Car battery dead (I think) can't start. How to jumpstart from the trunk?

Get it's CCA checked, either yourself with something like Solar BA5, or by a battery retailer; they should have a pro level tester. I seriously doubt a battery that was near-dead enough to not start the car would be back to normal with a jump start, hour drive and an hour idling. Protracted idling will deplete a battery, if anything.

 

2012 Prius v? How do you activate the service menu?

 

Prius v Display Audio Service Menu w Battery Check | PriusChat

 

Excellent find. Many thanks!

 

NG usually means No Good. That it's highlighted in red would be a red flag to me.

 

FYI, 12.5 volts isn't a very good resting voltage, needs a charge, or replacement, if it doesn't charge much beyond that voltage.

 

OP needs to pony up for a few maintenance items. Or not.

 

OP is delusional &/or in denial.

2 hrs is NOT enough for a recharge to a well discharged battery.

Get a smart charger or get a new 12V battery.

 

After reading this thread... I felt it necessary to talk about our experience and how we resolve the issue.
We bought our 2012 Prius v 5 in November 2011. Gas, oil change and tire rotation once a year regardless of miles driven. Prius went out of warranty after 36 months and no extended warranty. 5 years later Nov 2016 I backed our car out from garage. Turned engine off... went back into home to collect a forgotten item.

Returned to car and pushed the blue start button and WOW... ALL the idiot lights lit up like a Christmas tree !!!! Nav screen was pulsing on and off. I tired to push the off button... but would not turn off. Made sure hand brake was set. Got out of car.. and called the Toyota dealership Service rep.

They said.. it appeared to be a dead or dying battery. It would need a jump start to get it running again. Bring it in and they would at my expense replace the battery. This would be my first experience in jump starting the car. Rep patiently walked me through the process as I did have one of those battery charger/air compressor boxes. Open the hood. Look for the large black fuse bus box in upper right corner. Take off the cover to the fuse box. Locate the red cover cap with the [+] mark. (top center) 1 First attach the red cable to the plus pole under the red cap [+]. 2. next attach the jumper black cable to a nearby engine block bolt [-] ground point. Wait 30 seconds. Then return to the driver seat... and push the blue electrical system start button.

[edited 31/10/16 1:07pm Central Texas time to correct the charger cables attachment order]

The electrical system and motor started .... the idiot lights returned to normal... (read no longer flashing). My nervous hand shaking settled.

Flash back to the guy in the business department asking me to buy a $1,500+ extended warranty. To which we said NO.

Resolved: 1 hour later the battery was replaced at $315. (Labor, battery, 2 year battery warranty, sales tax and environmental fees.)

AND the radio still worked and on the same station as I left it. I think if the battery is replaced the radio looses it memory and you need the RADIO control code to bring it back to life.

Fair expense and good service if you ask me.

 

GOOD job on saying NO to the extended warranty.

Your 12V AGM, Toyota True Start battery should have a 7year prorated warranty.

Years 1-2, 100% of parts, service and towing
Years 3-4, 50% of Truestart MSRP
Years 5-7, 25% of Truestart MSRP​

Don't be afraid to ask for discounts (AAA, Costco, military, first responders (fire, police, ambulance)). Your dealer may have matched other Toyota dealers who sell on-line or they would have likely come down on their price. Toyota True Start, $181; San Bernardino & North Hollywood Toyota online. Ask local Toyota dealers to beat or match. Toyota Parts - Discounted Toyota and Scion Parts and Accessories

As long as you are happy, nothing else matters.

 

No, no code on Prius. The reason the radio held it's presets is they supplied voltage during the swap, what's referred to as a "memory saver".

If you're low mileage (we're in the same boat), say the car isn't driven daily, or is often driven short distances, the 12 volt battery may start to decline sooner than later. Especially in those conditions, it's good to "knowledge up" about batteries, get a digital multimeter, do periodic "maintenance" sessions with a smart charger.

 

Proper connection for jump start is red to 12v positive, then black ground point last. At least they didn't tell you to reverse the terminals/colors. SMH

 

Now that you mention the polarity order.... I do remember connecting the + first then found a near by block bolt for the ground. Thanks I will edit my comment to this affect so others won't hook up the charger backwards order.

[EDIT: above corrected my cable attachment order]

 

^ There's an underlying safety reason for this sequence. It's to make it impossible to create a short circuit, on either of the batteries, ie: make a connection directly between the positive and negative posts, give the electrons a clear, unhindered path.

The last thing you want to do is connect both clamps at one end of the cable to the good battery first, and then be standing with the two clamps of the other end of the cable. All you need to do now is touch those two clamps together: you've created a short circuit on the good battery. There'll be a goodly spark and bang, fused clamps, toasted cables if it goes on long enough.

 

Some questions...

1. What cheap self contained memory saver have people used. I see lots of cables for use with battery jumper packs, but the economics of that just aren't there. Cheaper to let the dealer do it after I adjust the price.

2. If I don't use a memory saver, what settings do I lose? I can reset the clock and the radio, those are trivial. Do I lose things like the backup beeps settings or are those stored in some protected memory?

My car is 4 years and 35k miles. I'm considering just proactively replacing the 12v battery (no signs of trouble, never been fully discharged). Obviously, I don't mind spending on some things, others not so much.

I do carry the longest heaviest jumper cables I've ever seen. Long enough to get to the front of the car from a front-battery car parked behind.

 

Before I had a cable for my jump pack I used a rudimentary 1/2 amp trickle charger, tailored for motorcycle batteries. Just hooked it up, cinched it to a bolt on the positive cable, and neg cable to grounded bolt, before disconnecting the 12 volt battery. Worked ok.

Someone today mentioned you won't lose the back up beep setting. But yeah the others: trip meters, maybe window up will need relearning, your radio presets, the time.

 

Mendel, RJ, or anyone,

One of the reviews if the Costco charger states:

"Needs more disclosure. I find others with the same specifications and they recommended for 2.5 liter engines or smaller. Average amps for these units is closer to 500 with a high of above 1000amps. This unit has 200-350 Amps a little light. It would be nice to know this prior to purchase."

So, how many amps should we be looking for in a unit, for a Prius ? I have a PRius Hatchback (not a v).

Thanks,
PNB

 

On the Prius, the 12V does not crank the ICE starter (where the need for power could exceed 500 CCA on a 1.7 liter engine). The 12V powers the READY sequence, which eventually causes the HV battery to crank the Prius ICE, as called-for by the hybrid power logic.

Bottom line: for a Prius, you don't need 'jump start' quantity of amperes. You just need to maintain the 12V battery. We find the CTEK 7300 to be more than adequate for maintaining/charging/restoring 12V Li-ion, AGM and traditional lead-acid batteries.

 

I'm confused as to what's being discussed: battery cranking amps or charger amps. For charging, the Owners Manual cautions to not exceed ~4 amps. Something like CTEK 4.3, or 3.3, would be suitable.

 

Even a CTEK 7300 (7.3A) is fine, since the onboard charge maintenance system calls for only the amount of charge required. It only supplies up to 7.3A in "supply" mode, not in charge/maintenance modes.