Wow!

Kathryn, welcome. Yes, there is a ton of useful info here. I look for unread posts. If you have specific questions please do a Google search on this site. Otherwise, just poke around. Enjoy.

 

For the basics, swing by john1701a's site here:
http://john1701a.com/


He has terrific graphics and text to aid your understanding. You could say he is Dean of the 'Just Drive It' school of Prius Thought.

Seriously, just drive it and see how you do. Then come ask questions if you want to do better.

 

Kathryn, welcome fellow NC'er. You are right about this being an awesome site. There are a ton of nice, knowledgeable people on this site and they can give you good, solid answers to most any question you can come up with.

Enjoy driving your new car.

 

I typically wave at granny as she passes me.

 

The only thing you really need to know is to avoid posts by qbee42 and Tony.

Tom

 

That's excellent milage for cold weather. A few don'ts that are important :
Don't run out of gas
Don't overfill the gas tank (it holds less gas in cold weather)
Don't allow a light to stay on when you park
and do learn about 12 volt battery charging
Don't let the tire pressures get low (reduces tire life/milage)
DO enjoy your Prius it will serve you well many more miles if
you take care of it :welcome:

 

You can easily check out your battery status/charging system using the MFD in maintenance mode. No tools required.

1. Get your Prius into "Accessory Mode" - Press the power button without touching the brake pedal.
2. Put the MFD into "Maintenance Mode" - Press and hold the "Info" button on the MFD while turning the headlights on and off 4 times.
3. Press the "Menu" field on the screen.
4. Press the "Display Check" field.
5. Press the "Signal Check" field.
6. The 12v battery voltage will be one of the items listed, it should be above 12 volts. If it is lower, either the battery needs replacement or the charging system is not functioning correctly - see step 7.
7. Put a small load on the battery by pressing the power button again without touching the brake pedal. The voltage should stay above 12v. If it drops significantly, you need a new battery.
8. Now get your Prius into "Ready Mode" - step on the brake and press the power button. The battery voltage should immediately rise to 13.8 volts (Your Prius uses constant voltage charging). If it is lower, the battery will never charge; if it is much above 14 volts, your 12v battery will get cooked.
9. Shutting the car down will reset the system back to normal operation.

If you need to get a new 12v battery, you can opt for a dealer replacement or get a better battery at a lower price at: http://www.elearnaid.com/12vo1topraub.html
and install it yourself.

JeffD

 

I just ran through that and for just an itsy bitsy second my battery read 8.4 but everything else was just as the above tutorial said it should be. Does this mean I need to watch my battery or that it will be running out sooner than later?

 

Yeah 8.4 is really low. That battery must be just about completely gone.

Actually 8.4 is such an unexpectedly low reading that I think you should try to confirm it with a direct measurement using a voltmeter at the actual battery terminals in the rear hatch.

 

:welcome:

I hope this is the beginning of a long and happy relationship for you, Kathryn!

 

JimN gave you some great info on checking it. I was mostly suggesting that you do not leave a light on or door not fully closed, when you leave it. Locking takes care of the issues caused by a door since it won't lock if all are not closed well. The overhead light switch in the on position is another problem since there is no timer to automatically turn it off and if the battery is drained too low a jump is necessary and it does a little harm to the 12v battery.
ALSO
Jumping the battery incorrectly could do great harm to the main battery that helps drive the car and it costs a lot of money to replace. Your manual will explain. Also register to search manuals etc and keep up to date with Toyota.
Toyota's main site
Toyota Owners Online | Official Toyota Owners Website

 

You might want to look under the hood sometime you aren't busy. On the drivers side you will see a black box thing (the fuse box). The owners manual tells you how to release the clips holding the lid. In the fuse box you will see a red plastic thing, that flips up. That's the "boost terminal" under the red plastic if you ever run the 12V down so far it won't activate the car. You can tell the tow guy (and you will have to) to connect the positive there and the ground or negative to the bolt on the firewall above the fuse box.

If you have the original battery in the car you probably have a few years yet before the 12V battery dies. It's in the hatch (right side - remove the hatch floor, remove the cargo tray, and then you can see that you can remove the little floor over the battery as well - no tools required).

If you use a voltmeter you will find the 12V system runs very close to 13.8V when the car is in "ready". When the car is off, if you see less than about 11.5V the battery is probably in trouble. You can measure it at the boost terminal. It's not a cheap battery, so be sitting down when the dealer tells you how much.

 

It flashed 8.4V just for a moment? and then it went to a normal value? That's not significant, you just caught a measuring device in the act of making up its mind. Do not buy a new battery on that basis. At the very least repeat the procedure first and see what happens.

 

Yes of course richard is correct, if it just flashed 8.4 volts for a second there's most likely no problem.

I actually misread mikey's post in a rather amusing way. I read the post too quickly and thought he said, "my itsy bitsy second battery", which I thought was just his unusual way of referring to the Prius's small 12V battery. So I missed the whole point of the 8.4V only being observed for a split second.

 

One way to start is to browse through the "sticky" threads at the top of each forum. Have fun reading!