Prius v (lowercase v) Storage

It would be ideal for it to be started monthly. The 12v battery wants it.

 

Remove 12v battery, place it on battery maintainer, reinstall when you are ready to use the car again.

Other classic things to do before storage:

1. Pump up tires several pounds, park on pieces of plywood. Tires won't flat spot as much.
2. Change oil right before storage. Store car after run to get engine thoroughly hot. That way less water vapor in the oil in the crankcase on the bearings, cylinder walls, rings, etc. Run gently for first 10 miles after startup.
3. Place rodent repelling material near and in car.

 

^ The battery maintainer should be "smart", ie: designed to be left on indefinitely. Also, in the 3~4 amp range, no more.

^ Set tires to max sidewall pressure, or alternatively/preferably: put the whole car on jack stands, even with the tires still touching, but raised enough that most of the car's weight is off them.

Leave one window slightly down.

Put rags under the wiper arms, to raise the wipers slightly off the glass.

Leave the car with a full tank of gas. You might want to put some gas stabilizer in too, wouldn't hurt, though 6 months is not that much. Prius plug-in owners might go that long on a tank.

 

The system starts the gas engine and charges it.

 

Echo the smart charger - like a CTEK 3.2 Amp unit.

 

Personally I would ask them to drive it every three weeks or so to really keep it ready. But short of that I would at least hook up the 12v battery charger using a quality unit such as Deltran's Battery Tender Junior, available widely online and at retail stores:

021 0123 Deltran Battery Tender Junior 12 Volt 75 Amp Jr Maintainer Charger 12V | eBay

Note: You can't trickle charge through the cigarette lighter/power port inside a Prius. It's disconnected with the car off. So the best place is at the 12v battery itself under the rear hatch covers or hooked up to the "jump" connection in the fuse box under the hood. Both are a little difficult for someone who has never done it before. Also be VERY careful if you end up jumping the car from another source later on as a wrong polarity connection will cause some parts of the car to fail.

 

A maintainer is different from a charger. The maintainer asks that the battery be initially charged and then turns itself on every once in a while and checks the battery state of charge and, if needed, charges but very slowly until it reaches the battery fully charged point at which it goes to sleep only to wake up occasionally and check. We use these all the time in over-winter storage for expensive sports cars. Because they won't overcharge/cook the battery like a charger can.

I've used a ctec model, but the Battery Tender Junior is also fine and cheaper.