[ym4949]

I think I left the light on my 04 Prius when I sat in the passenger side this afternoon -- I reached over and just hit the Power On to listen to tunes and then Power Off button w/o depressing the brake. I think that might have left my "daytime running lights" on, perhaps?

The battery drained and I was in need of a jump. I couldn't find a spot under the trunk to jump the battery so I went to the back. Since I had no power, I couldn't pop the hatch. I had to dig out the whole hatch area to open the hatch, which is doable from the inside but is nearly impossible. After all this, there was the aux battery cover which was a pain to pry off. Finally I got the jump and it started.

Is there a better way to jump a dead battery than all this digging to get to the hatch! This was a real PIA and just added to the stress level of having a dead Prius. Can't seem to find this in the manual. :evil:

 

[ym4949]

ARGGGHHH, I found page 239 in the owners manual about removing the fuse block cover to reveal the positive jump terminal. Still not very apparent when looking under the hood and even less apparent as to how to pop open the fuse box cover. Also Toyota could have listed the Jump Starting section in the Index as a sub-item under Battery.

I also thought the US Highway Safety agency was mandating that trunks be able to open from the inside -- so that a Tony Soprano mole can escape before he gets whacked!

Maybe a hatch doesn't qualify as a trunk.

 

[ehurtley]

Most people consider a 'trunk' to only refer to a dedicated cargo storage area. (This would be in the back of almost all vehicles on the road.) The front is the 'engine compartment', and is covered by the 'hood'.

As for the required manual opening? The Prius has one (at least the manual says so, I haven't been able to find it.) But from what I understand, it doesn't have to be as obvious on a hatchback, since someone in the back could just climb into the passenger compartment over the top of the back seat!

 

[Scosgrove]

Shouldn't it be possible to jump the battery by plugging one of those battery packs into the 12V power outlet?

 

[Victor]

Shouldn't it be possible to jump the battery by plugging one of those battery packs into the 12V power outlet?

I think you will find they are switched. I inteand at some time to upgrade the 12v battery and get my dealer to install 2 sockets in the back cargo area, for a couple of cool boxes. I dont want these switched. Then I could also use a solar charger as well

 

[Daniel]

The 12-v thingies are dead when the car is off. But Costal Tech has a mod that will keep one of them live. The idea is to keep a cell phone charged, but could be used for anything where you need a live 12-v source when the car is off.

 

[richard schumacher]

Now that you're moving again consider replacing the battery. Those I've drained were never the same after.

 

[ym4949]

Richard, thanks for the heads up -- I'll keep an eye on the battery. Since I've only had it for 2 weeks and with just 1200 miles, I'm a bit reluctant to swap that out. I've started to carry jumper cables with me now and of course the owners manual is now in the car!

Anyone else use the "daytime running lights" by just keeping the switch in the ON position and powering the car off? Perhaps it was the fog lights that I left on the ON position that don't shut off? This occurred over the course of a normal commute day with the afternoon exception.

 

[finman]

lights...

Yes, I do. But they only turn off if you exit the driver's door. Opening the passenger front will not turn them off. No, the fogs only operate if in the low beam while car is on. Kinda wish they could be the 'daytime running' lights. Maybe a future mod is needed? Love my Prius!

 

[ehurtley]

My (now second) car, a Hyundai Accent, has horrible lights. If you leave the light switch in the 'on' position, then when you turn off the power, the main headlights turn off, but the parking lights and the tail lights stay on. Well, if I walk away from the car from the front, and I'm in an outdoor lot, I tend to not notice (I often think the parking lights are on just from sun-glare, so I often discount them really being on as being sun-glare.)

Once I left the lights on three days in a row. (This was very soon after buying the car.) And between my wife and I, we seem to leave the lights on long enough to drain the battery at least once every two months. For obvious reasons, we invested in a 'deep cycle' battery. These are meant to survive being completely drained, then recharged. I'm considering getting one for my Prius, along with the always-on mod, and permanently mounting an inverter in the center console, so that the outlet is in the back, just below the rear-seat cup holders. (My inverter turns itself off if it detects the car's battery getting too low, so especially on the Prius, it should always leave enough juice to turn the car on.)

Then I just need to find a place for a trickle charger to be permanently mounted. (Not on the roof. Maybe find a very long, skinny one and mount it in the back window at the top, where I can't see out of anyway?)