My 6 month new 3,000 mile Prius 2004 just surprised me. After whisking us from Palo Alto to San Clemente (LA) 412 miles at 75MPH, even up and down the Grapevine (4400 ft. Tejon Pass) and getting 47MPG anyway, it got a well-deserved rest.
I went out and used the NAV to look up a couple of addresses, and forgot to turn the car off, I guess. Bad move. About 4 hours later, I went to take my wife for an appointment, and was perplexed to find the engine check light on, the 'Park' light on (dimly), and it would not turn on. Trying various functions, it would run the window down, but very slowly, and the reading lights worked, but very dimly.
I surmised that I'd run the 12V battery down, and had to call a tow truck to get a jump start. The Toyota dealer said 'tow it in', and denied that it could be jumped. Growing up doctoring my cars has led me to think for myself in these matters, so I searched the owners manual and found the 'jumpstarting' section. I had to use the front, engine compartment terminal (nice of Toyota to think of this!).
Not nice of Toyota to not build in a way to 'self-jump' from the well-charged main battery! Stupid, stupid, stupid to make the car so it cannot start up if its tiny 12V battery is low, when gobs of electrical energy is stored nearby.
The jumpstart immediately allowed the car to start up, and it seemed to recharge the battery quickly enough that after a couple of minutes, though the engine turned itself off, it kept operational.
I immediately went out and bought a very compact battery-containing jumpstart device from Kragen Auto for $45. You charge its battery up, and it will jumpstart anywhere. It now rides in the trunk. I cannot afford to have this happen at a trailhead, or in an airport parking lot after a long trip, or just before a critical appointment or meeting. So for just $45 I added a self-fixing backup feature Toyota neglected to provide. I recommend it if you own a fly-by-wire car that freezes without auxilary power. If you can run the 12V battery down this easily and quickly, I imagine that a light left on would do it overnight, too.
If I had hammered in the habit of ALWAYS locking the car on leaving, even in my own garage, it would have complained and refused to let me leave it on. It is good about that.
One odd thing is, although the Prius is so dependent on its little 12V battery, there is no way to monitor the condition of the 12V battery charge!
I went out and used the NAV to look up a couple of addresses, and forgot to turn the car off, I guess. Bad move. About 4 hours later, I went to take my wife for an appointment, and was perplexed to find the engine check light on, the 'Park' light on (dimly), and it would not turn on. Trying various functions, it would run the window down, but very slowly, and the reading lights worked, but very dimly.
I surmised that I'd run the 12V battery down, and had to call a tow truck to get a jump start. The Toyota dealer said 'tow it in', and denied that it could be jumped. Growing up doctoring my cars has led me to think for myself in these matters, so I searched the owners manual and found the 'jumpstarting' section. I had to use the front, engine compartment terminal (nice of Toyota to think of this!).
Not nice of Toyota to not build in a way to 'self-jump' from the well-charged main battery! Stupid, stupid, stupid to make the car so it cannot start up if its tiny 12V battery is low, when gobs of electrical energy is stored nearby.
The jumpstart immediately allowed the car to start up, and it seemed to recharge the battery quickly enough that after a couple of minutes, though the engine turned itself off, it kept operational.
I immediately went out and bought a very compact battery-containing jumpstart device from Kragen Auto for $45. You charge its battery up, and it will jumpstart anywhere. It now rides in the trunk. I cannot afford to have this happen at a trailhead, or in an airport parking lot after a long trip, or just before a critical appointment or meeting. So for just $45 I added a self-fixing backup feature Toyota neglected to provide. I recommend it if you own a fly-by-wire car that freezes without auxilary power. If you can run the 12V battery down this easily and quickly, I imagine that a light left on would do it overnight, too.
If I had hammered in the habit of ALWAYS locking the car on leaving, even in my own garage, it would have complained and refused to let me leave it on. It is good about that.
One odd thing is, although the Prius is so dependent on its little 12V battery, there is no way to monitor the condition of the 12V battery charge!