[chris]

Is it possible to jumpstart another car using the Prius?

I followed the instructions in the Prius manual on jumpstarting
except I tried to start our Mazda minivan which did not survive being
buried in snow as well as the Prius did. But the Prius battery
would not even raise a spark in the jumper cables, with
the selecter in P and the car READY. Even the almost dead
Mazda battery was sparking. Eventually got a jumpstart from the
neighbour's car...

We're not very car-savvy - bought the Prius for its looks - so
if someone could explain what we did wrong, it would be greatly
appreciated.

This is a really great site, it's been very helpful with our new Prius
- '03, 1K miles, first one on the block, the minivan goes as soon
as the home renovation is complete.

Thanks

 

[mrv]

Prius' 12v battery

The Prius' 12v accessory battery is
smaller than you'll find in most other
vehicles, because this battery is only
needed to power up some computers/relays
when starting the car (the 12v opens
the connection so the big hybrid
traction battery can start the gas engine) -
the 12v battery isn't used to power
a starter motor like in a conventional car,
so it doesn't need to be big.

I haven't had to jumpstart my Prius or
another car, but my suggestion would
be to turn the Prius on into the
"READY" state, and let the 12v slowly
charge the other car's dead battery
for a while before trying to start the
other car.