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About to transport Prius by sea, help

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by AveMadison159, May 4, 2014.

  1. AveMadison159

    AveMadison159 New Member

    Joined:
    May 4, 2014
    1
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    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Dear Gods of PriusChat,

    I have a normal Prius 2013 and am very happy driving it. I have to leave New York and work in East Asia for a couple of years, and fortunately my company is ready to take care of transporting my Prius to my new work place by sea, which isn't really very costly by the way, but the problem is: my car will spend two months (three months tops) in a cargo container unattended in the middle of nowhere. I hear people say both the HV and 12V batteries will be depleted and in bad cases I might have to spend quite some money replacing them. Is this true? Is there preventive measures I could possibly take? Please be as specific as possible, and thank you all in advance.
     
  2. kbeck

    kbeck Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 10, 2010
    420
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    Location:
    Metuchen, NJ
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    Ahem. Others will have more pithy things to say, but I can think of two:
    • One can disconnect, then reconnect the 12V battery without harm. Removing the positive terminal, covering same with some electrician's tape, then reconnecting everything when you Get There will likely work. That will definitely prevent low-current drain items (locks, radio presets, various buttons) from draining the battery. On the down side, getting into the car to reconnect everything becomes a little fun: Use the mechanical key to get in the driver's side door, crawl into the rear (preferably with the rear seat down first), trip the emergency latch to get the rear door open, and reconnecting the battery feed will all have to be done when you arrive. Finally, if you had radio presets, they'll probably be gone. And you might have to put in some security code or other to get your radio to work: Check the papers you got with the car.
    • The HV battery also has a disconnect. However, the cars are shipped from Japan with the thing connected, and there's lots of charge in there. My advice: Leave it alone.
    There's some games one can play to turn off the radio that checks for the key.

    Oh, yeah: Put a bicycle pump in the rear of the car before you leave. It's unlikely the car will develop a flat when going across the ocean, but better safe than sorry.

    Also: Some gas stabilizer in the fuel tank might be a good idea.

    KBeck.
     
  3. alekska

    alekska Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 14, 2010
    435
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    Location:
    Atl
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    I would:

    1) charge hybrid battery to all bars by driving the car and using regeneration to charge battery. Or "force charge".
    2) disconnect the 12V battery. Make sure it's fully charged. Use trickle charger if necessary.

    3) use the conservation grease spray to cover the exposed thread/metal on wheel studs, suspension bolts, etc. anywhere you don't want things to rust.

    Thanks
    - Alex