Prius starting problem! Help!

Well, that was a giant PITA for you, wasn't it?

I'm now very suspicious that the dealer even bothered to do any sort of "load test" to speak of. I've had batteries with bad cells in the past, and they are readily apparent

I hope this is all behind you now. I'm also hoping they properly charged the 12 vdc battery before putting it into your Prius. If that battery was sitting in a warehouse somewhere for 6-12 months, you're lucky if it's 30-40% charged

The PDI and various TSB's to it has very clear instructions on how the dealer is supposed to properly charge the 12 vdc battery

Whenever I've purchased a new battery - say for the tractor at my hobby farm - I've always fully charged it at least 24 hours, or until the automatic battery charger indicated full charge

 

Of course they may have lied about doing a load test just to get you to go away...

 

I would not be surprised ...