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2011 Prius 4 suddenly wont start

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by 2011 Prius IV, Sep 16, 2018.

  1. 2011 Prius IV

    2011 Prius IV Junior Member

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    Hi everyone,

    Since I bought the car in 2011, the car has been relatively trouble-free. I drove it every day this week, mostly very short drives (<3 miles). This evening, when I depressed the break to turn the car on, there was no response from the car. There was a faint electronic pitch coming from somewhere. When I tried again a couple minutes later, the break would not depress easily. The car also seemed to have trouble locking properly.

    Has anyone seen this? Any thoughts on what it could be? Toyota service is closed right now...

    Thank you,
    M
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    you need a new 12 volt battery. the short trips do not allow it to charge properly, causing premature death, although some people would say 7 years was a good run, and i can't disagree.

    if you diy, there are many options. if not, you'll need a jump to get it to the dealer or an auto parts store that carries the correct model.
     
  3. 2011 Prius IV

    2011 Prius IV Junior Member

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    Thank you!! Yeah, I've only got 50K (-ish) on the odometer. I am definitely not able to diy, but would appreciate any advice on getting it done and pricing. Thanks again.
     
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  4. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    What part of the us of a are you located?

    If you go to a dealer, expect to pay north of $200 for the battery.

    If you go to Autozone or the like and have a coupon (or a special), you might get away with $180 or less.

    The battery is not hard to replace, but the autozone types might do it for free.

    Good luck and keep us posted (y).
     
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  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    prices are all over the place. best to call around to as many dealers as you are willing to drive to and auto parts stores as well.
    do you have aaa? they might do it in your driveway, not sure.

    all good batteries, just depends on price and warranty.
     
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  6. 2011 Prius IV

    2011 Prius IV Junior Member

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    Thanks everyone. Got a jump start and drove it around, may not be dead after all. Will have to see what happens tomorrow morning :)
     
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  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    don't get stranded somewhere evil
     
  8. NutzAboutBolts

    NutzAboutBolts Senior Member

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    If you haven’t had the battery changed in more than 5-6 years, you better change it because it won’t hold the charges after certain amount of time. Battery is a common part that needs to be replaced after a while.
     
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  9. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    A jump start and a drive is not going to do much for a sevenish battery. Can you manage a voltage reading when the cars off, sat overnight? Say with a digital multimeter?

    But hardly worth the bother: cheapest route would probably be the Bosch battery through Pep Boys. It's periodically on sale for under $150, and I believe they'll install for free?
     
  10. capolihu

    capolihu Member

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    I found this old topic, so I react here.
    My prius does not start either. Checked the battery, 12.3V, tried to jump start with two different car, removed the battery then back, still no luck. The door olny opens with key button, not keyless mode.
    All lights work fine.
    Checked with TS, no error code. Any advise what else to check?
     
  11. ASRDogman

    ASRDogman Senior Member

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    I believe 12.3 is low. Do you have a charger? I would put a charge on it if you can.
    Sometimes is the battery is bad, it will read the voltage, but won't have the amperage to start the car.
    And the old battery can draw a lot of amperage from the jumper battery and keep it from starting

    When you open the drivers door, how long do you hear the brakes pressurizing? I think mine is about 5-10 seconds?
    How old is the battery?

    Open the hood. Hook up your meter. Close the door. Let the car sit for 10-15 minutes.
    Check the battery voltage on the jumper points in the fuse box. Set the meter so you can see it from inside the car.
    Climb in the passenger front door.
    Use a stick, or climb in the drivers seat, get video of it :) Hold the brake and press the start button.
    What is the voltage?

     
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  12. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    12.3 is less than ideal but won't stop the car from starting or the electric locks from working. Not starting with a jump is a dead give away that it's not the battery unless you're jumping with a dead one. Check your battery cable connections. Especially the notorious ground connection to the body. That's loose or corroded or maybe the clamps at the battery terminals are loose.

    One more thing. You might have a weak battery in your fob. Not sure why it would open with the fob button and not the keyless entry. To test it, try starting the car as if the fob had a dead battery. Here's how my 2013 PiP manual described it.
    Screen Shot 2020-03-13 at 3.22.39 PM.png
     
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  13. capolihu

    capolihu Member

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    Heh, I'll do it if not else for the fun of it!
    The break pressurizer sounded me too long compared to my previous prius. I was actually thinking why it does not finish a bit quicker.

    If we used two cars to hook up, that should have sort of overwrote my suppose to be bad battery, wouldn't it?
     
  14. capolihu

    capolihu Member

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    I don't know how old.. Could be still the factory one, 8 years old. Cannot see a date on it. I used to have a dead battery, that produced different anomalies, like fading light, no entry with key.. 20200313_174933.jpeg
     
  15. capolihu

    capolihu Member

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    I have just replaced the fob battery a month ago :-/
     
  16. ASRDogman

    ASRDogman Senior Member

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    You don't know how old the battery is? Usually the date code is engraved in the plastic.
    I am not sure if the is a date code or not. MAYBE 22 November 2011???? Which is 8 years.


     
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  17. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    I've seen brand new batteries fail, so don't assume the fob battery is OK. But it is sounding more like a loose or dirty connection.
     
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  18. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    Your battery is not "dead", just low.

    Even if it is not THE main problem, it IS a problem and needs to be charged or replaced.
    And what "anomalies" are produced depends on how low it is......and what model car it is.

    FIX the battery problem first and then see what happens next.
     
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  19. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    I’ll say ground chassis.
     
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  20. capolihu

    capolihu Member

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    This morning it started fine.
    If it was a battery issue, the two independent jump start would have worked.
    Maybe it was the fob or someone/something blocked the signal.

    I'll replace both batteries and will check grounding, though not sure how and where
     
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