Sweetie's Prius is Dead

The problem turned out to be that the key wasn't communicating properly or well with the Immobilizer System. Using the second key, which had rarely been used since the car was purchased, has solved the problem. The battery and fuses were fine. Thanks to all who tried to help.
 
Your dome light on, then going off after a short time means it isn’t all fine. It would be good to keep it on a maintainer charger or drive more. It’s a bit of an annoyance, but I started doing it recently. I was surprised even a 96 model has parasitic drain. I got a new WM value battery and it was great,12.7 volts. The vehicle slowly drains over time though. Both cars I have do it. So I have been checking the volts with a multimeter, or easier leave it on a charger with maintenance features. Keeps the battery topped up. The Prius has to be driven quite a bit to keep the battery fully charged.
 
Shel_B said:
The problem turned out to be that the key wasn't communicating properly or well with the Immobilizer System. Using the second key, which had rarely been used since the car was purchased, has solved the problem. The battery and fuses were fine. Thanks to all who tried to help.
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We shall now call it Lazarus
 
dishdude said:
I'm puzzled that this was caused by a dead keyfob. That doesn't explain the engine stalling...and doesn't the Prius have a "key not detected" alert if you try to start it without the fob on you?
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The MFDs on the second generation Prius are prone to fail - and they are the “master” mode for some of the car’s body networks(Toyota calls it AVC-LAN, Honda calls their implementation GA-NET, both are based on NEC/Renesas IEBus - CAN and another Toyota-specific bus called BEAN also goes through the MFD), lose the MFD, a Prius can be “brain dead”.
 
funflyer said:
... Batteries don't last long in the Prius, ask me how I know, and you'll typically see other issues as they start to get weak. ... My gen 4 is on its third 12v battery in 5 years. ...
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They last reasonably long if not abused. The $65 generic U1 AGM in my Prius is over 6½ years old and still doing its job, with none of the symptoms you listed. I've heard of them going over 10 years in other Prii.

Several ill-informed posters in this thread (not you) tend to confuse the relatively small, cheap 12-volt "accessory" battery with the large, expensive "traction" battery.
 
funflyer said:
Sounds like you've got a gen 2 or 3 with the 12v battery in the rear. Batteries don't last long in the Prius, ask me how I know, and you'll typically see other issues as they start to get weak.
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FWIW, the original battery in sweetie's Prius lasted more than 10 years, closer to 11. Her current battery is about 3 years old, and the shop checked its condition ... almost like new.
 
CR94 said:
They last reasonably long if not abused. The $65 generic U1 AGM in my Prius is over 6½ years old and still doing its job, with none of the symptoms you listed. I've heard of them going over 10 years in other Prii.

Several ill-informed posters in this thread (not you) tend to confuse the relatively small, cheap 12-volt "accessory" battery with the large, expensive "traction" battery.
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What battery did you go with for that price? I need one and that sounds great.
 
Shel_B said:
This morning, sweetie tried to start her Prius and the car was dead. I'm thinking it might be the starting battery that's dead. However, we've had a weird recent history with the car. A couple of weeks ago I was backing it out of the garage and the engine kept dying. After a bit, I got it to run, took it for a short drive, and all seemed to be well. Took the car to the local tech for a thorough exam, got a clean bill of health, and the car was fine until yesterday afternoon.

Yesterday, the car was moved from the garage for a few hours, and then, when started to put it back in the garage, the engine would run for a brief moment and then die, just as it did two weeks ago. Eventually, the car got into the garage where it sat until a short while ago. Sweetie tried to start it and the car was dead. However, the light inside the car that goes on when the doors are opened worked. After a bit, it too died ... now the car is like a corpse. No lights, can't get the engine to react to the key or start button.

I want to get a battery tester. I've never used one. What should I look for or get? We have the usual auto parts stores in the area.

The battery, BTW, is relatively new ... about two years old. I don't want to just buy a new battery as it seems that there's an underlying issue. Any thoughts on what to check, what to ask a repair shop to look for? Give me an old slant six and I'm good, but I'm out of my element with the Prius, Thanks!
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I'd get a good load tester. IME, nothing works better. You can use all those fancy electronic testers but you really need to stress test a battery. Got to charge it up first
 
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