Bringing an '07 out of storage after 3 months

Hi Priuschat,

Thought I'd check with the experts here if there is anything I should watch out for, when I bring my Prius out of storage in the next few days. It's been sitting for 3 months, with the 12V battery disconnected, and the HV batt has been fully charged (by pressing the gas pedal and brakes simultaneously) before being put into storage. Before putting it into storage, I also had driven my Prius until it has only 1 pip on the gas gauge left.

To bring it out of storage (assuming the 12V and HV batts are still working), is it as simple as driving it for a while to get the batteries charged up, or is there anything else I should do?

My current plan is to drive it right away to the nearest gas station to fill it up to dilute the one pip of gasoline that's been sitting there for 3 months, then drive it around to charge up the batts. If there's anything else I should do, any enlightenment would be appreciated!

 

Thanks for all the tips guys. Brought my Prius out of storage today following all your advice-- Reconnected the 12V, and it fired up right away. There was still four blue bars on the HV battery (it was at 6 bars green when I put it into storage 2.5 months ago). Drove to the gas station to fill it up, and ran errands all day with it. Will leave it on READY overnight as per Patrick's recommendations to get the 12V fully charged.

Thanks! I was half-expecting the worst but I'm glad my Prius has proven my fears to be unfounded!

 

You raise an interesting point for discussion... The second-generation Prii like my '07 uses a flexible fuel bladder in the tank. I kind of figured the bladder would minimize air volume in there, which was why I drove it down to just 1 pip. Anyone care to comment if the gen-II is better off stored with a full bladder + fuel stabilizer or a drained one?

Also I was hesitant to use a fuel stabilizer because I don't know if there would be any negative side effects. Can anyone tell me if this fear is unfounded?

Thanks!