12 V. battery drain issues on 2016 prius

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by priusrust, May 7, 2025 at 4:37 PM.

  1. priusrust

    priusrust Member

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    Hello~ have an issue that crops up once in a while. Prius sits for maybe 2 weeks, and battery occasionally low/dead. The 12 v low battery will come on and it wont start, have to call AAA.
    Then, it seems to sit 4 weeks and be fine.
    What I ::think:: may be going on......when you park get out of a prius, you stop, press park button, and then press power button, get out, lock vehicle.
    What I ::think:: issue may be is I stop, press park button....and having pressed one button, I subconsciously think that is enough and exit vehicle without powering off. ...and battery drains....
    But don't really know.
    Honestly not sure what 12 volt does. Just sort of powers things up to engage traction battery I think.
    Good ole days circa 1977.
    VW bus. Only worry about battery if stored for a winter, or left headlights on or dome light on. I bought a battery tender jr, I'll keep it hooked up.
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    if you hit the park button, the car is still 'ready'. that means the engine, hybrid battery and inverter are all working together to keep the 12v charged.
    here's what to do:
    1) go to an auto parts store foe a free 12v load test, to see if it is healthy.
    2) charge it up or replace as necessary
    3) with the car off, measure the draw on the 12v to see if it is within spec. if it isn't, you're gonna be spending a lot of time learning how to chase down electrical goblins.
    if it is, then you're just not driving enough, and you should keep it on a 12v maintainer when not in use.
    4) or you could just keep it on a maintainer and avoid the hassle
     
    BiomedO1 likes this.
  3. BiomedO1

    BiomedO1 Senior Member

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    Newer cars with keyless entry and start buttons will drain a battery. It's always scanning; look for your FOB. A few weeks without driving or recharging that small old battery will mean a dead car. The Prius in particular will run readiness diagnostics at certain intervals; powered by the 12V battery ONLY!

    Get the 12V battery load tested to see if it needs replacement.

    Good Luck..
     
    #3 BiomedO1, May 7, 2025 at 9:47 PM
    Last edited: May 8, 2025 at 12:07 AM
  4. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Your protracted downtimes are very detrimental to the battery.
    that’s good. It’ll likely need a replacement battery though; the current one likely too far gone.
     
  5. Mr.Vanvandenburg

    Mr.Vanvandenburg Senior Member

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    I press the park button most of the time, but it only requires the start stop button to be pressed to turn off the car. I often sit for a few minutes in park watching my battery monitor charge level for the 12 volt.
    If 12 volt is too low like 70% or under I put a battery charger on the 12 v. without a battery monitor it's flying blind. Amazon has them, like Ancel BM200 for $24.
     
  6. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    I rarely if ever push the Park button, due to convenience of it happening in conjunction with hitting the Power button (shutting off).

    that said, more times than I care to admit, I’ve JUST about exited the car, still in Ready (fully on), and in D (drive), just held by parking brake.

    I think the old-school key-in ignition and conventional shifter were light years ahead in this regard.
     
  7. Doug McC

    Doug McC Senior Member

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    WHY are you pressing the Park button? If you are shutting the car down, press the Power button and exit the car (just like the Owners Manual tells you to). IF You press the Park button and exit your car, your car will sound an alarm to tell you “you forgot to turn me off”. So, first you are adding an additional and unnecessary step, and then ignoring the alarm that is telling you to shut the car off the correct way.
     
  8. Mr.Vanvandenburg

    Mr.Vanvandenburg Senior Member

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    I sometimes use park at long traffic lights, or if I want to talk on the phone before exiting the car etc. In park, the 12 volt charges.
    It depends what the battery monitor is showing. Last night the 12 v was in the 70%’s, and I could read the resting volts wasn’t that high the 24 hours before, so I put the charger on. Monitor I have holds 5 days of data to review. It also tells me what my charger does, the way it charges.
     
  9. Doug McC

    Doug McC Senior Member

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    I can understand that, and think it’s a great idea.
    My comment was directed at the OP who seemed to be saying that the OP makes a habit of placing the car in Park, then pushing the Power button, as a normal shut down procedure (like shifting to park and shutting off the key). If that is true, then the OP doesn’t understand what the Power button does (ie: places the vehicle in Park as part of the shut down function).