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Prius may sit in garage for a bit.

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by Jeddy, Jun 2, 2009.

  1. Jeddy

    Jeddy Wild and Wooley

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    For the next 3 weeks my Prius will only be driven maybe once per week:(. I will be driving a little 4 cylinder civic. Will driving the Prius once per week be enough to keep the battery ok?

    I really can wait to be able to drive the Prius again. I really enjoy it.
     
    #1 Jeddy, Jun 2, 2009
  2. firepa63

    firepa63 Former Prius Owner

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    You shouldn't have any problem. Just make sure the interior lights are off. Sometimes the light in the cargo area gets forgotten and it won't take long to run down the 12v battery.
     
    #2 firepa63, Jun 2, 2009
  3. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    No matter where it is, lock it. That will catch most common battery-draining oversights and warn you with a long beep.
     
    #3 richard schumacher, Jun 3, 2009
  4. Qlara

    Qlara New Member

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    Why do you have to drive the 4-cyl Civic? :D
     
    #4 Qlara, Jun 4, 2009
  5. ksstathead

    ksstathead Active Member

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    Turn off the SKS to protect the 12V.
     
    #5 ksstathead, Jun 4, 2009
  6. Jeddy

    Jeddy Wild and Wooley

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    What's the SKS?
     
    #6 Jeddy, Jun 4, 2009
  7. Jeddy

    Jeddy Wild and Wooley

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    We bought a 1997 Honda Civic 2 dr. automatic hatchback with 42,000 miles on it for $3,800.00. Such a good buy. It will be my husband's work car when he gets rid on his paperoute and donates the van then he can drive it and I get my Prius back out of the garage.
     
    #7 Jeddy, Jun 4, 2009
  8. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    Ditto that question. Why would you choose the civic over the Prius?

    SKS is "Smart Key System".
     
    #8 efusco, Jun 4, 2009
  9. Jeddy

    Jeddy Wild and Wooley

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    Until the hubby starts driving the Civic I would have to juggle to many cars to get to the Prius in the garage. At least I am saving miles on the new Prius. Love the Prius and miss it.

    Do I really need to turn off the SKS?
     
    #9 Jeddy, Jun 4, 2009
  10. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    1) I say take the time and do the juggle--just my opinion.

    2) No you really don't have to turn it off if it's just a week or two. The car should be fine esp. if you leave it UNlocked since the oscillators won't be active. That said, turn the SKS off and back on is very very simple and fast. Just tap the button under the steering column. A good practice to get into if you plan to leave the car parked for longer than 10 days or so at an airport and you want to minimize the risk of returning to a dead car. This really isn't nearly as big of an issue as it used to be and I would not worry about it most of the time.
     
    #10 efusco, Jun 4, 2009
  11. Jeddy

    Jeddy Wild and Wooley

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    I am confused as someone else posted I should lock it so I did. Now I am going home at lunch and UNlock it.
     
    #11 Jeddy, Jun 4, 2009
  12. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    Why would you do that??
    I have left my car locked for over 2 weeks, with SKS turned on with no problems.

    You're missing the KEY POINT--Don't worry about it either way. Leave the SKS on or Turn it off--lock or don't lock. For the amount of time you're talking about here it is irrelevant. The car will be fine either way.

    All the lock/unlock, SKS stuff is more for mental masturbation than anything else. If you're going to leave the car in a place where jumping it would be troublesome after a very long (more than 2 week) sit then turn the sks off. In one's garage for a long time it's probably better to leave it unlocked as the SKS oscillator will be off of sensing mode and thus minimal drain. But it just does not matter a lick in the case you mention.

    Relax, Toyota's built a great car that will do just fine and you'll practically have to go out of your way to mess anything up.
     
    #12 efusco, Jun 4, 2009
  13. Jeddy

    Jeddy Wild and Wooley

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    Right on. That's it with this subject. I am just going to not think about it anymore. Thanks for all the replies. :)
     
    #13 Jeddy, Jun 4, 2009
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