Dead Battery

Be _VERY_ careful in jumping a Prius - check the polarity of the batteries & cables 2-3 times before connecting them.
Connect the cables wrong even for an instant & you could be out $5K or more for repairs!

That said - The car is not going to move until it gets powered up.
This means you are going to have to get a good 12V battery connected to it somehow.

If you have another vehicle available & are mechanically inclined you could pull the other battery & move it to the Prius then jump it.
Another way is with a portable "jump pack" - someone you know may have one you can borrow.
I don't know if you bought a new "jump pack" right now (from a store) if it would have enough power in its internal battery without charging it overnight.

After you get it jumped you need to get the battery tested.
Since the battery is dead now I would suggest keeping the Prius powered up for at least an hour to get the battery somewhat charged.

The alarm system may be dragging down the Prius battery, especially if the vehicle is not being used on a regular basis.

I'm sure others will chime in.

 

You need a battery charger or a portable "jump pack".
Connecting either for a few minutes should give it enough juice to start.

And with that extra alarm, you will need to change the 12V battery more often and should consider using a battery tender when it will not be driven for 3 days or more.

 

just hook up jumpers from another car to the battery in the hatch, your golden.

 

How about the proper capacity ? What kind of charger did you get ??

You really should measure the resting voltage of the battery at a time when you get that alarm.
There is scant little extra capacity in the 12V system (some would say it is deficient just with stock equipment) and your added alarm might be CAUSING most of your observed problem.
Do you enable the alarm every time the car is not in use......like at home parked inside the garage ??

 

I think you will find that the load is MUCH less while it is not armed.

I wasn't necessarily suggesting that it is the cause........but you need to know what the load when armed IS before making that call.

Something has to cause it to arm. What is that.....doors locked, absence of a FOB signal or simply engine off for a set time ?

 

Look into a low amperage smart charger. And a digital multimeter to get a rough idea of battery status.

 

I found that aftermarket alarms, more particularly from DEI/Directed, eat batteries when armed. I have since stopped using it and use the key to lock and unlock.

SCH-R530M ?

 

OR you could find out what is causing your dead battery problem, repair that & continue life not worrying about the vehicle.
The oem 12V battery has enough capacity to get the vehicle to Ready for 4+ years before most ppl start having problems.
It could last ever longer IF the vehicle is in daily use _constantly_.
Abuse of the battery will drastically shorten its life!
Abuse consists of running the battery down until it will not power up the vehicle (very bad), or adding any additional parasitic load to the 12V system so as to keep the battery from staying at the "close to fully charged state".
Leaving the headlights on after the Prius is powered down puts an extra discharge on the 12V battery each time it occurs.
Anything that draws power from the 12V when the car is not in Ready state must be recharged into the battery the next time it powers up.

Even with no obvious abuse of the 12V system it is possible that the Viper alarm has always been a significant load to the battery. Now with a couple years on the battery it has lost some capacity & is going flat where 6 months ago it might just register a low-voltage alarm.

Kim

 

Good post. The key phrase in that statement is "most people".

And it doesn't have to be operated "continuously" to keep the battery reasonably fully charged, it just has to be driven every few days for about 10 miles or more.

As in this case, there probably is a real "cause" of the problem.
In most cases it appears to be useage patterns more than anything "fixable".

 

^ Yeah, 12 volts don't die if not driven daily. Twice weekly, for example, would be fine. Try to consolidate your errands and trips, make the use count.