1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Dead 2013 Plug in

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by kevin smith, May 17, 2022.

  1. kevin smith

    kevin smith New Member

    Joined:
    May 17, 2022
    2
    0
    0
    Location:
    Tucker,Ga.
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    Came home and shut my Prius off with .4 mi of electric driving left and everything went black. No restart, everything dead. Hooked up jumper cables and everything lit back up but died as soon as I disconnected the jumper cables. I’m guessing I blew a fuse but have no idea which one. Looked through the fuse box but nothing bad that I could see. Is it one of the big fuses? Anyone with any ideas? Thanks in advance for anyone’s help. KCS
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,699
    48,945
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    if jumpers worked, you need a new 12v battery. is it original?
     
    pghyndman likes this.
  3. kevin smith

    kevin smith New Member

    Joined:
    May 17, 2022
    2
    0
    0
    Location:
    Tucker,Ga.
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    Yes. But I don’t understand why I can power up from a jump start with power left in the hybrid battery and then goes dark as soon as I disconnected the jumper cables. I had jump started my son in laws Prius Pug in several times and it ran before I replaced his 12v battery. I wasn’t gradual at all, just died when I shut it down. How confident are you it’s the 12v battery?
     
  4. LeviSmith

    LeviSmith Member

    Joined:
    Aug 19, 2009
    108
    38
    0
    Location:
    NY
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Advanced
    That's definitely a really quick battery failure. The only other possibility would be if somehow your battery terminals are so bad that they're not connected to the battery itself. But that seems awfully unlikely.
    But you've demonstrated that with 12v power to the terminals the system works.
    Hmm, are you testing at the terminals on the battery? I suppose there's possibly something else at play if you're using the terminals under the hood...
     
  5. BiomedO1

    BiomedO1 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2021
    1,317
    719
    0
    Location:
    SacTown, Ca
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius Prime
    Model:
    LE
    With the little troubleshooting you've explained; the battery is the only conclusion we can come to. The jump pack is providing power to close the high voltage relays; which allows the car to power-up. I don't understand why your looking at fuses - attaching a jump pack will magically fix a blow fuse?????
    You may also have an issue with your DC to DC converter, not providing enough 12VDC to power your systems. That would cause your 12VDC battery not to recharge during operations. If that's your original battery, it's been there for 10 years. Your actually lucky, most people report only getting 3-5 years out of the 12VDC battery.

    Hope this helps.
     
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,699
    48,945
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    It is simple really. Your 12v is dead, your sons was just low.
    Same thing happened to me a couple years ago.
    Car started fine, drove 4 miles, turned off, went for a walk, an hour later it was dead.
    Jump start, but dead with cables removed.
    Battery was 4.4 volts, had to replace.
    There is no connection with the hybrid battery
     
    drash likes this.
  7. drash

    drash Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 5, 2005
    2,450
    1,228
    0
    Location:
    Upstate NY
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Yep sounds like a short in the 12V between cells. They get like that because the separator breaks down after awhile. Mostly they are soft shorts like @bisco described, they seem fine at first but dendritic growth causes a rapid leak. Your 12 volt battery reads like like a hard short.
     
  8. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2008
    23,275
    15,072
    0
    Location:
    Indiana, USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    Similar symptoms can be seen if the cable connections to the battery are iffy (just one bit of if on either the + or − side is all it takes). A few strategic voltmeter measurements, from the battery's own lead posts to a body ground, from the cable clamp on the lead post to ground, from the cable beyond the clamp to ground, from the fat white cable in the front fuse box to ground, etc., can reveal if something like that is going on.

    The front fuse box is split into two sections joined by a buried 125 amp fuse. One section connects to the battery and includes the jump point, and the other section connects to the DC/DC converter that produces the power when the car is READY.

    When the buried fuse is ok, the two sections function together. If the buried fuse isn't ok, you can get weird situations where everything connected to the one section will work only with a good battery or jump connection (even when the car is READY and producing power), while everything connected to the other section only works while the car is READY (regardless of the battery condition or jump connection).
     
    jerrymildred and Mendel Leisk like this.
  9. RobPHV

    RobPHV New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 4, 2022
    10
    1
    0
    Location:
    Melbourne
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    12V battery dead short or the 200V to 14V DC-DC converter is not working (to sustain it after jump start)
     
  10. ThatOddMan

    ThatOddMan Junior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2019
    61
    24
    13
    Location:
    Alhambra, CA
    Vehicle:
    2014 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    Buy a new 12v battery.

    I think I know how to forcefully use the HV battery to startup and drive your plug-in to a safe location. But would rather not tell you how as you probably spend more on replacing your HV battery than just buying the less expensive 12v battery.

    I am still unclear how Toyota will replace the HV batteries of the 1st gen Prius Plug-in that are still on the road; since last I heard from the dealer is that Toyota Japan halted the sales of the replacement new HV battery for the 1st gen.
     
  11. Rmay635703

    Rmay635703 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 16, 2016
    2,577
    1,601
    0
    Location:
    Somewhere in Wisconsin
    Vehicle:
    2013 Chevy Volt
    Model:
    N/A
    Wonder how they could get away with that given California requires a 10 year warranty on PHEV batteries as apart of the emissions warranty.

    Given a few cars in service date is as late as 2016 it’s sort of ballsy to stop sale 4 years early, could leave them open for lawsuit if one dies.

    Assuming of coarse they don’t have a stockpile sitting somewhere
     
  12. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,699
    48,945
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    first gen plug in batteries don't need replacing under warranty

    plus anything i hear from a dealer, i leave at the dealer on my way out
     
    Rmay635703 likes this.
  13. RobPHV

    RobPHV New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 4, 2022
    10
    1
    0
    Location:
    Melbourne
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    Car makers do not maintain parts production facilities for 10 years after the last vehicle rolls off the line.
    Based on statistical data, they generally predict future spare parts requirements in order to maintain existing vehicles and then make a one-time order from their suppliers to store in a central warehouse.

    Incidentally, I just bought genuine lower ball joints for my 1996 Toyota Prado which had to come from Japan. That car series ceased sale in 2004.

    Of course some manufacturers with a low production run may think this is too expensive (perhaps with solvency issues) and simply offer to buy back the car if still under warranty provided the jurisdiction will permit this. However, this means the cars go back to landfill too early and defeats the zero emissions philosophy of the 10 year warranty.
     
  14. Gokhan

    Gokhan Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2008
    4,294
    1,750
    0
    Location:
    Paramount CA
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Limited
    car dark = 12-V battery dead

    A jump start will not bring back a totally dead 12-V battery.
     
  15. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,699
    48,945
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
  16. recycled55

    recycled55 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 1, 2019
    2
    1
    0
    Location:
    Golden, Mo
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    I just replaced my 12v yesterday at the dealer. Went to interstate battery shop and he said dealer item only so coughed up $327 at toyota. ow
     
    bisco likes this.
  17. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,699
    48,945
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    That’s about right, the battery is $200.+