Prius 2010 - Long term parking

I don't know what the SKS or VSS1 are, but we left our 2010 Prius for five months (electronic key fobs out of range of the car). All that was done was an oil change and the 12 volt battery was left on a battery maintainer. The first time the engine was started, it stumbled a bit for a few seconds. The drive battery didn't even drop one line on the gauge over five months.

As far as the low temps. are concerned, if the batteries are fully charged, they won't freeze and the low temperature will reduce the discharge rate.

 

we have left our 04 and 08 for up to six weeks at a time in winter, but unheated garaged, not outside. the 2010's have notoriously bad 12v batteries. i would keep a compact jump starter in the car or disconnect the 12v (not the easiest thing to do at the airport) or be prepared to call for a jump start if necessary when you get back. if you have to do that, keep an eye on the jump jockey to make sure he connects to the correct posts under the hood. reverse polarity can be expensive. all the best!

 

The owners manual has recommendations, but here is the problem: In five months, the 12V battery might die. "Might," but you should be prepared.

When this happens, you must open the door with the metal key. You might need to jump start the car, which you can do with another car or a portable unit. It doesn't take much power to jump a Prius, because the 12v system doesn't turn the engine.

With a dead battery, opening the rear hatch is difficult. But there are connection points under the hood for jump starting. The manual will show you these points. Be certain that positive (Red) goes to positive and ground goes to ground.

Once it starts, all will be well. If you are thusly prepared... Most likely the car will just start, but if not, your inconvenience will be minimal.

One last thing: On some Prius models, you can use the touchscreen to disable SKS. This will help prevent battery drain. Failing that, perhaps SKS has a fuse you can remove before storage, but I'm not familiar with the effects of removing the SKS fuse (probably none)