2007 Prius Won't Start, Battery Seems OK, Was Recently in Fender Bender?

My guess is the ground terminal (-) from the battery to the frame wasn't tightened by the repair facility and it took three days to come loose.

 

just to clarify: both at the battery and at the the frame?

 

Give the battery an overnight trickle charge and see how it works in the morning.... Also contact the person you bought the battery from and see how long it's been since they topped off the battery you bought. I have read on here about people buying a battery that turned out bad, especially if you bought an Optima Yellowtop, those batteries are total crap!

 

Is the 12v battery new or a survivor from the wreck? If the latter, it could be suspect. A plate(s) inside may have become dislodged in the impact. A (free) load test at an auto parts store would be in order as the voltage reading at the posts doesn't always tell all.

 

Once you find out let us know... Optima owners love to persecute people who think Optima's are bad and if this turns out to be the problem we'd like it to be yet another feather in our anti-optima cap.

 

Maybe. These situations need to be tested under load. Use this test:
Weird stuff happening? MPGs dropping? Test The Battery | PriusChat
and report back what the results are.

 

When I got rear ended in my 2007 Prius, it caused $5800 dollars of damage.
The estimate was very low, but once they took off the bumper, then they realized there were more damage.
Also, the battery is located at the back of the car.
Sounds like your battery is not charging.

 

Pry the red plastic cover off the positive terminal and check that the two wires are securely plugged in. You could also unplug the larger wire and check for voltage at that point. If no voltage, then the 120 amp fuse is bad.

 

I've read on here that the battery needs at least 12.3 volts when the car is in diagnostics mode... But if your car won't start at all with a 12.5 charge that might be a different problem... I assume the mechanic/body shop person is gonna inspect everything that they did to make the repairs and then consult others.

Did the repairs require any electrical welding? I've read on here that this kind of welding can screw up some of the car's computers.

You might want to give the mechanic the link to this thread? It's possible they could offer some new information to the discussion and some of the folks on Prius Chat are leaders in diagnostics for this vehicle. Maybe we can all work together to solve this problem so it doesn't end up costing any of the parties involved too much money.

 

Interested in the outcome.

 

i've started the car with much less voltage than listed above.

two things i can think of.. there is a white fuse of sorts on top of the battery.. check that.

then go under the hood and check on the fuses and hard wired fuses on the right hand side. if you flip the lid over, it tells you what everything is.

just my .02

btw, if i recall correctly, those jumpers in the front bypass ignition... i did a lot of 12v battery improving back a hand full of years ago when my 12v first died. i left a jumperbox hooked up to those terminals so i wouldn't loose settings as i took out the battery for a good charge (didn't help.. i did it too late)... anywho... if i recall correctly, the car doesn't turn off if power is supplied to those terminals.

i guess in the end it's non related... just a random bit of info.

 

Happy it was resolved to your satisfaction. Funny that them being in the body shop business and after so any repairs one would think they would not make that mistake.

 

My initial suspicion of an improper ground was correct but I would have never thought about an improper bolt or paint as the cause. Glad it was an easy fix nor expensive!