Newly purchased 2008 stuck in driveway 2 wks till DMV appt

It sounds like you are doing the right thing to keep the 12V from dying and the HV battery modules from getting unbalanced. It is probably not necessary to start it every day, every couple of days should be fine, but let it warm up fully each time (turn on the heater if you can bear it, and let the engine run for 15 or 20 minutes). Not running it every day will save some gas, hopefully you will have enough to make it to DMV day. It probably wouldn't hurt to drive it forward or back a couple of feet every now and then to keep the tires from developing flat spots.

 

Disconnect negative cable from the 12 volt battery, and just hang in there? Two weeks is not long, but just long enough if the battery’s iffy. Or a charger connected, if practical. Seems better than all that gas going up in smoke and getting nowhere.

 

Clean and inspect everything!!! Especially clean the engine compartment so if there's any leaks you'll find out about it sooner rather than later. Make a list of things that might need attention/improvements... Add some wax and polish and buy an OBD2 adapter so you you can use phone app to monitor car health. Dr Prius app has a buyer's guide for the device that's compatible with many phone apps: Hybrid battery diagnostic and repair tool for Toyota and Lexus You can also get a mini VCI dongle for similar price and run Toyota Techstream diagnostic software.

 

How many miles on the car.

Do not clean anything in the engine compartment. Water getting into any electrical connector will drive you crazy.
Just watch all the reservoirs under the hood like the inverter coolant reservoir
The brake fluid reservoir and the engine coolant rad. Take the black plastic cover off the top of the rad you will find the rad cap under there. That should be full to the lip. Don’t bother looking at the over flow tank that’s useless it could be full and rad empty.
Most used g2’s have a tired hybrid battery or may eat engine oil.
Sometimes both.
Most g2s leak water bad in the hatch including mine. Open up the back hatch take the spare tire out and look in the hole the 12 volt battery sits in with a flashlight it may be full of water very common look for rust stains under the spare tire.
And lastly if it was me I would measure the 12 volt dc on the front jump point
See how bad the 12 is. It’s a very rare used G2 that does not need a new 12 volt battery. Get a battery charger. Never ever jump start the car from the battery always use the front jump point that’s why it’s there.
Lastly if it was me I would force charge that hybrid battery everyday
And watch the hybrid battery level in the mfd and be very concerned about the hybrid battery levels and behavior.

to force charge put the car in
ready. Put your left foot on the brake pedal put it in drive and push on the gas till the engine starts so your basically power braking the car.
Watch the battery monitor on the mfd and slowly push on the gas till you see the charging lines go from the car to the battery. Then you are charging the hybrid battery, don’t floor it just continue to press the gas pedal till the engine is running high enough to start charging the battery. While doing this never let off the brake as you will take off.
Been doing this for years.

start reading all the hybrid battery posts. Anything you ever want to know about the G2 can be found by using the search forums link up top.

search

hybrid battery

 

And then you go on to tell him that he is NOT doing the right thing.
The latter is the right answer.

 

You think a filthy engine compartment won't create more problems than a little cleaning fluid or a small amount water that's too dangerous for the electrical connections?

This is the first time I've read of someone recommending that its safer to not clean your car. Makes no sense...

I'm slowly learning the hard way that I'm better off telling people that I won't work on a filthy car even if I need to earn the money as it's indicative of a lack of proper care and maintenance and always ends up being a way bigger hassle than its worth.

 

Do not disconnect the 12v if you have to get the car smog checked. It will reset the computers and you will fail unless you drive around.

Failed Smog: Doing a drive cycle after a code reset for smog test. | PriusChat

 

I’m siding with Ed: I’d take wipe down with rags, compressed air and brushes, over a water blast.

 

Usually after washing the car with the hood fully closed some water gets into the engine compartment and that combined with the wet towel from drying the car is enough to keep a clean engine clean. But that first round of cleaning will require more soapy fluid than that.

 

Got this saved for later (on Amazon). I like that it’s on-board, you plug it in just like a block heater, say through the front grill. So far my CTEK 4.3 won’t quit though. It’s external; I’ve wall-mounted near the car and installed a quick connect. I need to pop the hood though.

 

I'm guessing the noise you heard after turning off the car was the pump in the Coolant Heat Recovery System. It fills a "thermos" with warm coolant. If you start the car again within the next few hours, it will pump the warm coolant back into the engine to shorten the time required for the engine to reach operating temperature. That sound is distinct from the sound that the actuator makes when it is pressurizing the braking system. You will hear that sound frequently (but hopefully not too frequently) when you are driving and using the brakes.

 

OK. I would say I'm sorry......but I'm not.
Because that wasn't really obvious.
And it has no bearing on what is being discussed.
Maybe instead of using the old convention of using male pronouns when the gender is unknown, we should start using "it" instead.

 

Is that basically a trickle charger for a 12v battery?

Because after way too many experiences of a trickle charger not being able to fix a battery that lost it's charge even after charge time longer than a day I've finally given up on trickle chargers and spent $30 on this 12v charger: Full Automatic12V/24V 10A Car Battery Charger 100AH Electric 110V 220V | eBay

It usually pumps ~8amps in when the battery needs it and then slows down to a trickle charger when battery is fully charged. Has lots of pretty blinking lights too... Way more entertaining than a trickle charger. I guess this particular brand is the most popular one in SE Asia. I had no idea how often I needed a more powerful 12v charger for myself, friends and family until I got this one.