Did i make a mistake???

I have never had any real problems with the starting batteries on my 2007 or 2010 Prius, but I havn't left it parked at the airport for two weeks, and don't live in PA. But, it takes very little power to jump the car, so I bet you could eleviate any concerns by keeping one of those booster jumper batteries that plugs into the lighter socket.

My 2007 battery dies because I left the hatchback open all night, and I couldn't find my jumper cables, but was able to easily start with an 18 AWG speaker wire from my 2010 Prius.

 

What 12V battery issues?

 

First thing, if I had a gem of a car like your Matrix I probably wouldn't be trading it in. I drive em as long as I can.
Secondly, worse case scenario and the dead 12v battery... you can literally jump start the car with enough AA batteries from what I have read. It takes very little since it is the main traction battery that actually turns over the ICE. A person could buy one of the hand-held rechargeable jump starters just to make sure.
Being up here in Alaska and knowing what I know now about the Prius, I probably wouldn't recommend a person get one up here that didn't have a garage. There is a guy in Anchorage that doesn't have a garage and takes quite a hit on his FE because of it. But grill-blocking and EBH would help there.
So what is your typical commute like?

 

I wouldn't be that concerned about the 12V battery "issues". If you're really concerned, buy a 12V portable jump starter (basically a big lead acid battery) and bring it in the car before you leave it for 2 weeks. (Don't carry it around at all times as it's just useless dead weight and it'd slightly hurt your fuel economy.)

You might also be able to (have no info on this) be able to modify one of the power outlets to be hot (connected) all the time and thus use a solar battery maintainer.

I'm sure many issues people have found will have been addressed already. As for recalls, AFAIK, they by law must be performed by the dealer on any unsold vehicles on their lot before sale. Regardless, there was only one recall (http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-hybrid-news/76158-prius-brake-recall-little-more-information.html) and the firmware update was implemented on the line even before the recall was issued.

 

I did a little editing to tie two concepts together:

1. Purchase - Matrix to Prius
2. Prius problem(s)

Ok, your Matrix has how much warranty remaining? Compare that to a new Prius:

• 3/36000 miles - primary
• 6/60000 miles - drive train
• 8/100000 miles - hybrid parts

Buying the Prius resets your warranty intervals. Now I'm one of those folks who drives a car until the wheels fall off. But I also realize some folks prefer to have warranty coverage. I suspect the Matrix is running out of warranty shortly ... pick you poison.

One observation is the recent Toyota problems have led to a softening of Prius prices . . . a little more buyer friendly. But this recent 'spat' will soon go away and the non-USA sales have not been touched. In short, it is a buyer's market for a new Prius and that can change with the digits on the gas station price board. . . . Carpe diem.

Our cars are not garaged in Huntsville AL and we had 15 F weather this winter. Both Prius, the 2010 and 2003 started right up.

The 2003 Prius auxilary battery was replaced in January 2009. It had gotten weak but the OEM battery was 6 years old. We had no problems in the previous years, 2005-2008. But in December 2008 - January 2009, I had one or two starts that failed because I'd left the heater fan on. I didn't even have to put a charger on it, just minimize the electrical load and it started right up. But it was telling me it was reaching the end of life. So I replaced it with an Odyssey battery that should last 10 years, now 9 years and counting.

Others have pointed out you have options that include a 'jumper' battery or my favorite, a solar tickle charger. Heck, you could replace the OEM battery with something bigger. But technically, this is a nit.

I'm surprised your planning to order a 3d party, remote start for the car. Toyota has a remote start option for the Prius and there are some risks with a 3d party solution (the keyfob has to be kept in the car making theft a lot easier.) Still your choice.

Regardless, good luck which ever way you go.

Bob Wilson

 

I've left my Prius outside for two weeks when I went on vacation. When I got home I had to move it so I could park my other vehicle and I didn't notice any difference in the way it started. It was my understanding the battery is not even at risk until is has sat for at least a month. There have even been reports of them sitting longer than a month with no issues. I think the Prius is artificially low in price right now due to Toyota's recent problems. The gas prices are going up again and I would like to hear back from you when gas is close to $4 a gallon again. I think you will be glad you got it. If later on you still don't like it, I would bet, with gas prices higher, you would not any problems selling it. A co-worker of mine had an 04 and went to get his wife an 07 and the dealer offered him what he paid for his 04 in trade. He said I don't want to trade, I just want another one. I have no regrets and I have 17,000 miles on mine and I bought it in July. I have a few uncharacteristic rattles when it is cold but other than that, I love it. My fear in the future is the expense of the high voltage battery cost but I have heard of Priuses with 180,000 miles on them with the original battery pack. The dealer told me the batteries last longer because the car is not overcharging them and will not let them get too low before kicking in the engine. The batteries are used well within their tolerances. I am seeing these cars everywhere and I would bet you would have a hard time finding someone with serious regrets for purchasing one.

 

I do not feel that the Prius has unusual 12v battery problems, most owners get 4+ year from their 12v battery just as they would in any other car. What is unusal, and you see a great deal about it here, is that because the 12v battery does not rotate a 'starter' on the Prius, the symtoms when it fails are not the slow starter owners may be used to, but other electrical glitches. It is not that the battery fails early or worse than before, it is that we are not looking for the symptoms that would tell us it was failing. Since you are already aware of this, you will not have any trouble realizing that weak headlights, slow power windows, and odd intermittent error conditions may indicate 12v battery trouble.

 

I have gone away for 2 weeks and my 12V battery did not drain because I disabled the button to disable the Smartkey.

2010 Prius will disable Smartkey automatically if you don't drive the car for a long period of time (5 days?).

 

Ditto to that Jimbo! I've been trying in vein to learn how to enter "Maintenance Mode" for my G3 M II without the NAV screen. There is a 12 volt readout and a test you can do to determine the health of the 12 volt system. No one here or on Prius_Technical_Stuff has the knowledge on how to enter that mode for M IIs. I guess what I'll need to do is eventually get a ScanGauge for those tests. I too fear an unexpected 12 volt battery failure.
BTW, after calling 2 dealerships, one tech seemed to think I could get into Maintenance Mode using the mode button on the steering wheel. That did not work either unless it's a combination of holding that button and other button(s).

 

Likewise no problems with my 2006 Prius 12V battery. It's not a big concern. If you want to be extra cautious, buy one of the small battery jump boxes and keep it in your Prius. That way you can self-jump if you run into any trouble.

Tom

 

Most of us have had no problems with the 12V battery, but quite a few people have left their car for a few days to a few weeks and came back to a dead battery. Unless you assume it's always the drivers fault it may indicate that there is a problem with some cars. We don't, at this time, know what the problem is.

I think if there is a problem such as a sneak circuit of some such thing that draws enough current to discharge the battery when parked the people on this forum will be the ones to find it. Dealer's service departments have no incentive to look for such problems, and most of their mechanics may not know how to look for long term intermittent problems anyway.

But at this time I think it's way to early and not enough is known to blame the people who have reported the problems.

 

Can anyone put me at ease with my decision or should I not take delivery and buy something else??[/QUOTE]

As is usual in the on-line forums, you get many opinions and some real advice.

Since the 2010 is supposed to automatically turn off the smart key function, you will most likely be OK for more than 2 weeks away. Just to be sure, I always carry a 12V jump starter, which will easily start the car from the jump point under the hood and will also inflate any tire that may have gotten a puncture. Do not get a cigarette lighter type of maintainer or starter battery unless you are willing to make wiring changes. The lighter sockets are not active unless the car is ON. The extra weight of the jump starter is minor and will not measurably affect your gas mileage. Just remember to re-charge it every 3mo., or so.

 

We may be trying to help you solve a problem that doesn't need to be solved.

Have you considered not taking the Prius to leave at the airport for two weeks in the depth of winter?

The parking cost is probably more than having a taxi or limo get you there and back home.

Heck, you might even get a relative or friend to drop you off and pick you up. I have a good friend/golf buddy here in Vermont that I happily do this for a couple times a year and our airport is a 100 mile round trip.