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Battery Life Extension Ideas?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by PylonShadow, Dec 23, 2019.

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  1. PylonShadow

    PylonShadow New Member

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    Hi All. I'm a new owner of a 2009 Prius with 155,000 miles on it. I live in a major city and intend to use the car roughly every other weekend or so. For the most part the car will be parked in a lot and left there anywhere from 1 to 3 weeks at a time.

    On Saturday I drove the car for 2 hours. On Sunday I tried to start the car and it wouldn't turn on. We removed the 12v battery and took it to an Auto Parts store where they said the battery was fine and recharged it up. Placed the battery back in and the car was fine.

    My question is this. Seeing as I live in the Northeast and the weather will be cold, as well as leaving the car for days or weeks at a time, what should I be doing to try and avoid this situation in the future? I won't be able to take out the battery (a bit of a painful process with all the screws there) and charge it up at an Auto parts store every time. I'm really not a car guy so excuse my ignorance but is there some sort of portable charger, or solar charger that I should be looking into that I can have at the ready in case I were to run into this problem in the future? Thanks for your help
     
    #1 PylonShadow, Dec 23, 2019
  2. cthindi

    cthindi Member

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    Is it a 10 year old battery? It may be time to replace it. You could keep the small emergency Lithium battery to jump start the car yourself.

    With a 10 year old car I would be more concerned with Main Hybrid battery when keeping the car unused to 3 weeks.

    I have a 2005 Prius. I am leaving it with a friend to be used while I am away for 10 days. This car needs to be used regularly. More particularly as it gets old.
     
    #2 cthindi, Dec 24, 2019
  3. PylonShadow

    PylonShadow New Member

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    Thanks for the reply. The 12v battery is only about 2 years old. The main Prius battery however is the original one.
     
    #3 PylonShadow, Dec 24, 2019
  4. Kaptainkid1

    Kaptainkid1 Active Member

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    Battery tender. It charges your 12v battery while your car sits for days or weeks. Unfortunately the worst thing for all Priuses are sitting around not having the main hybrid charging. The only way to charge the main battery is driving it.

    SM-J737T1 ?
     
    #4 Kaptainkid1, Dec 24, 2019
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  5. Aaron Vitolins

    Aaron Vitolins Senior Member

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    Well your 12v battery should be able to go a few weeks without use and still power up the cars electronics when you’re ready. There is a small button under the steering wheel that turns the smart key on and off. You can turn it off to have less draw on the 12v, since the car is always looking for a key! You can use the physical key to unlock the drivers door and put the key fob in the slot to start it.
     
    #5 Aaron Vitolins, Dec 24, 2019
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  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    congrats and welcome!
    now might be a good time to consider a prolong hybrid battery charger, but if you are leaving the car in a lot with no available electrical source, you probably purchased the wrong car.
     
    #6 bisco, Dec 24, 2019
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  7. dig4dirt

    dig4dirt MoonGlow

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    I agree with @bisco

    If the use of the car is gonna be the same for a while, like years that way,
    may be best to get a Corolla or even an older Lexus.

    Otherwise, just carry a cheap jumper pack with you ($30~$50), and jump it safely when needed.
     
    #7 dig4dirt, Dec 24, 2019
  8. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    THAT doesn't bode well for the future.

    A Prius with the SKS turned off will be no more likely to have a problem starting after a 2 week "nap" than most any other car.
    IF you drive it enough when you DO drive it.

    A solar battery tender would be ideal IF it is parked in the sun.

    Not starting again the day after driving it for 2 hours tends to indicate that the battery needs to be replaced.......no matter what the test showed.
     
    #8 sam spade 2, Dec 24, 2019
  9. donbright

    donbright Active Member

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    to be honest a lot of these "my battery is bad" stories remind me of my own personal "my battery is bad" story - which was in fact not the battery but the failing combination meter which i eventually replaced with a refurb from texashybridbatteries. the confusing part was that unplugging and replugging my battery would temporarily allow me to start the car sometimes... until one day it didnt.
     
    #9 donbright, Dec 26, 2019
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