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12V battery dead.

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by kristen Hicks, Mar 27, 2014.

  1. kristen Hicks

    kristen Hicks New Member

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    second dead battery in 2 years. ??? Car never sits for longer than 12 hours and no internal lights on. I have a III with Sunroof. Anyone?
     
  2. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    Any non oem accessories like a scangauge, or BT reader plugged into the OBDII port?

    No DTC codes reported?
     
  3. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Brand of battery? Toyota batteries have 24 month warranty, optima has 3 years warranty. Chances are you can just recharge your battery and see how it holds up.
     
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    welcome to priuschat! you'll need to test the battery with everything off to see if there is a parasitic drain. all the best!(y)
     
  5. kristen Hicks

    kristen Hicks New Member

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    No DTC codes reported. The main battery and also the solar run. Had to use key to enter car. Tried charging but doesn't hold. First battery went at 39K miles. Replaced by dealer for $300. This one is just a year old. I have another 2010 prius 3 that seems fine. Is there a way to diagnosis before failure. In the "OLD" cars we would do battery tests every 6 months.
     
  6. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    I would get the warranty replacement from Toyota, they should have a 24 month warranty on their batteries.

    You should remove the battery from the car and charge it up. After fully charged, wait 2 days and take a voltage reading. If it's holding a charge, then you would assume there is something draining it in the car.
     
  7. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Just to clarify: these are Toyota spec'd batteries, ie not a third party battery, an Optima or whatever?

    One rudimentary test is to hook up a digital multimeter, check the voltage, with the car off. A 100% battery will be around 12.6 volt or higher. 12.5, 12.4 is getting iffy. 12.3 and down not so good.
     
  8. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    I bought a 12v from the dealership in New Mexico last week. It cost ~ $190 - 200 USD but it now carries a graduated 84 month guarantee. Much better value overall than the 12v batteries of yesteryear that cost ~ 140 USD but only carried a 3 or 4 year warranty.
     
  9. kristen Hicks

    kristen Hicks New Member

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    AWESOME INFO everyone. Many thanks!!
     
  10. Pepelily

    Pepelily Junior Member

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    i replaced my battery 2 months ago and this morning my battery was dead, i jumped it, drive around a little , turned off car and after 40 min tried to start the car and was dead again so i went to autozone to have it checked and they told me the battery was bad, it did not have any charge and wont take any charge if they tried, so i went to toyota and they give me another one, i installed it by 5pm , it is 9 pm i went outside and unlock my car and seems to be good. i did not turn it on but lights when locked it seemed strong and the lock bip was fine too, i hope it was only the battery i will try tomorrow.
     
  11. Pepelily

    Pepelily Junior Member

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    mine died in two months so dont feel that bad

    i replaced my battery 2 months ago and this morning my battery was dead, i jumped it drive around a little , turned off car and after 40 min tried to start the car and was dead again so i went to autozone to have it checked and they told me the battery was bad, it did not have any charge and wont take any charge if they tried, so i went to toyota and they give me another one, i installed it by 5pm , it is 9 pm i went outside and unlock my car and seems to be good. i did not turn it on but lights when locked it seemed strong and the lock bip was fine too, i hope it was only the battery i will try tomorrow.
     
  12. Easy Rider

    Easy Rider Active Member

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    For anyone having battery troubles:
    New batteries need to be FULLY charged before being put into service.......or shortly after.
    This can be done in the car or out.
    You should NOT trust the dealer or the car to do that for you.

    And vehicles that are not driven much.......that are off more than they are ON.....,would benefit from an automatic smart charger connected to the battery at least once a week to "top off" the charge.
     
  13. Pepelily

    Pepelily Junior Member

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    thanks a lot
     
  14. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Get something like a CTEK 3300 charger, hook it up overnight on normal setting. If it shows green light the next morning you should be good. Drive it for a few days, then check voltage with a digital meter.
     
  15. Pepelily

    Pepelily Junior Member

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    thanks to you all