12 volt battery dead - 2010 Prius

[preyes]

2010 12v battery dead after about a week of being parked. Can the 2010 be charged via a regular 12v battery charger like a conventional auto? Any tips on jump starting other than what's in the manual?

[spiderman]

Yes, it is a conventional 12v battery, just smaller. I can't believe it died in just a week. I would at the least mention it to the dealership.
Was it outside? What was the environment like? Did you leave anything on (lights ,etc)?

[andyprius]

Originally Posted by preyes

2010 12v battery dead after about a week of being parked. Can the 2010 be charged via a regular 12v battery charger like a conventional auto? Any tips on jump starting other than what's in the manual?

IT can be catastrophic to reverse the polarity when jump starting, I assume the same for charging so be careful. Observe polarity. Do a complete search on the subject on Priuschat, BEFORE starting!

[qbee42]

Originally Posted by preyes

2010 12v battery dead after about a week of being parked. Can the 2010 be charged via a regular 12v battery charger like a conventional auto? Any tips on jump starting other than what's in the manual?

Normal jumping procedure, except you use the jump point under the hood instead of the battery terminal. You can, of course, jump to the battery, but to do that you have to crawl into the back and manually release the hatch.

Tom

[preyes]

Thanks Spiderman. as far as I can tell I left no lights or anything else on (is this dead battery thing a Pruis soft spot?). It is garaged, parked in central Florida (a bit cool lately but no great shakes). We live in a golf cart community and can get to most errands via cart. It was a real shock when we got in to go to church this morning and -- nothing.
Tripple A came out and started it with no problem. Took it for a ride and will have my fingers crossed for tomorrow.
Any idea if I can use a regular battery charger to to keep it topped off when I'm not using it?
So far this is the first problem I've had with it and really enjoy it.

Originally Posted by spiderman

Yes, it is a conventional 12v battery, just smaller. I can't believe it died in just a week. I would at the least mention it to the dealership.
Was it outside? What was the environment like? Did you leave anything on (lights ,etc)?

[preyes]

Originally Posted by qbee42

Normal jumping procedure, except you use the jump point under the hood instead of the battery terminal. You can, of course, jump to the battery, but to do that you have to crawl into the back and manually release the hatch.

Tom

Thanks Tom, TrippleA came out and got her going. Thanks for the response.

[preyes]

Originally Posted by andyprius

IT can be catastrophic to reverse the polarity when jump starting, I assume the same for charging so be careful. Observe polarity. Do a complete search on the subject on Priuschat, BEFORE starting!

Thanks for the reply.
Thanks for the caution on the polarity.

[andyprius]

Originally Posted by preyes

Thanks for the reply.
Thanks for the caution on the polarity.

Thankyou for the Thankyou! There is a long history covering various problems, procedures and causes with the 12VDC battery. It is vital that new members SEARCH in Priuschat first and read all the previous posts. All 3 (4) generations are basically the same in regards to the 12V system. With this knowledge one is better armed to discuss the peculiarities of Prius with a tech writer, mechanic or salesman. One lady with the assistance of a tow truck service totally ruined her inverter (a reverse polarity situ) and after weeks of struggle NEVER got satisfaction from her Toyota dealership and ended up selling the Prius at a additonal loss.

[F512M]

I left my car in the garage for over a week and had no problems with the battery. Maybe I was lucky.

[qbee42]

You can keep the battery topped off with a "battery minder" type of device for AGM batteries. A normal battery charger or trickle battery charger will tend to overcharge and damage the battery if left on for extended times.

As for whether this is a "soft spot" for the Prius, the 12V battery is small, so it will discharge more quickly than a traditional large starting battery. That said, you should be able to leave your Prius parked for several weeks without any trouble.

There are two situations where the 12V battery will have chronic problems:

1) A dead or dieing battery. If you make a habit of leaving lights on or the car door open, your 12V battery will have a short life.

2) Short trips. The Prius uses a constant voltage charging system for the 12V battery. It is effective, but not very fast. If you only drive your Prius for very short trips, the charger will not fully recharge the 12V battery. In this case you should consider a battery minder, or perhaps make a few longer drives.

Tom


Tom