dead battery after recall service?

More than likely.

I just mentioned in a post before that the Prius charging circuit isn't as strong as an alternator in a traditional car and it takes an age to top up a failing 12v. That's why I suggested you charge the 12v off the car.

You know the problem is the 12v. Get it replaced. Job done. Jeese.

 

Exactly.

 

There is a qualified, independent Prius repair facility about 60 miles from your location (just north of LA). It is
Avi's Advance Automotive at:

• 7776 Foothill Blvd Unit 4
• Tujunga, CA
• (818) 352-0997

He can do the diagnostics and any required repair on your Prius at a fair price. Don't hesitate to call him.

JeffD

 

some stores better than others, still not surprised. No offense but if they were smart would they be working a minimal wage job?

No need for battery tester if you have a voltmeter it is easier to test batteries w/o taking them out. Fully charged should have 13.1v+. Turn car on and if you see it dropping fast to below 12v, replace.

Another common problem is corroded terminals.

 

Start simple. Test the battery. Replacing parts willy-nilly may be exactly what some repair shops want, but it's the least intelligent way to diagnose a malfunction.

 

Agreed. If it's the original battery in a 2010 model, I'm guessing it's reached its end of life. 3-4 years is the most I've gotten from original batteries. My 2003 CR-V is on its 3rd battery and we live in the Los Angeles area, an environment pretty easy on batteries.

 

My 2010 Prius has 38.5 K miles and just recently I had two occasions where Master warning light would come on briefly and go out at random intervals weeks apart with nothing going on in between times. Last night, when I tried to start it, I couldn't shift out of Park, the Master warning icon came on together with a bunch of the other icons (ABS, BRAKE, etc, no message in the multi-information display though). The cabin lights soon dimmed and it became clear that the battery was dying. After a bit of rooting around in the forums I found that the 12V could be the whole problem and after getting a jump this morning, I took it to a dealer and virtually invited them to sell me a new 12V. Instead they tested the battery and ran a diagnostics test on the system. The 5-year old OE battery which was rated for 325 CCA, read 388 CCA, at 12.65V and was rated good. Although I do not understand the report, they say everything else checked out - the FFDs for the DTCs are marked "no". They did not want to sell me a battery, and could only guess that I must have inadvertently left the system on when I parked it. Anything is possible, I guess - it does seem that the battery was drained because the dashboard clock stopped for 2.5 hours overnight. (I assume that a dead battery would have erased the failure codes if they occurred?)

I had to drive it for about 30 to get to the dealer. Would this really be enough to fully charge the battery? Should I just replace the battery anyway?

Any advice much appreciated.

 

Yes

 

I'm new to PRIUSchat - also kind of a newbie techwise. Interesting discussion on 12v battery. My 2010 Gen. II Prius has about 20K miles, mainly short distance driving. Recently, after leaving the car parked for about 7 days, I had trouble starting up the car, but finally got it running. Drove it around for about 30-45 mins or so, a few times, and it seemed fine for a few days. But, this morning still seemed a little sluggish starting up. The Ready light did come on, but the MultFunctionalDisplay didn't light up - though speedometer section did. Drove it around the block then parked it, because I didn't want to get stuck somewhere.
I have a Schumacher smart charger, and was considering hooking it up to juice up the battery. But before I did, I had a few questions that I need help with:
1) can I connect the charger to the front jumper port under the hood, or do I have to go to the battery in the trunk?
2) if it's the battery in the trunk, do I have to disconnect the ground cable as suggested in the Prius manual. before hooking up the charger?
3) the charger allows me to use a 2A, 4A or 6A charge rate. Which would you suggest?

Or, given that the Prius is almost 5 years old, should I just get a new battery?
Thanks

 

welcome to priuschat!

1) yes, under the hood is fine.

2) it is the battery in the trunk, and no, you don't want to disconnect the ground. if you did, the connection under the hood wouldn't work.

3) 2 amp

3a) probably time for a new battery, all the best.

 

Thanks bisco for the quick reply.
So if I use the battery in the trunk, all I do is connect the charger to +ve and -ve terminals (correctly!).
Is it better to go to the trunk or under the hood?

 

either is fine, the hood is easier access. but you have to check your o/m for the positive terminal, and be aware it's metal on one side and plastic on the other, so you have to make sure your clip is in good contact with the metal. then you attach the negative to a clean chassis bolt.

if you connect to the battery, you may want to disconnect the ground from the body if that's what it says.