1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

The whine

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by Anissa Perkerson, Jun 15, 2017.

  1. Anissa Perkerson

    Anissa Perkerson New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 15, 2017
    12
    2
    0
    Location:
    Booneville Ms
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Hey guys! I've had my 2007 Prius for about a year now and here recently it has started to whine when I press on the brakes to start and it won't start like usual. It takes a couple (or more) tries to get it to start all while the whining is going on in what sounds like the dash. Does anyone know what could be going on? I'd greatly appreciate it.
     
  2. Aaron Vitolins

    Aaron Vitolins Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 28, 2014
    1,612
    1,144
    0
    Location:
    Franklin TN
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Your 12 Volt starter battery needs to be replaced. Amazon has a pretty good deal on one!
     
    edthefox5 likes this.
  3. Anissa Perkerson

    Anissa Perkerson New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 15, 2017
    12
    2
    0
    Location:
    Booneville Ms
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I just had it changed last July I believe (I got stuck about 45 minutes away from home that time) but could I take it somewhere and get them to test it for me to know for sure?
     
  4. Aaron Vitolins

    Aaron Vitolins Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 28, 2014
    1,612
    1,144
    0
    Location:
    Franklin TN
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
  5. Aaron Vitolins

    Aaron Vitolins Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 28, 2014
    1,612
    1,144
    0
    Location:
    Franklin TN
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Try this! Hope it helps
     
  6. Anissa Perkerson

    Anissa Perkerson New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 15, 2017
    12
    2
    0
    Location:
    Booneville Ms
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Okay so I tried that and when I put the car in accessory mode it read a 12-12.4 and when I completely powered on the car it dipped to 11.2 then raised back to 14.1. Is that normal? Sorry about all of the questions. I don't know too much about cars.
     
  7. Aaron Vitolins

    Aaron Vitolins Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 28, 2014
    1,612
    1,144
    0
    Location:
    Franklin TN
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Hmm sounds like it's going south. Do you have a battery charger? If this car isn't driven much, or only does short trips, the 12volt might not be getting enough time to charge. I would try trickle charging it one night and go from there
     
    Anissa Perkerson likes this.
  8. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 14, 2012
    7,487
    3,763
    0
    Location:
    Wellington, New Zealand
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Yes that sequence is normal but it does indicate the battery is on the very low side, so +1 to Aaron's advice. Buy or borrow a battery charger and charge it up overnight. Repeat the above test and then go from there. Report the results back here if you want further advice or opinion.
     
  9. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 25, 2007
    10,096
    4,795
    0
    Location:
    Clearwater, Florida
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Put it in accesory mode again the battery check mode and then turn on the headlights and report that voltage.
    I expect it to be 10.5 a toasted battery.
     
  10. Anissa Perkerson

    Anissa Perkerson New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 15, 2017
    12
    2
    0
    Location:
    Booneville Ms
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Hey guys! So after after a day of it whining everything went back to normal. I took it to my loca Toyota dealership and they ran a diagnostic test and found nothing wrong. So I woke up today and it's doing it again. Help!? I went to Oreilys to have them check my battery and everything was fine. Any ideas?
     
  11. Anissa Perkerson

    Anissa Perkerson New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 15, 2017
    12
    2
    0
    Location:
    Booneville Ms
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Hey, after about a night of it sitting with me not messing with it it ran fine the next day. But today however I went to go to work and it decided to do it again. Any ideas? I've had the battery checked.
     
  12. Anissa Perkerson

    Anissa Perkerson New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 15, 2017
    12
    2
    0
    Location:
    Booneville Ms
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Okay so I don't exactly as the above video said and turned on my headlights and it read 11.6 is that good or bad?
     
  13. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,693
    48,945
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    sounds like it's on the edge, has it ever gone dead since you replaced it? or does the car get driven infrequently?
     
    Anissa Perkerson likes this.
  14. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 25, 2007
    10,096
    4,795
    0
    Location:
    Clearwater, Florida
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Based on what I have experienced 11.6 which is bad quickly goes to very bad.
    Be proactive and dont let a dead 12 volt strand you u in a terrible place.
     
    Anissa Perkerson likes this.
  15. Anissa Perkerson

    Anissa Perkerson New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 15, 2017
    12
    2
    0
    Location:
    Booneville Ms
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I actually haven't had the battery but about 13 months or so.
     
  16. Anissa Perkerson

    Anissa Perkerson New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 15, 2017
    12
    2
    0
    Location:
    Booneville Ms
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Also to answer your questions, it's never given me any trouble until about 6ish months ago. And now I'm on the 3rd time this whining has happened. I'm worried about it because I'm not eligible for a trade in for another year or so. I'd hate to spend more money on the car than it's actually worth.
     
  17. Anissa Perkerson

    Anissa Perkerson New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 15, 2017
    12
    2
    0
    Location:
    Booneville Ms
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I'll probably take it to my local Toyota dealer and leave it with them. No one can figure out the problem so far. Like I said before, I had Oreilys test the battery and they said it was good. But I'm not exactly sure how accurate their tests are.
     
  18. Anissa Perkerson

    Anissa Perkerson New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 15, 2017
    12
    2
    0
    Location:
    Booneville Ms
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Also the battery popped back up to 12.6 I believe after I left the headlights in for a few seconds.
     
  19. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,693
    48,945
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    it's difficult to diagnose a battery in person, let alone the internet. it may or may not be the problem. find a place that can put a load tester on the battery, and also charge it for you. they should give you a printout of the test results that you can post here.
    if the battery is good, you may have a more serious issue. also, the battery connections should be checked for cleanliness and tightness, especially where the negative cable fastens to the body.
    another thing to check is your brake interlock switch. when you depress the brake pedal to start the car, your brake lights should come on.
     
    edthefox5 and Anissa Perkerson like this.
  20. Anissa Perkerson

    Anissa Perkerson New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 15, 2017
    12
    2
    0
    Location:
    Booneville Ms
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Well it actually seems like that it may have something to do with low oil. My dad came and checked my oil and it was about 2 quarts low. So he put some more in and today it's running fine.
     
    bisco likes this.
  21. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,693
    48,945
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    yow, that's bad. are you changing it every 5k, and checking it at every phillip?
     
    Anissa Perkerson likes this.
  22. Anissa Perkerson

    Anissa Perkerson New Member

    Joined:
    Jun 15, 2017
    12
    2
    0
    Location:
    Booneville Ms
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I'll let it run about 200 over sometimes. But I need an oil change in about 600 more miles according to my sticker. But next Friday I'm getting it changed anyways. The maintence required light is annoying lol
     
    bisco likes this.