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Prius is Dead

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by mdh51, Aug 11, 2007.

  1. mdh51

    mdh51 Junior Member

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    I have a 2006 Prius. Bought it in March2006 and as of now it has less than 10,00 miles.

    I was sick for a couple of weeks(4 weeks) and tried to take the car out. The car would not start, I couldnt even get the battery working. When I pressed the start button, nothing even happened. I tried my second smartkey(or whatever you call it) and no luck.

    The startkey wouldnt even lock or unlock the car. It is completely dead.

    I went to my dealer where I bought it and they were not very helpful. They said bring the car in on Monday(service was limited on Saturday). They said I had to get it towed myself because Toyota guarantee not include towing and they do not have any towing service.

    I went home and reviewed the guarantee and it specifically states that towing is included.

    First I bought it at the dealer I went to. They told me I must have an extended for towing to be covered. I plan to go back there Monday morning and speak to the service manager about the service.

    My question is why would the battery be completely dead after not using it for about 4 weeks(I did use it last week with no problem). It was in a garage, the lights were not on or any accessory working.

    What gives?
     
    #1 mdh51, Aug 11, 2007
  2. slair

    slair Ubër Senior Member

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    Wow, do NOT spend money on taking it to the dealer. You just need it jumpstarted. I think you'r saying you have the smart key system. If that is true, then that is why your battery is dead. You cant let it sit there for 4 weeks with the SKS on. There is a small button under your steering wheel, I think it just says "key". It should click in and then your SKS is disabled. If your going to have your car sit for a week or longer, its always a good idea to disable the SKS. It slowly drains your battery for some reason. Just either jump your prius with a 2nd car, or with a friends car, or even a neighbors. Dont spend that kind of money getting it towed.
     
    #2 slair, Aug 11, 2007
  3. Bill Merchant

    Bill Merchant absit invidia

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    Welcome to PriusChat, mdh51, sorry it has to start with a problem. I agree with Slair that you probably just have a dead 12V battery. The battery is about the size of a motorcycle battery, since it is only used to provide about 35W to boot the computers and close the relays for the main High-Voltage battery. You can jump-start the car from under the hood, instructions are in your users manual. The + terminal is in the fuse box on the driver's side. Open the fuse box cover and there is a red cover over the + terminal.

    I hope you're feeling better after being sick for a month.
     
    #3 Bill Merchant, Aug 12, 2007
  4. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
    Staff Member

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    Welcome to Priuschat.

    When my 12V battery died, I had a heck of a time getting a good grip on the terminal. When I called AAA, the guy asked to borrow a long screwdriver. He clamped onto the screwdriver and tapped the terminal with it. The car jumped to life.

    I hope you have better days ahead.
     
    #4 TonyPSchaefer, Aug 12, 2007
  5. Tadashi

    Tadashi Member

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    Get a battery tender (low volt) or one of those dead battery chargers that you can connect directly to the battery. I got the BatteryMinder after all the recommendations here. The reason your battery may have gone dead is that if you open your door and then turn off the power the car keeps some of the systems on (like lights). I learned this a couple weeks ago when we killed out battery.
     
    #5 Tadashi, Aug 12, 2007
  6. morpheusx

    morpheusx Professor Chaos

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    don't forget that after you jumpstart it to take a trip in it to charge the battery a little, believe it or not a month without starting a car will commonly drain any cars battery. Alot of people who have a show car or sports car for special occasions will either fire up the car and let it run every so often, take a quick little run in it, or put it on a trickle charger every few weeks. I hope the jump is all you need.
     
    #6 morpheusx, Aug 12, 2007
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