So I have to move my Prius into my garage so that my other car parked in the street can be parked in the driveway. It's 8F outside and when I started my Prius nothing happens.. it's not going "READY" mode so I can't move it. Tried several times and depressing hard the brake pedal (thinking that it might be bad) but no luck. I see all the lights up in the dashboard light but READY isn't lit. Voltage when turn is 13.8v on my cigarette lighter plug (it has voltmeter built in) I made it to turn on when I don't press on the brake and turn the start button on twice and when all the lights are on I press the brake pedal and press the start button again and it suddenly went to READY and engine started running.. Any experience similar with this cold weather? this is the 1st time I encounter this on my hybrid.
That's the voltage from the DC to DC converter that's powered by High Voltage battery and used to run the vehicles 12v sytems as well as charge the 12v battery because car is in ready mode. It can go up to 14.1v.
With temperatures that cold you're gonna have glitches if your 12v is weak, especially if there's moisture in the vehicle from the usual Gen2 leaks. What's more the hybrid battery ECU dials back the packs available discharge and charge abiliity in temperatures that cold. In other words, report back when temperatures are above freezing if you still have issues, but suspect the symptoms will go away once weather warms.
that's not the battery voltage since it's in accessory mode (cigarette lighter plug on when accessory mode is on) I suspect it could be a weak 12v... I just recently replaced the 12v battery (3 days ago) on my Lexus gx470, it died just a week after the 3yr warranty expired. Voltage is fine when fully charged but it has weak CCA to crank the motor. Now trying Costco batteries see if it's better than Walmart.
The 12V and/or the HV pack are too cold. So maybe try to warm them up, old school style? Heat a bunch of rocks, bricks, or what have you to about 115F in the oven. Hot enough to warm things up, not hot enough to burn you or melt plastic. Hustle them out and layer them over the top of the 12V compartment and over the HV pack. Put some sort of insulating layer over that. Even just newspaper, but an aluminized mylar blanket would be perfect. Wait a while for the two batteries to warm up. Try and start the car. There might be a possibility of the thermal shock damaging something, so caveat emptor. I don't think that is likely though, as here the heat has to diffuse through the hatch carpeting and floor material. How old school? Waaaay back in the day it was common to warm beds this way. Some methods were way more dangerous, where they would put hot coals in metal container and wave it around under the sheets, keeping it moving to avoid a fire. Bed warmer - Wikipedia Also, if it is just the 12V that is weak, you could jump the car and it should start. Of course if the HV is the problem, that won't help.
Those temps I put my Stanley ceramic heater in the car on 750 watt . The temp dial on about 1/2 . Fan on medium . It can just sit in they're all night W no issues at all . Heater will shut off if any dumb shiet occurs.
