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Prious died in the drive

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by TimCarter, Mar 12, 2013.

  1. TimCarter

    TimCarter New Member

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    2008 Prius
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    Our prious starting beeping close encounters type tunes after it had been parked in our drive for 2-3 hours or more. I tried to start the car but no power. What gives?
     
  2. ursle

    ursle Gas miser

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    Was it the first time you drove it?
    If so, possibly left it in ready (running) and it ran out of gas?
    Or, in acc mode (press the power button twice without touching the brake) and the 12v died?
    If it just arrived used from a dealer, check with them, might be a free visit.
     
  3. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    If you have the smart key system, what if you put the key in the slot?

    Please run the test at Weird stuff happening? MPGs dropping? Test The Battery | PriusChat after the car has sat MANY hours or overnight (or you can use a voltmeter). Please tell us the 3 values (not just 1). Don't go changing the battery first until you tell us the values...

    If you have HIDs, you can avoid unnecessary cycles on the lights by toggling between off and parking light positions.

    Weird stuff can start happening w/a low or bad 12 volt. Don't waste $ on having a dealer "test" the 12 volt (07 Prius Dead - Any Guesses? | PriusChat).
     
  4. etobia

    etobia Member

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    My Prius "died" a few weeks ago. It ended up just needing a new 12 volt battery. It acted really funky before it did the full blown die. My guess is that this is what happened in your situation. I hd lights on the dash pop on that I never knew existed.....it started electric sounds but not enough to start the vehicle but when I pushed the power button to shut it off it wouldn't do that either. I tried to manually lock the door and I couldn't do that, but I also couldn't pop the trunk to look at the battery in the back. It was nothing like how a gas powered vehicle battery dies.

    I would not put the key fab in the dash. I will be interested in what you report back.
     
  5. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    ^^^
    Well, yeah, weird stuff happens when the 12 volt is low.

    You have a Gen 3 Prius. There is no slot for the key fob to go into on Gen 3. You're supposed to hold the key up to the power button on the Gen 3 if the fob battery is dead.

    The only reason why I'm telling the OP to put it in the slot is to see if it's just his key fob battery.
     
  6. etobia

    etobia Member

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    Thanks for your information. Toyota told me not to do it, but hey, they tell us lots of things that often aren't as good as priuschat.