Electric Battery

Why my car doesn’t start anymore? If I jump start the electric battery it will run but as soon I turn off the key I am back in the square one.

You probably need a new battery. This should be the very small 12V battery, not the much more expensive Hybrid battery. Because of the unique design of this car, the dealer is probably the proper place to get this battery replaced.

Thank you so much for the answer.Just to make sure that we are on the same page…The car starts when I jump start the expensive battery in the back of the car.

How do you jump the expensive battery? The hybrid electric system is sealed, and there are no known jump points to hook any car batteries to. If IIRC, the hybrid system uses more than 200V of power. If this system will not hold a charge, then the Hybrid battery must be replaced. This is for sure only available at the dealer.

But, if you can jump with a regular car, the small 12V auxillary battery is the one that is bad.

Is the expensive hybrid battery located in the back ? because that’s the one I jumped and start the car.The car has 78.000 mi.only.

The small 12V battery is behind a panel in the back. The expensive Hybrid system battery is under the rear seat.

Than I consider my self lucky because the one I jumped is the one in the back trunk right above the rear back tire behind the driver.Do you have any idea how long will the hybrid battery last and how much a new one cost ?

Do you have any idea how long will the hybrid battery last and how much a new one cost ?

They seem to last a long time. They have not had enough of them on the road for long enough yet to say what their life will be. So far I have been impressed with all parts of their new technology. Usually such a drastic change means lots of failures and short life, but they seem to have done something right.

From what I have seen the replacement cost is something like $2500 - $3,000.

Good Luck

Thank you so much for your help!

Why would ANYONE buy a Prius without knowing the answer to that question??

But the other 12V battery, Prius owners have found a more common battery that fits in the space provided and have side-stepped the “special” battery offered by the dealer…You may have to change the terminals to connect it.

The hybrid battery is warranteed for 8 years or 100,000 miles (In CA, the same battery is coverd for 10 years, 150,000 miles). Many folks have gotten over 200,000 miles.

If you drive a lot of highway miles, then the battery does not do anything and it will last a long time…If the car is used in urban driving which “works” the battery much harder, its life will be shorter. It’s all a matter of charge / discharge cycles. You only get so many…I suspect Toyota has limited the discharge to no more than 30%-40% of capacity which will greatly extend battery life. Should a cell fail prematurely, Dealers can now go in and open up the pack and replace just the failed cell…