Starting the prius after a year

The process to drain the fuel tank is to disconnect the fuel rail up in the engine compartment, attach a hose to the fuel line that leads to your drain container, and turn on the fuel pump. However it will not be very easy to turn on the fuel pump on 2G because the circuit opening relay which provides 12V power to the fuel pump is part of an integrated relay assembly within the main relay/fuse box near the inverter which contains multiple relays. Hence you have to find that relay assembly, remove it, and figure out which terminals are for the fuel pump.

It might be better to try using the old fuel and see what happens.

Otherwise if you are intent on doing that, you can download the electrical wiring diagram info at techinfo.toyota.com and figure it out.

 

That's horrible advice! You might as well have told the OP to clean out his fuel system with a garden hose... since there will likely be water in his tank by now.

If the fuel pump is easily accessible, you can simply jumper it to a 12v source to run it without having to wade through wiring diagrams.

Use the pump to empty the tank (you'll hear the pump make a different noise when the tank is empty) then change the fuel filter before running the car. By hitting the bottom of the tank you may have pulled some debris into the filter...

If you really want to protect yourself, you can pull out the plugs and squirt a little engine oil into each cylinder before starting... this will minimize wear due to dry cylinders.

You may experience lower hybrid battery life by letting it sit uncharged for so long, but we could do an entire thread on that alone... just get it running and drive!

Galaxy Nexus ? 2

 

It will be tough to replace the fuel filter since that is an integral part of the fuel tank.

It is a reasonable idea to provide an auxiliary source of 12V power to run the fuel pump, however I think the OP will still need to access the wiring diagrams to figure out exactly where to apply the 12V since the fuel pump also is hiding within the fuel tank.

I doubt that there will be much water in the fuel tank (unless it was deliberately added at some point during storage) since the fuel tank has a flexible bladder to reduce the effective capacity of the tank if it is not full, and there isn't any reasonable way for much air or water vapor to enter the tank while the car is in storage. Assuming the fuel cap is installed correctly, very little gas vapor can escape from the Prius fuel tank; therefore very little outside air can enter.

 

A year is not that long on gasoline. I'm with Pat, but I would throw in a bottle of Stabil in the gas tank (which will absorb any water although doubt if there is any). Give that a day or 2.
Then remove the 12 volt battery positive lead from the aux battery in the truck and hook a 12 volt charger there as a substitute for what is surely a stone dead sulphated battery. Bypass that battery, don't even bother jumping it.Turn the 12 volt charger on & Get in the car and try to make it ready and keep your fingers crossed the traction hybrid battery is not dead. That would be my biggest worry. If the traction battery has a charge it will probably start right up. If the traction battery is dead that's a real hassle and the car will not start. It will immed throw every check light it has on the dash too. If it starts up get a new Optima Red top 12 volt battery in there and go get some fresh gas. Good Luck.

 

Someone who knows more about it should warm the OP that he may have a limited number of starts with the current state of the traction battery. He should expect to run it until the traction battery has been charged reasonable the first time he starts it, since the traction battery is the one that will turn over the engine, and if it's low, he may get lucky on the first try, but after that he may be out of luck if the traction battery didn't charge up enough. I only know this because others have mentioned it, not because I have any direct experience.

 

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If the HV battery proves to be low after fitting a good 12V battery and the car will go into D towing the car for a couple of miles should recharge the HV battery via regen.

 

If the car will go into D then the gasoline engine is capable of running.

In that case, if the OP sees that the traction battery state-of-charge gauge is low, a fast way to fix that is to force charge the traction battery. This is done by shifting into D, holding the car stationary using his left foot on the brake pedal, then flooring the accelerator pedal with his right foot. Since the car cannot move, all of the gasoline engine power goes into spinning MG1 which will provide power to the inverter, which then will provide charging voltage to the traction battery.

As the traction battery SOC rises, the engine RPM will slow down regardless of the accelerator pedal being fully depressed. The transaxle is at risk of being overheated with this procedure, so one should not do this casually.

 

Yes Patrick I agree with what you are saying except that if the HV battery is so low that it will not turn over the ICE then that cannot be used in the manor you say, then surely towing the car will regen charge the battery until it has enough power to spin the ICE and start it. I am assuming the control of the various ecu's involved are 12or5volt I know the HV relays are 12v.

 

hobbit describes the fuel pump wiring here...
No Squirt

 

Sure, sure. Everyone says it's fine. Easy to say when you're not financially obligated to give good advice.

Hard to say, however, without asking the OP how and where the car was stored, if the tank was filled before storage, if any additives were put in the fuel, if the car was prepared for storage, even if it was stored indoors or out. None of this info was provided...

...and the "experts" already give their opinions. Let's hope we're not leading the OP down a path to expensive repairs. That is, if you care about giving crap advice.

 

Calm down maestro8!!! It is not bad advise. H

 

Since you are concerned about not providing "crap advice", may I suggest that you study the Prius fuel system so that you will at least know that the fuel filter and fuel pump are both contained within the fuel tank and cannot be separately replaced. Perhaps that knowledge might impact your future advice.

 

Thanks for the suggestion, but it doesn't impact the advice I'd give to someone who's stored their car for a long period of time.

Ethanol-treated fuel only has a shelf life of 90 days in a closed container, due to its hygroscopic nature. Not only does this fuel attract and retain atmospheric water, its volatility drops off after a period of 9-12 months. That is, the gas's ability to ignite becomes reduced.

Adding a product such as Sta-bil to fuel AFTER it has been stored does not do anything to reduce these effects. If a car is to be stored for a long period, it should be stored with a FULL tank of gas, treated with Sta-bil. Draining the tank of fuel that's 12 months or older is recommended for any car, as it's not the car's tank, but the fuel itself, that is suspect.

(see: FAQ, STA-BIL, MARINE Formula STA-BIL Frequently Asked Questions | Gold Eagle)

If the OP had stored his car with a full tank of ethanol-free fuel, then he may not need to worry as much, as such fuel has a much longer shelf life. But it pays more to be careful than to be careless... especially when parts are expensive or difficult to replace.

Perhaps this knowledge will make you think twice before giving advice on this topic.

 

Maestro,
Your hostility towards our advice is unwarranted. We are trying to help the OP and we will continue to try to help him despite your hostility. People come here for help and we all try to provide the best advice we can. I understand you feel strongly about your advice and it is with good intentions but, on this forum, we don't need the hostility.

Just like me and Patrick, you are not financially obligated to give good advice. The OP came to us for advice, we gave it. Now the decision is theirs.

Can you explain how water would get into a sealed system? Osmosis? What kind of problems will running water- contaminated fuel through the engine cause? I can't see where it would cause any problems (other than the engine not starting or running rough).

I'll tell you what, I'm going to withdraw my advice on this one and let you help the OP.

 

True, however this doesn't really matter. In the GenII North American market Prius, it is sold with a bladder. There is no to minimal air. So storing with a full bladder versus empty bladder is moot because the amount of air in contact or even in the fuel system is the same in either case, minimal. Now in a tank, this is very true because what is not full of gas, is full of air. This would apply to non-North American market GenII Prii and all GenI and all GenIII Prii.

The volatility does drop off, but it doesn't become unignitable. It just becomes harder to ignite. The Prius will run fine on it, but don't expect the best MPG or power out of it.

Water doesn't compress. The entire point of fuel is that it can compress and expand under pressure and heat to move the engine. If you have water in there, you are not allowing full compression and you can damage cylinders because space that should be air or compressable is no longer.

The concern about running fuel with water is very valid. However, the concern is not warranted in the bladder system.

 

I'll take your word for it.

 

No need to take my word. Get one of those plastic syringes with the wide mouth. Fill it with air, then put your finger over the opening. Press the plunger. You will be able to make the plunger move and you will feel the air compressing. Now do the same thing with water. It will blow a hole through your finger or out the sides of the syringe because it will not compress. This is how the basic principle of all hydrraulic systems work. Why all those heavy machines can do what they do. Water doesn't budge under extreme pressure.

 

It's an apples to oranges comparison. We aren't talking about 100% water. We're talking about water contaminated fuel, that is vaporized, and mixed with air.