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How to Store 2005 Prius for 3 months?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by gringostar, May 22, 2017.

  1. gringostar

    gringostar Junior Member

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    Hello all,

    I'm traveling this summer for 3 months. Prius will be parked driveway with 12V battery disconnected. Do I need to have someone drive it once a month? Start it once a month or drive it? That's a tall order since I'll have to have said person reconnect the battery, which mean's he will have to crawl through the back, open up the back with his finger, lift the hatchback with his shoulder, reconnect the battery and drive it. Repeat 3x. Do I need to do all that? Any other suggestions would be appreciated. The only other option I can think of is, run an extension cord to Prius and have a trickle charger inside of Prius. Help? The hybrid battery was replaced 70K miles ago. (It has 190K now).
     
    #1 gringostar, May 22, 2017
    Last edited: May 22, 2017
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Is the hv battery original? If it is, it may fail by the time you return. To prevent this, you might want to have it reconditioned before you go. It'll give it a better chance of surviving 3 months of non use

    Then after you return, you grid charge the battery before you attempt to start it
     
  3. gringostar

    gringostar Junior Member

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    No. It got a new battery 70,000 miles ago.
     
  4. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Oh I think you're good to go. That battery won't give you any problems in 3 months. Just gotta worry about the 12v.

    I would disconnect it. When you return, get another 12v source to power the front jump points, that should give you enough power to open the hatch and reconnect the battery back up. Charge if necessary
     
    #4 JC91006, May 22, 2017
    Last edited: May 22, 2017
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    pump the tires to max sidewall. plan for mice?
     
  6. andrewclaus

    andrewclaus Active Member

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    Yeah, mouse bait's a good idea. Don't park near a field with critters.

    Park in a level spot and don't apply the parking brake, or chock the wheels if on a hill. You don't want the brakes welding to the drums.

    I would not expect someone to reconnect the battery for a maintenance drive. Pick one. If you want it driven, turn off the SKS and make sure it gets driven, or at least left "Ready," for an hour or two a month. (Charging the 12V is done by the hybrid system and does not care if the engine is turning.)

    Three months is a long time for a trickle charge. I don't know if that's a good idea.

    If your driver is expected to jump start the car, be absolutely sure it gets done correctly. Reverse polarity could total the car.
     
  7. gringostar

    gringostar Junior Member

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    Will the Hybrid battery charge if the car is not driven but left in "Ready" position? I could have my roommate start the car twice a week. I would prefer she not drive it.
     
  8. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    A new battery from Toyota or a rebuilt battery from a 3rd party company?
     
  9. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    I don't believe the hybrid battery will be an issue. It's fairly new.

    But you can always force charge it before you go, that way it'll be sitting at a nearly full charge. To force charge, you would set the parking brake, put the car in Ready mode, put it into Drive and press both the brake and accelerator at the same time. You'll see the battery SOC meter charge up full and then you're done.

    Make sure you do this in an open area, just in case you let go of the brake by mistake...don't wanna put a hole in your garage.
     
  10. gringostar

    gringostar Junior Member

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    The new battery is from Toyota dealer installed 70,000 miles ago.
     
  11. gringostar

    gringostar Junior Member

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    How long should I do this for?
     
  12. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Oh just 1 time is fine. It'll only take a minute, you'll see the SOC meter go all the way up (8 full bars) and then you'll be done.
     
  13. gringostar

    gringostar Junior Member

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    OK. Great. Thanks.
     
  14. Kevin_Denver

    Kevin_Denver Active Member

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    See this thread where I asked the same questions. It has a good list of things to do.
    What tips do you have for storing a Prius for 3 months? | PriusChat

    I parked my car for 3 months and had no issues on return (fuel economy was a little low for first ~100 miles, but was likely just the battery recharging, hybrid battery cells coming into closer charge "sync" and flat spots wearing out of the tires). Now the car drives exactly as it did before.

    Better would just be to leave the battery connected and have a friend use the car for their daily commute instead of their normal car 1x/week.