Prius Start Up Problems

[thoconfam]

I have a 2004 Prius, purchased in August of 2004, so it is now 2 years and 4 months old. The car has 46,000+ miles on the odometer.

First off, I love the car and that is a good thing right now, cause if I didn't love it I'd drive it off a cliff.

That said, here is the problem. Beginning in July of 2006 the vehicle simply would not start. The has occured 7 times. I have taken it to Toyota 3 times. "Everything checks out." There is absolutely no pattern of circumstances prior to each occurrence; temperature, length of time not driven, daylight - moonlight or whatever. When the batttery is jumped it starts immediately and continues to function at full power ....until the next time.

Any information or hints about this would be more than appreciated. The dealership says always "Everything checks out."

Thoconfam

[revsbentley]

Could be a bad 12 volt battery?

[perelandra]

thoconfam,
Did the dealer run a battery "load test" on the 12 volt? Just like a normal car the auxilary battery in a Prius will no longer hold enough charge after several years of use. I just replaced mine after 5 years since my car would not start if left sitting for more than 2 days. I found an excellent battery upgrade kit that is much less expensive than what the dealer wanted to charge me. You can order it at:
http://www.elearnaid.com/pakitforup12.html

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with this company. I am just a very satisfied customer. The shipping is very fast, I received it in 3 days with the standard shipping option.

[hookem-horns]

Perelandra, I took a peek at that site you recommended, and it looks like the kit is meant to fit a Miata 12-volt battery into the 2001-2003 Prius only. If thoconfam bought the car in 2004, it seems likely that it is a 2004 Prius or second generation. If so, it would be good to compare the two 12-volt battery compartments before buying the kit.

[chucktr]

Lately my 6 month old Prius intermittently refuses to start. Press the Power button and the LED display comes up weakly and no reponse from the shifter. So, I hit the Power off and on a couple of times (a.k.a reboot) and it responds. This has happened 3 times in the last week. It's going in for service next week.

[rlkaos]

Hi;
I had a 2002 Prius, that year had to small starter battery and if the car was not driven for a while it would not start. I had the battery upgraded to a larger battery and did not have that problem again. The other time it would not start was caused by my Wiemarnier (dog) he would push one of the interior lights on with his head and that would drain the battery.
Hope this helps.

[the1trigger]

Lately my 6 month old Prius intermittently refuses to start. Press the Power button and the LED display comes up weakly and no reponse from the shifter. So, I hit the Power off and on a couple of times (a.k.a reboot) and it responds. This has happened 3 times in the last week. It's going in for service next week.

never had a problem with my 06 prius ^^

[tomdett]

How as the WestCo battery worked out (perelandra)? Do you recommend the kit elearnaid offers or would it be simple enough to adapt the Miata battery on your own with local parts?

I experianced the difficult starting problem this weekend (5-8 starts before my '02 continued to run but with much warning info). The dealer in Boulder said I need an updated ECU and was in line behind 200 others in the Denver area.

The dealer went on to say that my 12 v battery checked good. I believe in preventitive replacement of the 12 volt battery between 4 & 5 years on any vehicle as the cost is (normally) nominal compared to the inconvience of failure problems. However the Toyota price of twice the eLearnaid price gives me some pause and the load test described on the eLearnaid website also gives me some comfort in holding off (if the oem battery tests good).

thoconfam,
Did the dealer run a battery "load test" on the 12 volt? Just like a normal car the auxilary battery in a Prius will no longer hold enough charge after several years of use. I just replaced mine after 5 years since my car would not start if left sitting for more than 2 days. I found an excellent battery upgrade kit that is much less expensive than what the dealer wanted to charge me. You can order it at:
http://www.elearnaid.com/pakitforup12.html

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with this company. I am just a very satisfied customer. The shipping is very fast, I received it in 3 days with the standard shipping option.

[amalthea81]

The 12v starter battery in my 2003 Prius has died on me nearly a dozen times!!

I took it to the dealer & he said that it will cost $300 to install a new one. And the batteries are backordered for at least a few weeks.

Help!!!

[Charley38]

Lately my 6 month old Prius intermittently refuses to start. Press the Power button and the LED display comes up weakly and no reponse from the shifter. So, I hit the Power off and on a couple of times (a.k.a reboot) and it responds. This has happened 3 times in the last week. It's going in for service next week.

Someone on a Prius yahoo group had a similar problem. Turned out the fault was in the brake light switch. Can be either adjustment or an intermittent switch. YMMV.

My '04 would just be dead now and then after being parked overnight. It was a faulty 12 volt battery.

CR