Question about how long a prius can sit unused?

[momfortheenvironment]

I have another business trip in sept where I would normally park my car at the airport on sunday afternoon and fly back wed. Is that too long, will I come back to a dead battery? I'll probably call the service dept to see what they say but that seems like a flaw and it if costs me money I'm not going to be happy. What is the longest anyone let their car sit?

[mcbrunnhilde]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(momfortheenvironment @ Aug 6 2006, 07:42 PM) [snapback]298831[/snapback]</div>

I have another business trip in sept where I would normally park my car at the airport on sunday afternoon and fly back wed. Is that too long, will I come back to a dead battery? I'll probably call the service dept to see what they say but that seems like a flaw and it if costs me money I'm not going to be happy. What is the longest anyone let their car sit?
[/b]

You will have no problem with the car sitting unused for several days. If you were going to leave the car for several weeks, it would probably be a good idea to turn off the Smart Key button under the steering column (it turns off after 10 days by itself, but you might as well save the 12v battery). If you were going to be gone for more than a month, I think most people recommend that you disconnect the 12v battery, either at the attachments under the hood or on the battery itself.

[DaveG]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(momfortheenvironment @ Aug 6 2006, 07:42 PM) [snapback]298831[/snapback]</div>

I have another business trip in sept where I would normally park my car at the airport on sunday afternoon and fly back wed. Is that too long, will I come back to a dead battery?
[/b]

You'll be fine for 2 or 3 weeks without any issues at all. If you're going to be gone more than 2 or 3 weeks, Toyota recommends shutting-off the SE/SS system (if you have a package with that option). That will slow the drain on the 12v accessory battery.

The high-voltage battery in the back will also slowly discharge over time. Toyota recommends that if you're going to leave the car for a long period of time (more than a month or two), that you get someone to periodically start the car and run it for 10-15 minutes to maintain the high-voltage battery.

Dave

[pirateprius]

I just left mine in the garage for 8 days when we took DH's HiHy to the beach for vacation. I turned off the headlights and disabled SKS. When I got back had plenty of battery charge. A few days at the airport should be no problem.

[Mokulele]

2006 Prius, less than 300 miles. I left it in the airport parking lot from July 13th thru Sept 4th (that's 54 days). When I got back, the car started like as if I drove it every day. Main battery showed 3 bars left upon startup. I didn't turn off the Smart Key either. FYI.

[fphinney]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Mokulele @ Sep 4 2006, 09:58 PM) [snapback]314329[/snapback]</div>

2006 Prius, less than 300 miles. I left it in the airport parking lot from July 13th thru Sept 4th (that's 54 days). When I got back, the car started like as if I drove it every day. Main battery showed 3 bars left upon startup. I didn't turn off the Smart Key either. FYI.
[/b]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~
WOW! From what I've seen on PriusChat, this flies in the face of some other's experiences!

Anyhow, this is good news. However, I still wouldn't bet my life on my car starting after 54 days! Thanks again,

[eagle33199]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Mokulele @ Sep 4 2006, 09:58 PM) [snapback]314329[/snapback]</div>

2006 Prius, less than 300 miles. I left it in the airport parking lot from July 13th thru Sept 4th (that's 54 days). When I got back, the car started like as if I drove it every day. Main battery showed 3 bars left upon startup. I didn't turn off the Smart Key either. FYI.
[/b]

Thats definately not the norm... Even on regular cars (without SKS), there's a small draw on the battery (i think i read it could get up to 0.25 amps, but i could be off by a factor of 10 or something) when turned off. while this doesn't seem like much, after a while it really adds up (54 days is excessive, i wouldn't count on any car turning over after that long). So no one should expect to be able to go this long. congrats on not having a dead battery, though!

Oh, and for the record (since the above post could lead to some confusion), a dead battery in this sense refers to the 12V battery, not the HV battery... that one should still be at or very near where you left it, since it is disconnected from the system when turned off.

[DaveinOlyWA]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(pirateprius @ Aug 6 2006, 08:25 PM) [snapback]298846[/snapback]</div>

I just left mine in the garage for 8 days when we took DH's HiHy to the beach for vacation. I turned off the headlights and disabled SKS. When I got back had plenty of battery charge. A few days at the airport should be no problem. [/b]

very interesting thread here. one poster says the 2006's SKS shuts off automatically after 10 days of inactivity. you went waaay over the recommended time to leave SKS enabled and were ok. did your SKS work or did you have to use the remote unlock on your fob??

[NineToez]

I've heard from sales trainers directly from Toyota that if you plan to not operate your vehicle for more than three weeks to disconnect the battery (under the hood). I know that they mentioned a specific reason, however it was probably the same as what's been mentioned in this thread already.

[eagle33199]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(NineToez @ Sep 5 2006, 12:13 PM) [snapback]314609[/snapback]</div>

I've heard from sales trainers directly from Toyota that if you plan to not operate your vehicle for more than three weeks to disconnect the battery (under the hood). I know that they mentioned a specific reason, however it was probably the same as what's been mentioned in this thread already.
[/b]

Under the hood? do they understand that the battery is in the trunk? (i'd much rather disconnect directly at the source, rather than furthur down the line at a circuit box or something...)