Posted by Peter Granzeau on January 1, 2011, 1:02 pm
I drove my wife over to the grocery yesterday (about 4 blocks) to do
some last minute shopping in my '06 Prius. We went in, did our
shopping, got back in the car, and it was locked somewhere between on
and off. When I went to turn it on, all the red lights came on, but
that was it. When I tried to turn it off, it wouldn't turn off all the
way. I called the AAA for service, and sent my wife home in a cab. The
AAA got there with one of those flatbed trucks. I noticed that by this
time, the 12V battery was dead, so the first thing we tried was a jump.
No luck. The car was still locked somewhere in no-no land. The next
thing was to try to get the damn car onto the flatbed. If he's had a
normal wrecker, he could have picked up the front wheels and been off
and gone in 20 minutes, but nooooo, he had to get the car onto the
flatbed. It took him nearly an hour of backing and filling to pull the
car, front wheels locked, up onto the bed. Off the car went to the
dealer, too late to see the service department until Monday, and I took
a cab home, too (I couldn't climb up into the truck to save my soul, I'm
too old and weak.
I'm going to sell the damn Prius and get a car that I can get into
neutral if I need it, at the very least. Maybe a Ford Fusion (NOT the
hybrid).
--
Regards, Pete
pgranzeau@cox.net
Posted by Davoud on January 1, 2011, 2:30 pm
Peter Granzeau:
> I drove my wife over to the grocery yesterday (about 4 blocks) to do
> some last minute shopping in my '06 Prius. We went in, did our
> shopping, got back in the car, and it was locked somewhere between on
> and off. When I went to turn it on, all the red lights came on, but
> that was it. When I tried to turn it off, it wouldn't turn off all the
> way. I called the AAA for service, and sent my wife home in a cab. The
> AAA got there with one of those flatbed trucks. I noticed that by this
> time, the 12V battery was dead, so the first thing we tried was a jump.
> No luck. The car was still locked somewhere in no-no land. The next
> thing was to try to get the damn car onto the flatbed. If he's had a
> normal wrecker, he could have picked up the front wheels and been off
> and gone in 20 minutes, but nooooo, he had to get the car onto the
> flatbed. It took him nearly an hour of backing and filling to pull the
> car, front wheels locked, up onto the bed. Off the car went to the
> dealer, too late to see the service department until Monday, and I took
> a cab home, too (I couldn't climb up into the truck to save my soul, I'm
> too old and weak.
>
> I'm going to sell the damn Prius and get a car that I can get into
> neutral if I need it, at the very least. Maybe a Ford Fusion (NOT the
> hybrid).
Sounds like a wise choice. The Prius isn't suitable for everyone.
I had the 12-volt battery in my '06 Prius go dead in the morning on
Christmas Eve. Fortunately, I was not far from home and my wife arrived
shortly with jumper cables. I drove straight to the Toyota garage and
they did some diagnostics, recommending only that I recharge the
battery and then have them test it again. I can't afford to be stranded
in the winter, so if there's any question of battery condition I will
replace the battery. Four years / 32,000 miles isn't a very good
lifetime for an automobile battery, methinks.
Davoud
--
I agree with almost everything that you have said and almost everything that
you will say in your entire life.
usenet *at* davidillig dawt cawm
Posted by Michelle Steiner on January 1, 2011, 2:41 pm
> I can't afford to be stranded in the winter, so if there's any question
> of battery condition I will replace the battery. Four years / 32,000
> miles isn't a very good lifetime for an automobile battery, methinks.
Mine lasted about six years and 69,000 miles. And it appears that Toyota
is the only place to get one. Pep Boys and Sears do not carry the 12-volt
battery for the Prius, but I didn't check any other 3rd party source.
--
Tea Party Patriots is to Patriotism as
People's Democratic Republic is to Democracy.
Posted by Daniel who wants to know on January 1, 2011, 3:38 pm
>> I can't afford to be stranded in the winter, so if there's any question
>> of battery condition I will replace the battery. Four years / 32,000
>> miles isn't a very good lifetime for an automobile battery, methinks.
> Mine lasted about six years and 69,000 miles. And it appears that Toyota
> is the only place to get one. Pep Boys and Sears do not carry the 12-volt
> battery for the Prius, but I didn't check any other 3rd party source.
> --
> Tea Party Patriots is to Patriotism as
> People's Democratic Republic is to Democracy.
Just about any 12V battery will work in a Prius since it doesn't crank the
engine. 2 popular options are a Mazda Miata battery, and an Optima yellow
top. I would probably run a group U1 AGM power wheelchair battery if I had
a Prius. I wonder if a 22nf wheelchair battery could be shoehorned in?
Keep in mind that the posts on the OE battery are smaller than standard SAE
top posts so you would have to either trim down the posts on a replacement
battery or change the ends on the car. The easiest is to get a battery with
studs or flag terminals and just remove the clamps from the car's ends and
bolt them on.
Posted by Davoud on January 1, 2011, 9:06 pm
Daniel who wants to know:
> Just about any 12V battery will work in a Prius since it doesn't crank the
> engine. 2 popular options are a Mazda Miata battery, and an Optima yellow
> top. I would probably run a group U1 AGM power wheelchair battery if I had
> a Prius. I wonder if a 22nf wheelchair battery could be shoehorned in?
> Keep in mind that the posts on the OE battery are smaller than standard SAE
> top posts so you would have to either trim down the posts on a replacement
> battery or change the ends on the car. The easiest is to get a battery with
> studs or flag terminals and just remove the clamps from the car's ends and
> bolt them on.
Bzzzzzzt! Wrong answer. The *easiest* way to deal with a dead Prius
battery is to go to the Toyota dealer and have them install a new
battery. The impecunious are often forced to do things the hard way,
while the skinflint often chooses to do things the hard way. The rest
of us understand that time is the world's most valuable commodity.
Davoud
--
I agree with almost everything that you have said and almost everything that
you will say in your entire life.
usenet *at* davidillig dawt cawm
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> some last minute shopping in my '06 Prius. We went in, did our
> shopping, got back in the car, and it was locked somewhere between on
> and off. When I went to turn it on, all the red lights came on, but
> that was it. When I tried to turn it off, it wouldn't turn off all the
> way. I called the AAA for service, and sent my wife home in a cab. The
> AAA got there with one of those flatbed trucks. I noticed that by this
> time, the 12V battery was dead, so the first thing we tried was a jump.
> No luck. The car was still locked somewhere in no-no land. The next
> thing was to try to get the damn car onto the flatbed. If he's had a
> normal wrecker, he could have picked up the front wheels and been off
> and gone in 20 minutes, but nooooo, he had to get the car onto the
> flatbed. It took him nearly an hour of backing and filling to pull the
> car, front wheels locked, up onto the bed. Off the car went to the
> dealer, too late to see the service department until Monday, and I took
> a cab home, too (I couldn't climb up into the truck to save my soul, I'm
> too old and weak.
>
> I'm going to sell the damn Prius and get a car that I can get into
> neutral if I need it, at the very least. Maybe a Ford Fusion (NOT the
> hybrid).