I drive a 2005 Prius and love it. One small problem I have been unable to solve. Whenever I let the car sit longer than 4-5 days the starting battery is dead and requires charging. Yes I know about the button under the dash that supposedly turns the smart key system off, but the battery is still drained. I had a trickle charger puti in the trunk so I can plug the car in, but getting to it, takes a Houdini, after the car won’t open. So I use the emergency key, but that only works for the front door. Now I have to crawl over the seats into the back to open the hatch from the inside, so I can get to the charger.
The dealer has replaced the starting battery and the anti theft system, since he thought that was what drained the battery, but it did not help.
So is anyone out there who has this same problem and found a solution?
Thanks for listening.
Helga
This complaint is becoming more common with newer cars with all the computers/modules used in vehicles.
When you turn off the ignition switch some of the computers/modules stay awake for a while before they go to sleep. In some cases it can take up to an hour before these components go to sleep. If a newer vehicle sits long enough and one of these components never goes to sleep it’s enough to drain the battery down to where the engine won’t start.
Tester
Look for help at priuschat.com/forums.