2005 12v Battery problem fixed. Thank You

My 2005 Prius was running fine, everyday with no problems. Yesterday, I went out to start it up, and a LOT of strange things were happening. Many lights on the dash were on, the car would not go into any gear, and the thing was beeping very strange.

I played with the buttons enough, and finally got it started (in Ready), and I keep thinking what just happened?...2 seconds later, it popped in my head that the 12v battery was the most likely cause. So, with it running, I set my scangauge to show the voltage, and it read 14.2v. I then turned the car off, and the voltage went down to 11.2 before the scangauge auto turned off.....thats no good. I then got my volt meter, and checked the battery manually, and it was at 8.5 volts. No question....bad battery.

Long story short, from the time I had the problem, until the time I fixed it, was about an hour.

I personally want to thank priuschat and the members here. Because I read everyone's problem and the help they receive. Fact is, If I had never joined here, this issue would have freaked me out. I would have thought I had a MAJOR problem, sent it to the dealer to get fixed and had a BIG bill to pay. The battery would have never entered my mind as an issue, just because it doesn't act like a bad battery.

So Thank you priuschat and Thank you members. You have saved me a lot of headache, downtime, and money. Keep up the good work. I hope I can return the favor.