Bought a 2010 prius 1/15/10 Didn’t drive it for 4 days (1/30–2/3) and the battery went dead.Toyota service mgr.said the draw from all the electronis would make this normal.
True?
Four days normal??? Ask them what do they do with the cars on their lot. Do they recharge them every other day? I’ll bet not.
Having batteries go dead when not driven for a while is becoming more common due to all the computerized systems and anti-theft systems, but four days is a big short.
Just for fun stop in at another dealer with a friend driving a non Prius and ask for a test drive, then say a friend told you there was a problem with the battery going dead if not driven for a week or even less. See what they say. It might be fun.
Typical service manager…They haven’t a CLUE. This is total spin. I’d tell him to his face he’s a LIAR. There is no way the battery should be dead after just 4 days…NOT even 30 days.
If it’s true I’d demand my money back. A car that can’t be left alone for a week is worthless to me.
I can’t believe they put a battery in the Prius that won’t hold a charge longer than a few days. That’s insane. But then again, they knew there were problems with the brakes and sold them anyway.
My non-hybrid cars routinely sit unused for a week to a month at a time, in cold weather, and their batteries don’t go dead.
Assume you’re talking about the 12 volt auxiliary battery which is not the starting battery but does assume a lot of functions from the main drive battery which is specialized. The draw from the electronics would draw down the battery over time but no more than an average car. Though, like an ordinary car, frequent drives of less than 30 minutes could keep it from fully charging.
A Prius is suppose to behave “normally” in that respect. Ask them to test this battery and charging unit for it. It may be defective or undercharge. It is little more than an ordinary car 12 volt battery with their own special connections and usually should last 3-5 years like ordinary car batteries do. If everything thing is normal, like an ordinary car, they need to start looking for a ground or other reason for excessive draw from accessories.
Heck, they may feel they have “better” things to do with run away Camrys. You deserve better service. You actually sometimes have to ask for particular service under warranty they’re not “programed” to give…just like dealing with doctors, you sometimes have to go in armed with just enough knowledge to be dangerous.
If this happens again I would ask for a replacement (starting) battery irregardless of what service manager states. If they balk call Toyota customer care or regional rep.
Your OEM battery is covered at least for 1yr/12,000 miles by the warranty if not much further.
Unless you left a light on or a door ajar, you should have been good for more than a month
Not true, total bunk. If you could only leave a car for 3 or 4 days before a battery goes dead was normal you wouldn’t have enough AAA road service trucks to take care of everyone.
You either have a bad (as in defective) battery, something is wrong with the charging system so your good battery isn’t getting a charge, or you left some interior lights on for a couple of days.
Did you jump start the car? Did anyone put a battery charger on your battery to get it back up to a full charge? You need to get the battery fully charged. Then make sure all your little interior and courtesy lights are off when you park overnight. If this happens again there is something wrong.
We parked our '05 Prius at the Akron-Canton airport for ten days in the middle of January while we vacationed in Florida. Started right up when we got back in, and the weekly temperatures had never risen over 20 degrees F. Your service manager is doing typical service manager “untruth-ing”. I once had a Chrysler service manager answer my question about warped brake rotors by claiming I must have washed the car while the discs were warm from a drive! He was, as your guy is, lying through his teeth to avoid a warranty repair. Go to his nearest competitor for your service from now on.