Old Prius silly non starting problems

[homeyjay]

We have a 2005 Prius (gen 2) since new but for the last few years, if the boot is not 'properly' shut the car will simply not start because the Battery will be totally drained. The boot is rather difficult to close properly and its pretty temperamental so I made sure that none of the internal lights come on if any of the doors are not shut properly but even with this precaution, if the boot is not 100% shut to the car's satisfaction, the Battery will be totally drained in a few hours. Ive bought 2 new batteries in the past 2 years and it still happens. The only way to get the car working again is to start it from another car.

Can anyone please suggest anything?

[Catlover]

How have you made sure none of the internal lights come on if any doors are not shut properly?

What if you take the bulb out that would come on if the boot was still in connection.

and welcome to the forum.

[homeyjay]

I’ve just turned the internal light switches to the off position.

 

[Mike169]

Hi, first of all welcome to the best Toyota group on the internet..

May I suggest you literally shut someone in your boot so they can see if the light in it stays on or goes off?

Regards, Mike.

[homeyjay]

Hi, yes no interior lights come on at all when the doors are open. I've now started the car from my daughter's car and now have a parking brake error on screen. That's new, never seen it before..

[Mike169]

Hi, do you know what an OBD 2 meter is and where it plugs in?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=obd+2+scanner&crid=3F9LBQQQQMWYN&sprefix=OBD+2%2Caps%2C164&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_6_5

Mike.

[homeyjay]

Hi, I do sort of ish know what that is but I don’t have one or know where it plugs in! 

[homeyjay]

Btw, I cleared the fault by removing the 7.5v fuse for 30 sec! 

[Mike169]

Hi, if you sit in the drivers seat, just above your right knee if it is right hand drive and I am guessing the same on a left hand drive, you have to sort of lay a bit upside down where your feet go and you will see a socket, usually white with about 22 terminals in it and that is the OBD 2 socket. If you buy a reader it can tell you any faults, electrically with the car.

Mike.

[Mike169]

BTW disconnecting the Battery black lead for say 30 minutes often cures many faults.

Mike.

[homeyjay]

Ok, thx but still need some advice please regarding the original Battery drain problem. As I said, it ONLY seems to happen when the boot's not been properly shut (something that my daughters and wife seem to be experts in 🙂 ). This seems to happen even though ALL internal lights are off. What can the 12v Battery be drained by when nothing seems to be on? 

We called the RAC guy out when this happened last year and he said that the Battery had some dead cells and gave me a report that showed it. I took this over to Toyota who charged me £90 to test it and promptly said that there was nothing wrong with the battery. They didn't even want to see the RAC battery report..

Any help would be gratefully received - we're getting worried about taking the car anywhere as we'd be royally screwed if it wouldn't start 300 miles from home!

[PeteB]

Firstly, Prius are known for having low capacity 12V batteries that can flatten quite easily.  This is because they don't have to do the heavy job of starting an engine - the High Voltage Battery does that.

Every since my early Gen 1 Prius days I kept a tiny jump starter in the seat back pocket (no use in boot, because it's hard to get to if the battery's flat, especially if you deadlocked the car).

This sort of thing:    https://www.amazon.co.uk/RAVPower-10000mAh-Intelligent-Protection-Flashlight/dp/B076LPNY2R/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=ravpower+jump+starter&qid=1561482678&refinements=p_89%3ARAVPower&rnid=1632651031&s=gateway&sr=8-1

Secondly, why not try turning the switch off on the boot light?  If it still goes flat, then you've got some more investigation to do.

[kithmo]

It could be an internal alarm sensor (boot ?) that is getting triggered. Try turning the internal sensors off with the button under the steering wheel and see if it makes any difference. 

[homeyjay]

29 minutes ago, PeteB said:

"Secondly, why not try turning the switch off on the boot light?  If it still goes flat, then you've got some more investigation to do."

That's what I've already done since last year! No internal lights are on. Even when the doors are open, no lights come on because they are all in the off position.

[Catlover]

1 hour ago, homeyjay said:

Ok, thx but still need some advice please regarding the original battery drain problem. As I said, it ONLY seems to happen when the boot's not been properly shut (something that my daughters and wife seem to be experts in 🙂 ). This seems to happen even though ALL internal lights are off. What can the 12v battery be drained by when nothing seems to be on? 

We called the RAC guy out when this happened last year and he said that the battery had some dead cells and gave me a report that showed it. I took this over to Toyota who charged me £90 to test it and promptly said that there was nothing wrong with the battery. They didn't even want to see the RAC battery report..

Any help would be gratefully received - we're getting worried about taking the car anywhere as we'd be royally screwed if it wouldn't start 300 miles from home!

How come Toyota charged you £90 for a Hybrid Battery test.  Its done free with an annual service, but only costs £40-£45 for it to be done without a service.  Did Toyota not give you a result sheet of any sort?

[homeyjay]

12 minutes ago, kithmo said:

It could be an internal alarm sensor (boot ?) that is getting triggered. Try turning the internal sensors off with the button under the steering wheel and see if it makes any difference. 

There's a button under the steering wheel for this? Ive never noticed it and it doesn't seem to be in the manual!

[homeyjay]

3 minutes ago, Catlover said:

How come Toyota charged you £90 for a Hybrid battery test.  Its done free with an annual service, but only costs £40-£45 for it to be done without a service.  Did Toyota not give you a result sheet of any sort?

The service was not due and £90 is what they charge. I asked them earlier on today and they still said it was £90 but now it was plus VAT.. 😞

They did give me some sort of sheet but I didn't understand it to be honest.

 

[Catlover]

Check it out, this is the standard charge as far as I am aware

https://www.inchcape.co.uk/toyota/service-and-repair/hybrid-healthcheck/

[homeyjay]

Hmm. Sounds like my dealer is adding WAT - Welsh Added Tax.

Ill take this up with them tomorrow but do you think that a failing Battery would cause these problems?

[Catlover]

Sorry, my knowledge of electrical problems are limited, not really suffered with them, fortunately.

Adding to Pete B's link to an Amazon sourced jump start lithium Battery. My wifes 12v Battery in the boot of het Auris Hybrid was playing up, went dead couple times. I bought a similar unit off Amazon (other sources available), it is a Suaoki, cost me just over £30, has mini jump leads, about the size of a mobile phone, will charge phones, players etc, also flash light, and like Pete I keep mine in the pocket behind the drivers seat.. Connected it across the terminals in the boot of her car, by the time I got to driver side and sat in, switched on, and it fired the computer up. Thats all it has to do, fire the computer up then that starts the Hybrid Battery which takes over. 

 I keep the charge up on the Suaoki, just done it tonight, was showing a 3 bar strength, took about an hour to get it to full 4 bars. Do it every 6 weeks in summer, every month in winter.  

[Devon Aygo]

If the boot is not correctly shut it will prevent the car from powering down, after you lock the car the car starts to power down various systems over time to reduce the current draw on the 12v Battery. 

The drain will not initially affect a new Battery but eventually over time it will draw the capacity of the Battery down to a point where no amount of charging will overcome the issue 

[homeyjay]

Ok, update on this problem.

The Battery is fine (had it checked) but if I lock the car, more often than not, I can’t restart it because something drains the Battery. If I don’t lock it and just walk away, even after several days, the car will start again with no issues!

The boot lock is still problematic (refusing to open) but this seems to ONLY happen when the alarm is on!

Honestly, at this point, if someone told me that there was a gremlin living in my car, I would believe them. I can’t afford to hand Toyota a blank cheque to investigate and fix the issue so I don’t know where to start with this problem.

 

[MyOpinionIsWorthless]

On 6/25/2019 at 3:21 PM, homeyjay said:

We have a 2005 Prius (gen 2) since new but for the last few years, if the boot is not 'properly' shut the car will simply not start because the battery will be totally drained. The boot is rather difficult to close properly and its pretty temperamental so I made sure that none of the internal lights come on if any of the doors are not shut properly but even with this precaution, if the boot is not 100% shut to the car's satisfaction, the battery will be totally drained in a few hours. Ive bought 2 new batteries in the past 2 years and it still happens. The only way to get the car working again is to start it from another car.

Can anyone please suggest anything?

Turn the internal lights on the central switch by the sunglasses holder to off..

Autolock should kick in after 30 secs. But if any air gets in the open boot it may trip the internal air pressure alarm 

[Joseph D]

15 hours ago, PaulDM said:

Autolock should kick in after 30 secs. But if any air gets in the open boot it may trip the internal air pressure alarm 

This a Gen 2 which does not have the auto lock.  The best compromise is to lock the car with the remote (or use the door handle buttons if it has SKS). If any of the doors, or the hatch, is not closed properly the car will not lock giving you the clue to check the doors.

[MyOpinionIsWorthless]

6 hours ago, Joseph D said:

This a Gen 2 which does not have the auto lock.  The best compromise is to lock the car with the remote (or use the door handle buttons if it has SKS). If any of the doors, or the hatch, is not closed properly the car will not lock giving you the clue to check the doors.

If you use the key to lock individual doors and hatch not the key fob they will lock.