (especially easy ones!!!) to increase your battery life because ALL normal batteries (eg, ones that are not computer controlled or monitored for charge levels like your 12 volt Prius battery) have a finite amount of charge in them.

now should have the battery done this?? not likely. is there something wrong?? i would definitely check it out.

is it foolish to leave SKS on when going on a trip for more than say the weekend?? considering the work it takes to turn it off, use the remote unlock feature ONE TIME to get back in to turn it on..., ya i do think so.

 

I'd say something was probably left on, which caused it to die. Some simple things you can do to check the battery: If you have a multimeter or voltmeter available, you can measure the voltage across the battery... bad batteries will be lower than good batteries. Also, you can check the power draw when the car is off. For that, you need to put an ampmeter between the battery and the car, with everything off... that number should be very low... if not, then there's a drain on the battery that shouldn't be there, and the dealer should be able to find it and fix it.

Car batteries do lose a significant portion of their life when they're allowed to drain completely. That being said, the battery could still last for years of good service... keep an eye on it, and if it starts having trouble, be safe and have it replaced. If you check out your local auto parts store, they'll probably have a couple of "toys" that might be a good idea to have. one is a battery minder, which essentially plugs into the wall and into your battery, capable of trickle charging it during long absences (some even claim the ability to restore batteries that have died to like-new conditions, negating the effects listed above). The other is an emergency battery kit... essentially it's an extra battery that you can plug into the wall to charge it up, then throw it in your trunk (or wherever) when you take the car to the airport... then if your battery dies, you can jump it yourself without having to rely on strangers.

For the alignment question, the easiest way to self test alignment is to get to a long, straight road. bring the car up to speed, and center the steering wheel... if the car does anything but go straight, you have a problem. next, let go of the wheel... if the car starts drifting one way or another significantly, then you have a problem. regardless, given how new the car is, if there is a problem you should be able to get the dealer to fix the alignment for free.

 

One vote for Richard's idea (I'm constantly finding that I've left the hatch ajar -- and it looks closed.) and one for Tideland Prius. My wife bought a new Lexus that the battery faiiled in within the first day. Sometimes it's just the luck of the draw.

 

One other simple thing to check is that the battery cables are securely fastened. Loose terminals can cause strange things.