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Dead Battery after 10 days

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by ukr2, May 26, 2013.

  1. ukr2

    ukr2 Senior Member

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    Went on Vacation for 10 days leaving my PIP at the office with 1/2 a charge. When I got back, the doors opened, but the hatch wouldn't open, the brake wouldn't depress and then the car did nothing when I pressed the Power button. DAMN !!! It was 8pm. And my ride had taken off.

    Called ToyotaCare and the truck arrive an hour later. Would have been sooner, but he was the other side of the city. Got the jump, then OK.

    So WHY did the 12 v battery drain? Didn't notice anything on or lit. I've been parked for 7-8 days 2 or 3 times in the last year with no incident.

    Anyone else with a similar problem?
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i was wondering where you were, you should tell us when you're leaving!:p sorry, no idea on the battery, i left mine for a month in february with no issue. all i can think is something was on.
     
  3. ukr2

    ukr2 Senior Member

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    Of course, I lost my Date, Time, Radio presets and HV/EV data.

    I'll do an early fillup Tuesday and average the values.
     
  4. RBooker

    RBooker Member

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    Left mine for 4 weeks with less than a 50% charge. No problem
    ,
     
  5. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    It's possible you have a weak 12v battery. Sometimes dealers run the battery down when showing or servicing the vehicle. Do this a few times and the battery losses capacity. Even brand new cars can come with a weak battery.
     
  6. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    I wouldn't count on it: after a near-death event it's a good idea to check the voltage, do a complete charging session (with an intelligent, low amperage charger), drive it a few days, recheck voltage. At the end if the voltage is 12.5~12.6 volts you'll be ok but it's a little weakened. Above 12.6 it's in the pink.
     
  7. JamesBurke

    JamesBurke Senior Member

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    The charge timers are always active if they are set are they not? How much standby power and how much active power is used looking or waiting for a valid plugin signal? These would be on the 12v system with the car powered off? Some other safety systems are also turned on by the timers and or pluging in.
     
  8. drash

    drash Senior Member

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    You turned off the Smart Key when you went away right? That may drain the battery even if people walk by with a Smart Key that doesn't work for your car.

    Irregardless your 12V battery is headed for an early grave. They don't like being left in a discharged state particularly in the heat.


    iPad ? HD
     
  9. chesleyn

    chesleyn Active Member

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    How does one turn off the Smart Key?
     
  10. El Dobro

    El Dobro A Member

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    If it's the 12V battery that's bad, it's still covered under warranty. If it happens again, have the dealer test it.
     
  11. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    ^ It's tough getting a dealership to replace a 12 volt gratis, I would think.

    The only exception I can think of is if you haven't driven a new purchase off the lot yet, where it died from sitting around too long.
     
  12. El Dobro

    El Dobro A Member

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    The 12V battery is covered for 3years/36,000miles.
     
  13. CharlesH

    CharlesH CA HOV Decal #5 on former PiP

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    ... which is the general "bumper to bumper" warranty, for which the main exclusion is the tires, I think.
     
  14. 3PriusMike

    3PriusMike Prius owner since 2000, Tesla M3 2018

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    I too had my 12v battery in my PIP go dead while away for 7 days. Four Prius's in 13 years and it was teh first time. The only thing I can think of is that before leaving I got something out of the car in the dark garage and maybe I turned on the dome light. Connected a 12v battery charger to the fuse box connector and it started right up, back to normal for 4 days.

    Some interesting info:
    The traction battery had 4.5 miles remaining when I left. After "rebooting" it showed 8.2 miles. However, I did a full charge and after it got to about 12.0 miles the algorthm figured out the error and slowly crept up to 14.0, which was the value on the last previous charge.

    All the EV driving ratio data gets reset to zero.
    The monthly driving info for the current month gets reset to zero, but April and before gets retained.
    Clock/date and charge timer get reset to zero.

    When the car wouldn't start and I realized the 12v battery must be dead I press the left dome light (maybe a couple of times), obviously with no luck (normal mode via slider switch is lights always off). After connecting the 12v charger and getting in the car I noticed the left dome light on...hmm.

    Such a dumb thing that these lights can't be made to go off after an hour if left on.

    Mike
     
  15. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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  16. ukr2

    ukr2 Senior Member

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    I didn't disable the Smart Key, but I moved the PIP away from the other cars. The Charge Timer wasn't set. The Traction Battery had 5 miles charge. The Dome Light wasn't on. The car was New a year ago and not on the dealer's lot for more than a day or two.

    Very strange what drained the 12 v battery. I wrote to ToyotaCare, but no reply yet.
     
  17. Andyprius1

    Andyprius1 Senior Member

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    If anybody gets the 12V replaced in Warranty, in three years. Please let me know. That has always been a dispute item by Dealerships.
     
  18. CharlesJ

    CharlesJ Member

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    Yes, but I think only if the battery will not work properly after a full recharge or cannot take a charge; totally broken. Also, who pays for them to troubleshoot it to see if it will work or not after a recharge cycle?
     
  19. El Dobro

    El Dobro A Member

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    During the warranty period, it should be no charge, since you feel there's an issue. The dealer doesn't have to do much anyway, they just hook up the tester and let it do its thing. When it's done, there's a print-out that'll show any issues with the battery.
    Diagnostic Battery Charger for North American Cars – Midtronics GR8
     
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