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Parking the Prius for 4 months

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by eurosteve, Nov 13, 2013.

  1. eurosteve

    eurosteve Member

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    Hi

    I need to park my 2008 Prius for around 4 months since I'm taking my RV south for the winter. Any tips for storage? I thought I would put some Stabil in a full tank of fresh gas. I also thought I would try to disconnect the small, 12 volt battery. Any other thoughts?

    I know this is a basic question, but if I disconnect the 12 volt battery, do I need to remove both terminal lugs or just one?

    Thanks
    Steve
    2008 Prius
     
  2. jdenenberg

    jdenenberg EE Professor

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    Just one - the negative lead to the body is easy to remove/replace. Make sure to put an insulated cover on the lead to avoid touching any metal while disconnected. You will need to reset your radio presets and the auto-up for the electric windows when you get back. I would also make sure that both batteries are at a high State-Of-Charge (SOC) before storing your Prius.

    JeffD
     
  3. Britprius

    Britprius Senior Member

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    Make sure the HV battery has a high level of charge before storing the car (5 blue or 6 green bars on the MFD).

    The main supply cable from the 12 volt battery positive terminal plugs in to the terminal connector so no need to remove the terminal lugs. Only this one connection need be removed.
    It would be best if the 12 volt battery could be left on charge from a battery minder or a solar charger. The solar charger can be connected direct to the battery, "do not use the cigar lighter socket" and will work well if the car is left outside. Alternatively the battery and solar charger can be taken indoors and the solar charger put by a window.

    John (Britprius)
     
  4. eurosteve

    eurosteve Member

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    Thanks guys for your help with this. Should I remove the negative terminal wire or the positive wire?
    If I'm understanding your posts it seems that I could remove either?
     
  5. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Yes, you could remove either. Correct practice is to disconnect the negative terminal first if you are using metal tools.

    The reason for that is if you short the positive terminal to body ground with a metal tool while the negative terminal is still connected, this will result in a large spark and possible harm to you or the car.

    If you disconnect a 12V battery cable, remember that the electric hatch opening switch no longer will operate, so you need to close the hatch in such a way that the lock does not engage. Or, plan to crawl through the passenger compartment into the hatch area to find the mechanical hatch lock release which can be accessed after the folding hatch floor is removed, with access via an opening in the black plastic tray over the spare tire. The opening is at the rear of the tray, in proximity to the latch mechanism.

    An alternate approach is to disconnect the positive lead which bolts to the dedicated jumpstart terminal within the main relay/fuse box next to the inverter. This works well because it is much easier to open the hood from inside the passenger compartment. You can lock/unlock the driver's door using the mechanical key within the fob.

    I suggest that you fully-charge the 12V battery prior to storage, so that you won't have to worry about the battery being able to power up the car when you return from your trip.

    With regards to storage, I suggest that you change the engine oil/oil filter immediately prior to storage, and inflate the tires to 44 psi. Ideally, raise the car on jackstands to prevent tire flatspotting.
     
  6. eurosteve

    eurosteve Member

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    Thanks for the great advice on storage! I have been driving the car daily since 2008 so I hope that it doesn't deteriorate too much from sitting idly. It has about 145,000 miles on it and my plan is to run it for at least another 2 years, to maybe 180,000 (or more). So far it has performed well.
     
  7. eurosteve

    eurosteve Member

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    Update: I decided to go with "Battery Tender Plus" (Deltran) and keep the Prius on charge all winter - unless anyone tells me that this could be a problem.

    Looks like I would connect the charger to the positive terminal (on the right side of the engine compartment, in the compartment near the fuses) and the ground bolt (on the left side of the engine compartment) as shown in the manual for where to jump. Does this sound correct? I'm hoping that I can use this setup even with the Prius' small, hidden battery.

    Any thoughts on whether this is a good or a bad idea?

    Thanks
    Steve
     
  8. Britprius

    Britprius Senior Member

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    Steve that will work perfectly well maintaining a good level of charge on the 12 volt battery.

    John (Britprius)
     
  9. eurosteve

    eurosteve Member

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    Just hooked it up and seems to be working fine. The wire provided is just long enough to get to the negative and positive terminals. It shows a red charging light. Hopefully that will turn green sometime soon.

    Steve