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Will Prius start after sitting 2 weeks

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by JeanneWV, Jul 6, 2011.

  1. JeanneWV

    JeanneWV New Member

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    I plan on taking a 2 week vacation in August and leaving the 2010 Prius at the airport. Will it start when I come back? I read somewhere in the manuals I got with the car that it might not start after sitting a while, but I can't find it again.

    When I took the car in for maintenance, I asked the service manager. He said it should be all right. SHOULD!!??! At 10 PM in a closed airport, I want better than should. I will be an hour and a half from home at a small isolated airport. I often get in on the last plane and the security staff follows me out the door.

    If it won't start, what would I do?

    If it doesn't seem like a good idea to leave it for 2 weeks, I may just have my husband take me and pick me up in the Ford Focus or take the Focus and leave the Prius for my husband.
     
  2. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    Yes, just make sure you disable the Smart Key System. There is a button for it.
     
  3. stream

    stream Senior Member

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    Not in the Gen 3--it's automatic--per owners manual:

    Battery-saving function
    In the following circumstances, the entry function is disabled in order to prevent
    the vehicle battery from discharging and electronic key battery from
    depleting.
    l When the entry function has not been used for 5 days or more
    l When the electronic key has been left within approximately 6 ft. (2 m) of
    the vehicle for 10 minutes or more
    l If the entry function has not been used for 9 days or more, the vehicle
    cannot be unlocked by a door other than the driver’s door. To unlock the
    vehicle, grip the driver’s door handle or use the wireless remote control
    or the mechanical key.
    The system will resume operation when...
    l The vehicle is locked touching the door handle lock sensor area.
    l The vehicle is locked/unlocked using the wireless remote control function
    (→P. 63) or the mechanical key. (→P. 533)
     
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  4. Corwyn

    Corwyn Energy Curmudgeon

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    Good luck getting better than 'should' for any car. Or for that matter, any thing. "It will be all right" is always a lie.

    What probability would you be willing to accept (assuming someone knew enough to give you an accurate estimate of probability)?
     
  5. dustoff003

    dustoff003 Blizzard Brigade #003

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    Mine has been sitting for 3 weeks now and will probably sit for a total of 5.5 weeks until I get home. I can't get my wife to drive it at all she refuses to she is happier and more comfortable in her Tacoma.
     
  6. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Suggestion, assuming you have some sort of secure parking at home:

    1. Get a low amperage, intelligent charger, ie: one that will run through a variety of charging methods to bring your 12 volt battery to full charge, and then back off to just applying a small, intermittent trickle of charge, while monitoring the battery's state.

    2. Leave your car at home hooked up to this charger, and take a cab or public transit to the airport.

    Addendum:

    While the Owners Manual cautions against this, and advocates removing the 12 volt battery completely from the car before charging, I've had no issues charging using the jump-start terminal in the underhood fuse box (positive, red terminal), and a bare metal bolt on the engine block (negative, black terminal). This is the charger I'm using:

    http://smartercharger.com/battery-chargers/#mus3300

    (I use it on the "car" setting, not "snowflake". Basically as it shows in the picture.)
     
  7. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    Reader's Digest Version: Don't worry about it. If you park your G3 for more than a week or so very often, consider getting and using a battery tender.
    Yer call. ;)
    ------------------------------------

    Tolstoy Version:

    If I were going to park anything (normally) started by a 12-volt battery for two weeks once every year or two...I wouldn't worry about it.
    As stated above...you "should" be OK.
    However (comma!) 12-volt Prius batteries are hideously expensive! At least for a humble technician with my modest income.
    'My' company car is already on its second start battery, with eight months/11,000 miles on the clock. I don't swing wrenches on this car, and I have no idea how long it languished on the dealer's lot before my beloved company adopted it for use as a $26,000 placard to put an "I'm greener than you" sticker on, so I really couldn’t do anything about it. The car never sat idle for more than 3 days. TIFWIW.

    In addition to the use of a company car I currently own six starter motors (2 each: car, motorcycle, lawn tractor) and only 1 butt---so, I have to rely on a 'battery tender' to keep from being a frequent ‘battery buyer’.
    Do not confuse battery tender with trickle charger!!
    They're not overly expensive, unless you fall for the marketing hype, nor are they hard to use. I've used them for up to 6 years on the aforementioned vehicles, without issues. Several of these sit idle for months at a time.
    If you only own the one vehicle, or you do not normally park your car for weeks at a time, then as stated above don’t worry about it. You really can't do anything about it anyway, unless you want to lose all of your vehicle's volatile memory data.
    Like I said.
    Yer call.

    Good Luck!
    Enjoy the trip!
     
  8. JeanneWV

    JeanneWV New Member

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    I would settle for a "should" delivered in a confident manner. The salesman who sold me the car obviously knew very little about it, and the service manager was trying to be helpful, but seemed to be in over his head. It is a Toyota dealer and they have sold quite a few Prii, but they don't seem to know a lot about them except what they were taught when they trained to service them.

    I think it will be ok since it will turn itself off after five days.
     
  9. JeanneWV

    JeanneWV New Member

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    It is 80 miles to the airport, a mighty long cab ride if you could even get one.

    Public transit? What is public transit? I live in a hollow in a very small town in rural southern West Virginia. We ain't got no stinkin' public transit.

    But I appreciate the thought.
     
  10. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    An 80-mile drive to the airport "should" (there's that word again! ;) ) leave your 12-v battery fully charged when you arrive at the airport.
    You should thence be OK after a 2-week slumber, or Priuses by the hundreds would be parked in dealership lots awaiting new batteries.

    Enjoy your trip and don't worry about it! :cool:
     
  11. tumbleweed

    tumbleweed Senior Member

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    As he said it should start, but if it doesn't the problem will be the 12V battery. It can be jumped, there is a jump start connection under the hood. Directions in the owner's manual starting on page 543.
     
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  12. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    80 miles down a country road? Ok, ok. Bottom line: you should be ok, sitting 2 weeks.

    Just for insurance, put a set of jumper cables in the trunk. Then if you're stuck, and there's anyone with a vehicle around, you should be able to get out of there. I would suspect there's some sort of jump start service at the airport, it would be a very common occurence.

    Or consider a portable jump start source:

    Clore Automotive

    Or a solar charger:

    Blue Planet Solar Panel, 1.8W | Canadian Tire

    I've seen the latter in windshields of cars on dealers lots.
     
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  13. giora

    giora Senior Member

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    Or, put a 12V DeWalt battery fully charged in the trunk...that is all you need to jump-start a Prius.
     
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  14. V8Cobrakid

    V8Cobrakid Green Handyman

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    that works! i've even used a higher voltage dewalt that was drained yet still had plenty of power to jump the car... i'll admit it was around 13 to 14v... but 3 seconds hooked up to the car did no damage (that was over 2 years ago)

    it was a 16v battery... (dead)
     
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  15. mad-dog-one

    mad-dog-one Prius Enthusiast

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    Most paid airport parking lots have portable chargers available on-site for cars with dead batteries. I believe your car will be fine after two weeks, but you may want to be clear on the charging procedure for the Gen 3 Prius ... just in case.
     
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  16. mainerinexile

    mainerinexile No longer in exile!

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    I left my Prius at the airport for 15 days while traveling last month. The car started right up when I got back, no loss of bars on the traction battery after 15 days.

    I think this issue is much ado about nothing. Probably someone left their door ajar once and drained the battery, and now everyone is panic-y about this non-issue.
     
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  17. lshean

    lshean 2006 2008 & 2010 Prius Owner

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    My 2010 Prius sat for 60 days after I had knee replacement surgery, it started right up no problems at all.
     
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  18. JeanneWV

    JeanneWV New Member

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    I am glad to hear it is not a problem. I will go to California and not worry about it. Thanks.
     
  19. Michgal007

    Michgal007 Senior Member

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    I have parked my car for weeks at a time in Michigan winters (because I didn't want to go out in the cold) and nothing happened. Even now, I use it only once a week on most weeks unless I am going out of town.
     
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  20. JUGL11

    JUGL11 New Member

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    Good news! I just returned from a 2 week visit with my daughter & her family. When I got home, my 2010 Prius started up right away. It had been parked on the street in 100+ degree weather.