Big Prius trouble for Sister inlaw

Only if it is Ready mode I believe. What model year is it?

 

Spidey,

+1

You thinkin' like I'm thinkin' that the pesky
12V battery gremlin


is sneakin' round under the hatch area floor?

 

All too often,the 12V battery is a source of frequent complaints as it
approaches/passes it's typical 4 yr. service life. Reductions occur when
it is subjected to extremes of either heat -- Florida, parked in the open?
-- or cold. Also, having to "jump start" the car, typically due leaving an
interior light on, is usually the first step on the slippery slope to the
12V battery slowly dying, unappreciated, in the lonely dark uner the
floor boards.

When all is well with the 12V battery, its most important function is to
boot the CPUs when the car is in READY, which then leads to the HV
battery circuit breakers closing... vroom, vroom and off we go!

Should the 12V battery get seriously discharged, as a point of reference
~12.0V, all manner of strange/annoying/enraging things can happen.
In no particular order;
"Christmas Tree" warning light dash display
Car won't start
Car won't turn off !!!
Random, intermittent horn and/or wipers
Severely reduced MPGs
etc.

Those are the gremlins, lurking, leering, way in the back.

 

get a price from your dealer on an original and compare it to the time, trouble and cost of the optima.

 

I went the optima route last year, but next time I'm going to buy Toyota OEM and intstall it myself.

 

Why?

We anticipate needing to change ours out in the next year, and had thought that the Optima was a better battery than OEM.
Please share your experience.

 

Just wondering if there is an explanation somewhere of how a low battery can affect MPGs? Not disputing it or anything, just curious....

 

Hi Rae:

Optima + shipping + adapter is not much cheaper than the OEM, so long as you do not let the stealership install. I got five good years out of my original battery and actually only replaced it somewhat preventively, so I am unconvinced a quality difference exists between the two choices.

 

rpeeples, B. Roberts,,

Good question.

Answer here:

http://priuschat.com/forums/newbie-forum/73400-weird-stuff-happening-mpgs-dropping-test-battery.html

With thanks to Richard Schumacher.:rockon:

 

Hi All,

The Optima battery is available at Advance Auto Parts. Be sure to check the manufacture date. So, once you have the Elearnaid adapter kit installed, its pretty quick to replace....

 

Dead battery horror stories abound here on this forum with regards to the OEM battery. This is one reason that people have been charged thousands when their IC pump fails, because after a short time of driving the car, the 12V voltage drops to the point that the computers get confused, and all kinds of spurious trouble codes get set.

Nary a peep about Optima battery failures.

Optima is a deep cycle battery, and the Prius application is perfect -- very low current draw to start the car, parasitic drains when the car is off. OEM is basically a motorcycle cranking battery, not designed for deep discharge.

Optima requires a little more time, a little more trouble, MAYBE a little extra money. It's definitely worth it in my opinion. I have no financial interest in elearnaid.com

 

Yes, in IG-On you should be able to select N. But if you apply jumper power to get IG-On, you should be able to get Ready just as easily.

 

Like stated above, the Optima is a deep cycle Battery so deep discharges will not harm it as much as it would a standard battery. This is the reason we use them in high-powered car audio systems and portable electric fencing for livestock.