[christieb08255]

After my May 1st accident the autobody shop said they had to jump it to get it started. Should I be worried about some thing like that voiding or warrenty? My car has been in the shop for 2 1/2 months and just sitting there, is that bad for it? I has smart entery and they always keep the key in the car, doesn't that wear down the battery? Any help would be appreciated since I am very uneducated on car technicalities!

 

[mrv]

yes, you should turn off Smart Entry & Smart Start if the car is to be sitting unused for a while. If SE&SS is on, the fob should be at least 16 feet away from the Prius, or else both the car's 12v auxilliary battery and the keyfob's battery will be drained quickly.

I'm not surprised if your shop has had to jumpstart the 12v accessory battery with it kept in this state. You may find in the future that your 12v battery will not have quite the longevity (ability to leave the car unused for several days without needing a jumpstart when you get back).

Like on any car, the Prius has a 12v accessory battery, that can get drained down through parasitic loads with the car off sitting unused for a long time, or if you leave your headlights or dome light on overnight, or... Then the next time you use the car you'd need to jumpstart/boost it.
However, unlike on other cars, the Prius' 12v battery doesn't actually start the engine. It just powers up the computers, which then flip a relay making the hybrid traction battery active, and it's the hybrid traction battery that actually starts the gasoline engine through one of the motor/generators.

Procedure to jumpstart your Prius is listed in the Owner's Manual.

 

[christieb08255]

Thanks!

Hey thanks for the helpful info. I'm on hold w/the shop right now telling them.


P.s. How do you now so much about this stuff?

 

[John Larson]

yes, you should turn off Smart Entry & Smart Start if the car is to be sitting unused for a while. If SE&SS is on, the fob should be at least 16 feet away from the Prius, or else both the car's 12v auxilliary battery and the keyfob's battery will be drained quickly.

I'm not surprised if your shop has had to jumpstart the 12v accessory battery with it kept in this state. You may find in the future that your 12v battery will not have quite the longevity (ability to leave the car unused for several days without needing a jumpstart when you get back).

Like on any car, the Prius has a 12v accessory battery, that can get drained down through parasitic loads with the car off sitting unused for a long time, or if you leave your headlights or dome light on overnight, or... Then the next time you use the car you'd need to jumpstart/boost it.
However, unlike on other cars, the Prius' 12v battery doesn't actually start the engine. It just powers up the computers, which then flip a relay making the hybrid traction battery active, and it's the hybrid traction battery that actually starts the gasoline engine through one of the motor/generators.

Procedure to jumpstart your Prius is listed in the Owner's Manual.

I have a 2010 Prius with a 7 year old Optima 12v aux battery. The Optima is expensive, but I feel the battery can be fully drained & still come back to a full charge without ending its life. I have worked in the maintenance field for many years & have seen 10 years old Optima batteries still hanging in there.

 

[patrick_g]

Ditto on the Optima AGM batt. Our '04 Prius is on its third 12 volt batt. Most recently upgraded to Optima AGM batt hoping for significant increase in life.