Vacation for two months: Battery concern

Sounds good, if you have a plan to open the doors without a battery.

 

How about a key? You know, the metal kind you stick in the door handle? I thought even smart key cars still had a manual lock for accessing the car in dead-battery situations. My C2 has a keyhole in the driver door handle, do the higher trim levels not have this as well?

 

Sounds like a plan to me! I know the Liftbacks have no easy way to open the back hatch, but a c will only need the rear passenger door.

 

I'm confused. My C2 has a keyhole in the driver door handle and in the hatch, no where else... certainly none of the rear doors or passenger doors.

 

Perhaps I am confused, but I think you need the rear passenger door open to put in the 12 battery you take out to keep charged. That is MUCH easier than a Liftback or a v, where you would have to open the hatch from the inside.

 

In a dead battery scenario in a liftback you use the key to open the door, pop the hood, and jump/charge from the terminals there. Once connected to a 12v source everything operates as normal even the electronic hatch release. No need to crawl around back there unless you enjoy gymnastics.

 

The 2012 Prius c does not have jumper terminals under the hood. They were introduced earlier this year, but are also not on 2013s produced before that.

 

But it is the same concept. Attach jumpers from under the rear seat and you can open the electronic hatch release.

 

Except, being a c, you don't need the hatch release to deal with the battery anyway. This confusion is steming from the different 12V battery location in a liftback (where it is accessed via the cargo area). For a C with a flat battery you open the driver's door with a key (on the C3/C4 models you just pop the mechanical key out of the transponder and use that) and then I guess reach around and unlock the rear passenger door and open that up to access the 12V battery under the seat.

So to back this up a bit, for the OP wanting to remove their 12V battery while they are away, they just need to think about:

• Locking the car without remote or central locking
• Unlocking the car without remote or central locking
• Being mindful of what gets reset when the 12V battery is disconnected

Locking the car should be fairly straight forward. Unlocking, as above, they just need to use the key and then reach around to unlock the rear door from the inside.

Finally, in Section 2-2 of the manual it does mention what gets reset when you replace the 12V battery, namely:

It's also worth reading the section on the 12V battery in the DIY Maintenance section (4-3) and the "If the 12-volt battery is discharged" part of the Steps to take in an Emergency section (5-2).

 

Realize your close to leaving but they make solar trickle chargers that sit on your dash inside the car for extended vacations that plug into your lighter socket. Try Amazon.

 

Be alert to the fact that the cigarette lighter are dead when the Prius is off, so you will need one that clamps to the battery not the lighter ones.

 

Great point-Thanks!

I remember leaving my car in a Norfolk VA parking lot for a 6 month Med Cruise and it would start right up when I got back. Times have changed.

 

A newer battery with a decent charge will be fine sitting for 2 months while you're gone. It's also summer time with warm temps. Just lock it up and call it good.