Car won’t start

I don’t have any experience with the Prius yellow top, but the Optimas that I have seen die just before or just after the three year mark.

 

As other have said check battery terminals and check where the ground wire attaches to the body.
Did they charge the first new battery and test it or did they just replace it no questions asked?
You can't do a proper test on a low battery it has to be charged.

 

You are being zero help and your ranting makes you look like you are disturbed. Your normally a helpful guy, how about clearing your mind and Helping out.

 

I enjoy helping out... The only problem is when it comes to Optima batteries there's no way you can be of much help other than to tell people to never buy Optima batteries.

Of course when the same handful of people who foolishly own Optima batteries take the very real problems with Optima batteries personally and get defensive to the point of irrational every single time the issue comes up, is it any wonder things go off the rails and OP's need for help is turned into a bunch of crazy people defending Optima as though it's a personal attack against them, just because one person is trying to tell the truth about the dishonesty of the makers of Optima batteries?

 

Nope, you are wrong. Most Optima battery’s are fine. You need to pull up your big boy pants and either help or shut up.

 

Hey @Bc2stew, sorry you had to wade through all that bickering about battery brands. Focus on what @TMR-JWAP said in post #5. He knows what he's talking about.

Regardless of the brand, something drained your battery and that's where we need to focus. Those brake capacitors are a good place to look first unless there's some aftermarket device recently installed that might be draining the battery.

 

No matter how much evidence there is your infantile denials implies you're still wearing diapers... Been wearing my big boy pants with this issue as far back as 2012 when I found out the truth when reasearching my first 12v Prius battery purchase. I could post endless examples of Optima malfeasance...

Here's 10+ examples of Optima corruption in just one comment:

And here's a quote from a lead imbecile at Optima saying that they don't even test the defective batteries that are returned, they just charge them up and sell them as brand new....

 

you have to take it to toyota for a charge, or buy a charger like prolong

old hybrid batteries don't like to sit

 

The hybrid battery died in 5 days? If that is truly the case, there are some modules that have serious self discharge issues.

Referring to post 28.

 

I don’t think the hybrid battery died myself. There is some type of drain or a bad battery cable somewhere. To go from 13v at the terminals to 11.7 at the dash?

 

We need some clarification of what "doesn't start" means.

1. The 12v battery measures 13v at the posts. VERIFY both post clamps are installed properly and the ground wire is firmly attached to the chassis. Ensure both cables (heavy and light) are attached to the positive post fuse holder assembly.
2. The battery shows 11.7v on display. Who care's about the display. In this case, it means nothing.
3. Measure the voltage at the underhood jump point to chassis. THAT is the voltage being seen by the fuse box for distribution to all other circuits.
4. With foot off the brake, press the power button. What happens? Do the MFD and radio come on? Does the power button LED come on (green IIRC)
5. With foot off the brake, press the power button again. What happens? Does the dash come to life? Does the power button LED change to orange?
6. Put foot on brake. Do the brake lights at rear of car come on? With foot on brake press power button again. Does car go to ready mode? Does the engine attempt to start?
7. The OP stated that several fuses were replaced....why? Were they open?

If "doesn't start" means the dash doesn't light up, then we have a 12v distribution problem.

If the engine spins and tries to start but is unsuccessful, we have a true "engine not starting" issue.

When a 12v battery is replaced, there are many things on the car that go to a default value, especially engine sensors, in the ECUs. There have been times where the default value for the throttle position is no longer accurate compared to the true position of the throttle plate due to carbon buildup. This can (and has) caused an engine to not start after installing a new 12v battery. A good cleaning of the throttle body and MAF will normally solve this.

If the engine has tried to start several times, without success, then we may be out of juice on the hybrid battery, which opens a whole 'nother can of worms.....

 

What leads you to suspect the traction battery is dead?

 

No bars is a good reason. It can be recharged one of 2 ways. Tow it to a place that can recharge it or grid charge it yourself. The prolong charger and cable would be the easiest way but it costs some money. If you can find someone who has the charger the cable itself is like 150 dollars. It does take some work to install the cable and that only gets you back to attempting to start the car. The problem still remains. You would want to recharge that battery as quickly as possible. Damage to the battery might occur if you leave it dead too long.

You also get no bars if you push the start button with your foot off the brake petal.

 

Charge up your 12v, do this with everything turned off, and tell us what the number is.

 

BC2....please see post 32. Can you fill in some details for us? Can you give us a better explanation of "doesn't start"?

There is a huge wealth of resources here and we can surely help you. We just need some details and clarity.

During the fuse removal/installation episodes, did you remove/replace the orange safety disconnect from the HV battery? If so, perhaps it wasn't installed correctly with the third step of pushing the handle downward to satisfy the safety interlock. If so, this will cause the HV battery to give the indications you currently have. If the handle is not pushed downward, the car thinks the disconnect is still removed.

 

Yes following your post would be most helpful. We CAN solve the problem but we need good information.