Hybrid battery warning light on after replacing 12v battery

When the 12v battery is low, all sorts of weird things happen. Replace the battery, clear the codes, and carry on.

 

He did replace the battery. Unless it's defective it shouldn't be the cause of his problems. Steam, you might want to check the voltage of the aux battery with a voltmeter and charge it up as needed. If there's still a problem, take the battery back to Toyota to be checked out and maybe exchanged.

Replacing the battery will clear the codes at least temporarily. Don't try to drive the car without the I/C motor.

 

Outa gas??

 

Did the dealer sell you a discharged battery? By the way, the car will not 'charge' a low-condition 12V battery, it really only trickle-charges it, maintaining it. If your dealer sold you a battery without topping it off, you need to take it to any of the auto-parts places that can do it for free.

 

Or get a smart charger.

 

I read the OP's sentence as "when I started my drive to the dealership to replace the bad battery all these bad codes came on."

If it is "I bought a new battery from the dealership, installed it, and on first power up after installation all these bad codes came on" then yeah that's different.

I wish people would be more descriptive when they have an issue...

 

Doesn't sound like anybody's even read any codes yet.

Finding out why the car thinks those lights should be on would at least be sort of interesting.

 

Drivable in theory. But you'll destroy your traction battery if the engine isn't running to keep it charged.

Better to have it towed to the dealer and have them read the codes and fix it unless you have the tools and diy skills to do it at home.

Without reading the codes, it's a million to one that anyone will guess the problem.

 

I wish that when new members sign up for 'Chat' they would take the time to fill in the "location" box. Mostly I suspect that noobs have no idea what info would be helpful on Prius Chat.

 

Damm right Mildred.

 

I've had a few 1st gens that were pretty fussy after disconnecting the 12V. I had to clear the codes a few times and finally it got itself reoriented.

 

Codes stuck in the system from something going wrong during install. Need to clear codes and see if car will start and run, then continue until further troubles occur.

 

This just happened to me, right now. new toyota 84month battery, car starts fine. red light on.. My code reader isnt giving me any codes other than those smog things you have to drive your car around before they'll clear/smog it stuff..

Im on to Testing battery.. charging, trying to pull codes etc..

my code reader is a Autel AutoLink AL319.. It's not too fancy.

 

Seems like an appropriate thread for an update on my $22 Walmart batteries. I've installed them in all 3 of my running cars and they seem to work fine for a couple of months now - as long as I drive the car regularly, as in at least every 2-3 days. As I was working on each one, it's battery would discharge enough to not start the car. I keep a spare, and just touching it to the dead battery with cables fires the car right up, and if I then drive a few miles, it starts fine until I let it sit again.

Don't recall who first suggested these here, but he described giving his wife one of those handheld car jumpers to carry in her purse in case the battery dies, and I could see how that would work just fine. Either that, or just buy two of these $22 batteries and keep the extra in your trunk with jumper cables. Versus the $250 stealership batteries, I can live with the momentary inconvenience.

 

Ron, why not sell one of your cars and use the proceeds to make the other two more reliable? A good battery in each one would be a good start.

If my wife was that guys wife? He'd have gotten that $22 battery and the charger put to his az. Family first, my brother, and that means family gets reliable cars. My time, my families time and safety are worth a lot more than a few bucks of savings on a battery. When I (or a family member) opens the door to a car and gets in, I want that car to go. I don't want them crossing their fingers and praying every time they go to use a car. There are plenty of deals available to get the correct battery. I just went to a local salvage yard on Saturday. They haven't had a Prius in 2 years. Saturday they had 4 on the lot. (3) 2005s and a 2007. I even bought one of the full size SKS style 46Ah 12v batteries for $27 to have as a backup.. Tested at 525 cca (and a bunch of other items)

 

LOL, those three cars are running great. I'd jump in either one of them right now and drive across the country without thinking twice. And, maybe you didn't read the thread correctly - the batteries are good. They're working just fine, unless I don't drive the car for several days, which only happened when I'd be working on one. Now that they're all working, I just rotate which one I use every day and haven't had a problem since.

Not quite sure how a junkyard battery is more reliable than a brand new battery, but for me, the difference between $22 and $250 is more than just a "few bucks." Even at $44, two batteries in each car, or $60 if you want to add jumper cables, but I have several sets already, that's still worthwhile savings. Having a fully charged spare in the trunk, IMHO, is more "reliable" than one good $250 battery. Any of these batteries can go bad, having a redundant solution is the best.

Also, it's just me and the dog. No wife kids to worry about. But, if I had a wife, and she didn't like the $22 solution, she can go buy the $250 one, as long as she has a job and makes her own money, I could care less. If she expects me to pay for her peace of mind, she should get used to being anxious. Haven't you heard - women are equal these days?

What exactly is it that you think is wrong with the Walmart batteries? Their CCAs were approximately the same as the Optima yellowtop I have as a spare, something like 250 amps. As far as I can see, the only issue is that they're not vented, which doesn't effect their "reliability" for starting the car. Maybe I die of fumes, but I've had other cars with batteries under the back seat and never had that problem. Actually, about 90% of the time, my back window is open because my dog likes to hang out. It's just not a concern to me.

Finally, I buy Walmart batteries because they honor the warranties anywhere in the country. Won't be as big of an issue with me for these cars because I use my trucks to go long distance, but I do drive across the country, many times every year. From Houston, I've been from Florida to Vermont to California to Upper Michigan and Seattle in the last year and a half, and all of those places other times over the last several years. Walmarts are everywhere. Junkyard batteries, not so much.

 

Maybe I misunderstood. For some reason I had thought you were using a $22 Walmart lawn mower battery in your cars. There's nothing wrong with Walmart batteries, I have one in my wife's Santa Fe.

 

It is a lawn mower battery. What's wrong with using those other than not being vented? Again, the amps were approximately the same as the Optima. My diesel trucks use big 850s. These have worked fine for a couple of months now. The big batteries have a 3-year warranty, these little ones are only 6 months, but even if I have to buy 5 to equal the Toyota battery, I still save more than $100.