# 2012 Toyota Prius battery **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** prius, toyota\ **Created:** [March 25, 2020, 6:42pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2012-toyota-prius-battery/161769 "2020-03-25T18:42:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JanetAlbanowski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c67d28/32.png) [@JanetAlbanowski](https://community.cartalk.com/u/JanetAlbanowski)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 6:42pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2012-toyota-prius-battery/161769/1 "2020-03-25T18:42:21Z")
I think my problem is the STARTING battery. It started yesterday with a bit of battery charging,drove around the block, and would not start today? ---
**Author:** ![Purebred](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/purebred/32/46796_2.png) [@Purebred](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Purebred)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2020, 8:15pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2012-toyota-prius-battery/161769/2 "2020-03-25T20:15:30Z")
“A bit of battery charging” and a short drive will not do it. You may need a new battery. But you could have the battery fully charged and tested. Being a Prious, a dealer might be the best option. ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2020, 1:38pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2012-toyota-prius-battery/161769/3 "2020-03-26T13:38:58Z")
> [@JanetAlbanowski](#): > > and would not start today? So what’s the answer? Did it start today? We wouldn’t know. Only you would. ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/30_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2020, 1:40pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2012-toyota-prius-battery/161769/4 "2020-03-26T13:40:50Z")
> [@Purebred](#): > > “A bit of battery charging” and a short drive will not do it. +1 Even though I have nowhere to go currently, I take the car out for a 10-12 mile drive once a week, just to keep the battery charged. Today, I am going to a Costco that is 20 miles away, instead of my local Costco, which is much closer. ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2020, 1:44pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2012-toyota-prius-battery/161769/5 "2020-03-26T13:44:01Z")
The Prius’ starting battery is the big battery (there is no separate starter motor). The 12v battery powers the electronics, but if it’s dead the car won’t start. How old is your 12v battery? ---
**Author:** ![MikeInNH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@MikeInNH](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MikeInNH)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2020, 2:13pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2012-toyota-prius-battery/161769/6 "2020-03-26T14:13:08Z")
> [@Purebred](#): > > Being a Prious, a dealer might be the best option. Prius (and hybrids in general) have been a around for a long time now and there are many independents who are now qualified to work on them. The 12v battery in the Prius can be bought almost anywhere and installed easily. ---
**Author:** ![rplantz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8c91f0/32.png) [@rplantz](https://community.cartalk.com/u/rplantz)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2020, 2:58pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/2012-toyota-prius-battery/161769/7 "2020-03-26T14:58:23Z")
This just happened to me with my 2005 Prius a couple of days ago. The electronics on the car had been weird for a few days. For example, when first starting the car, the heat would be at 75 deg. Several times the odometer was on Km instead of miles. Then on Tuesday morning, when I pushed the Start button, the dashboard display was just plain crazy. Since I was still on the original 12V battery, I was pretty sure that was the problem. Got out my jump starter, and the car started right away. Turns out that Pep Boys was having a 25% off sale on batteries. Their price included installation. Got an Optima for about $200. With the shelter-in-place around here, I was the only customer wanting service, so the process took less than 1/2 hour.