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Weird starting problem with 2005 prius

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by hanish123, Jul 17, 2011.

  1. hanish123

    hanish123 New Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Hi all, we have a 2005 prius and today we've been having some odd problems with it. We are on vacation, and parked in an area while shopping. When I came back to the car, it opened but would not start up at all. I mean nothing. No interior lights came on, nothing flashing, nothing. Like the battery was completely dead or something. But then, I left the car and my wife came in (she has her own key) and it started up for her no problem. I thought maybe it just wasn't recognizing my key or something.

    When it finally was back up and running, however, the fuel gauge showed completely empty so I thought it might have run out of gas or something. So we drove it quickly to a gas station, but as we were driving there the fuel gauge came back up to half full. Plus, a lot of our settings had been reset (that beepy sound when you put it in reverse, which we disabled, came back on, and the clock was reset). But the car was running fine.

    However, it just happened again, and this time we were stuck at a convenience store parking lot for like 20 minutes trying to get in and get out of the car trying various things (holding down the buttons, putting the parking brake on and off, etc.). I finally got it back up and running, and we managed to drive the 10 minutes back to our hotel, but I'm somewhat concerned about our ability to drive back home and don't really have much idea what could be wrong. Could this be a dead/dying battery? Seems unlikely as I'm not sure how the car could have come back on if that had happened (and my wife using her key to make it work the first time seems weird too).

    Has anyone experienced anything like this and could provide some insight?
     
    #1 hanish123, Jul 17, 2011
  2. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Santa Fe, NM
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Please post your approximate location, and we can try to point you towards appropriate help.

    Your 12V battery is by far the most likely culprit. All kinds of weird things happen. If you like, you can follow the procedure in the most relevant thread for confirmation. http://priuschat.com/forums/newbie-forum/73400-weird-stuff-happening-mpgs-dropping-test-battery.html

    By the way, there should be an emergency key in your fob that will open the driver's door.

    In order to get home, one option is to get a portable jump pack from an auto parts store and jump the battery every time you need to start the car.
     
    #2 seilerts, Jul 17, 2011
  3. V8Cobrakid

    V8Cobrakid Green Handyman

    Joined:
    Jun 6, 2004
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    Location:
    Park View, Los Angeles, CA. U.S.A
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    since there is no starter, and all you are doing when you start the car is flip on a few relays to boot up a few computers and turn on the hybrid battery, very little electricity is required. if you're 12v is dead, there are times when it's just good enough to turn on...

    it's like powering a lightbulb... very easy.. and all it really has to do is flash one good time for it to turn on... it doesn't really have to last more than a few seconds to turn on the computers... so it doesn't really matter if you can't keep that bulb lit for 1 minute or not...

    so.. there's an issue of a new 12v.. they are not exactly cheap. i rigged up a cheaper battery to mine. i would have done a writeup but i don't recommend it to anyone.. hehe

    if it's not your 12v.. you have a real issue.
     
    #3 V8Cobrakid, Jul 17, 2011
  4. koolingit

    koolingit Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Mocksville NC, USA
    Vehicle:
    2009 Prius
    What you're describing really sounds like a loose connection at the 12 volt battery or possibly the nut at the jump point in the fuse box under the hood. Don't forget the ground connection to the body back by the battery.

    If you don't find it, Seilerts' suggestion about the portable jump pack should give you peace of mind for the rest of your vacation. You only have to connect it to get the car going; then you can disconnect it and keep it in the back seat area (not in the hatch area in case you can't get the hatch open).

    Enjoy your vacation!
     
    #4 koolingit, Jul 17, 2011
  5. kenoarto

    kenoarto Senior Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Chicago, IL
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    II
    if your batter is older than 4 years, replace it immediately.
     
    #5 kenoarto, Jul 17, 2011
  6. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Location:
    Green Valley, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Yes. The loss of fuel gauge memory and other settings is proof that the 12V bus voltage dropped, and a dying 12V battery is the most likely reason. Replace it now.
     
    #6 Patrick Wong, Jul 17, 2011
  7. hanish123

    hanish123 New Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    United States
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    So I went ahead and replaced the battery. Called AAA, and they sent someone out. The guy actually had to call for backup to get the right battery and someone familiar with the prius, but they managed to replace it fine (looks similar to the OEM battery, FYI, not a bigger battery using a bracket as I've heard of). Cost was around $130, which seems pretty fair to me, and it was very convenient as they came right out to the house (we drove back from our vacation without incident). Thanks for everyone's help.
     
    #7 hanish123, Jul 21, 2011
    1 person likes this.
  8. GSW

    GSW PRIUS POWER

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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Sounds like a good ending to the story. Glad it worked out OK.
     
    #8 GSW, Jul 21, 2011
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