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Another one new to the Priuschat forum

Discussion in 'Newbie Forum' started by korat102, Aug 12, 2010.

  1. korat102

    korat102 New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 12, 2010
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    Location:
    UK
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Hi people,

    Just registered for the forum after reading lots of the posts. Wish I'd discovered it earlier, not that I've had any problems with my Prius, just that the forum is full of really interesting info.

    I'm in the UK. Bought my Prius new back in 2005. Had to wait a bit for mine because I insisted on leather seats - that was a mistake as it turned out, they're so hot in summer and so cold in winter...too late to worry about that now though!

    Was quite disconcerting the first time I stopped at lights, the silence was deafening...I wondered, will it go, will it go...course it did and apart from me letting it down once, it's been completely reliable, not so much as a blown bulb.

    I let it down by leaving it in the garage unused for a month and a half, that resulted in the 12v battery going flat. After allowing it to do that, and looking at the age of the vehicle, I'm keeping a very close eye on the battery. I expect it'll need replacement in the not too distant future.

    Anyway, I'm off to read some more posts. I look forward to participating in some of the threads later :)
     
    #1 korat102, Aug 12, 2010
  2. ksstathead

    ksstathead Active Member

    Joined:
    May 1, 2007
    1,244
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    Location:
    Kansas
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    Welcome! Agreed on the 12V; even without discharging it, it may be near end of life. If your consumption increases, that is a good place to start checking. Many threads here on this.
     
    #2 ksstathead, Aug 12, 2010
  3. kenmce

    kenmce High Voltage Member

    Joined:
    May 4, 2004
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    Location:
    NY
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    Limited
    In much of The States we'd consider a five year old battery about done. Britain has a gentler climate, so you may have a longer life there, I don't know. A numer of persons, such as myself, consider the stock battery a little small, so when we replace it we go to a stronger one. Search for "elearnaid" for details. You can also get a little solar panel that mounts in a window or lays on the dash and let it trickle charge the 12 volt while you are away.

    P.S., :welcome: and what's a T-spirit?
     
    #3 kenmce, Aug 12, 2010
  4. korat102

    korat102 New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 12, 2010
    25
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    Location:
    UK
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Thanks for the welcome :)

    I've rarely had to change a battery in a car to be honest. They do seem to last well. Never had such a small one though. It's at 12.4v when I get home after a long run. After a few days sitting idle it drops to 11.7. I'm not panicking yet!

    We have three 'ranges' of Prius in the UK, what you'd call a package I imagine. Entry level is T3, there's a T4 and the T-Spirit is the top of the range Prius. I didn't keep the brochures from 2005 so I don't clearly remember the differences. I think the T-Spirit had SatNav and the 8 speaker audio system to set it apart from the T4. I'll see if I can find out a bit more, the info has to be around somewhere :confused:

    Thanks for the tip on the new battery. Dont think a solar charger woiuld be a great help to me though. My car spends most of its lidle time in the garage...
     
    #4 korat102, Aug 13, 2010
  5. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 4, 2005
    12,544
    2,123
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    Location:
    SF Bay Area, CA
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Welcome!

    Assuming your car has SKS, if you're going to leave it idle for awhile, it might be best to disable SKS via the button under the steering column to reduce the drain on the 12 V.
     
    #5 cwerdna, Aug 13, 2010
  6. korat102

    korat102 New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 12, 2010
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    Location:
    UK
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Thanks for the tip. I disable the alarm when it's in the garage. Keyless entry wasn't an option in the UK back then though. Think you got all the interesting stuff long before we did...as usual :shocked:
     
    #6 korat102, Aug 13, 2010
  7. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2004
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    Location:
    Canada
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    The UK never got the SKS for the Gen 2.

    It's closer than you think ;)

    http://priuschat.com/forums/knowled...andard-optional-equipment-some-countries.html

    T Spirit
    T Spirit adds to the T4:
    - Voice-Activated DVD-Based Satellite Navigation with Pan European Maps
    - Bluetooth Wireless Connectivity
     
    #7 Tideland Prius, Aug 13, 2010
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