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Help! Traction Battery Question

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by drmanny3, Dec 28, 2011.

  1. drmanny3

    drmanny3 Member

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    I have a friend who has not driven his 2005 for about 2 years. Would you expect his traction battery and his aux battery to be dead? Is there a way to kick start a traction battery? Or is he in big trouble?
    Thanks,
    Manny
     
    #1 drmanny3, Dec 28, 2011
  2. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    (Why do people let their cars sit around like that?) Probably one or both are now flat. Try a simple jump start to the 12V battery: if that doesn't work it will have to be towed to a Toyota dealer to have the traction battery jumped with their proprietary charger.
     
    #2 richard schumacher, Dec 28, 2011
  3. stevemcelroy

    stevemcelroy Active Member

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    Other than a hybrid letting the car sit is not that big a deal - worst case is a new 12 volt and instead of picking 1 of 3 fairly expensive options you can hit any Walmart or Sears and get something that will work.

    Back in school the battery in my '78 Volvo 245 went - instead of replacing it I just made sure to park on a hill so I could roll start it - I think I did this for close to 2 months before going home and asking for a new battery for Christmas (just what my Mom wanted to put under the tree).

     
    #3 stevemcelroy, Dec 28, 2011
  4. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    Yikes, as Richard says, you can try jumping the 12v, but honestly, I'd stick a known good one in there. Then just see what happens, I've never heard of anyone letting it sit for that long. Toyota's always said "up to 6 months" for how long the traction can go w/o being used/charged. But who knows, maybe it will hold charge for 2 years--or at least enough to get it running. It has probably shortened the life of the traction battery somewhat even if it will charge back up.

    Please let us know what happens, this is a pretty interesting situation.

    BTW, good luck with getting the dealer to charge it up, my bet would be they'll suggest replacement if it got that depleted then just sat there b/c they'll suspect it's irreparably damaged by being drained for that long.
     
    #4 efusco, Dec 28, 2011
  5. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    The 12V is a complete and total loss.

    The car might start with a new 12V, but it is maybe 50/50 that the hybrid battery has not self-discharged to the point that it has the energy to start the car. There is a guy somewhere in LA that does mobile hybrid battery repair that could probably help get it charged for cheaper than the dealer.

    But your problems do not stop there. You probably will find stuck/rusted valves in the engine, bad gas (add Stabil first), and other problems due to the fact that it sat for two years.

    Pray to the car gods.
     
    #5 seilerts, Dec 28, 2011
    2 people like this.
  6. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    Yep and the tires might also have flat spots now.

    Bad idea. People who do that may as well loan their car to somewhere on occasion or sell it (due to depreciation + aforementioned problems). There are a bunch of small startups (I forget the names) which lets you make a bit of money by renting out your car (sort of like Zipcar, except that you own the car). That'd be an alternative.
     
    #6 cwerdna, Dec 31, 2011
  7. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    #7 cwerdna, Jan 6, 2012
  8. Flying White Dutchman

    Flying White Dutchman Senior Member

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    so how did it work out??
     
    #8 Flying White Dutchman, Jan 6, 2012
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