How do you jumpstart a 2004 Toyota Prius? It's actually easier than one would think despite the intimidating hybrid technology under the hood.
Yes, last night our Prius was completely dead. Maybe someone left the interior light on all weekend. No one knows. In any case it needed a jumpstart.
By the way, FYI, when a Prius is completely dead, the gears don't work so you can't shift it into Neutral if you have to move it anywhere. Fortunately, our dead Prius was accessible.
So, lifting the hood, since there isn't the usual battery, where to hook up the cables? Fortunately Vehicle Testing Manager Mike Schmidt knew exactly where. Lift the battery cover and there's a red box with a "+" sign on it. Flip up the box and you'll find a bolt where you attach the red cable to. The black cable should be attached to metal. We clipped it onto a nearby bolt on the car's frame.
Then hook up the other end of the cables to the live car, like usual.
Word of caution: Just make sure to close your Prius doors. Our driver side door was open so as soon as the Prius was brought back to life its alarm went off, unfortunately for Mike whose head was still under its hood. Oops.
Anyway, after this, I drove the Prius around for 45 minutes and it was fine.
Caroline Pardilla, Deputy Managing Editor @ 85,080 miles
allthingshonda says:
11:50 AM, 10/13/10
Really, a dead battery in a Hybrid. Didn't know this was even possible with all those KW of electricity sitting in the Hybrid's battery. I didn't know you could leave interior lights on in modern cars I thought they all had a battery saver feature that automatically turned off the interior lights after a set amount of time.
eville_stu says:
12:14 PM, 10/13/10
I'm confused how you can have a car that has so much technology in the drivetrain but still doesn't turn off interior lights and accessories when it senses that the battery is close to dead. I had to jump start a friend's Prius and have been scratching my head since. Of course, why anyone would actually buy one is an even bigger area of confusion for me... :)
konocar400h says:
12:14 PM, 10/13/10
Its happened to me too. I was an idiot the other day and left my lights and radio on for about 30 minutes while I was waiting for someone. My battery on the rx400h is now 98,000 miles old. It gave out on me, and I had to jumpstart it. No big deal.
allthingshonda, you have to keep in mind that Toyota intentionally kept the starting mechanism and the hybrid system separate. This allows for a little better simplicity when it comes to maintaining the regular battery. But you are right, Toyota needs to get with the times and develop a battery saving system.
subaru123 says:
01:53 PM, 10/13/10
Well luckily you don't have to jump it through the 12V battery in the back which is under the cargo mat under the cargo floor under the cargo box under the right side floor panel under a little plastic cover.
4g63 says:
01:57 PM, 10/13/10
well its not unheard of, at all. it happened to me, and some other prius owners also. i was sure i didnt leave anything on before i left mine at the airport parking lot for 5 days. i walked around and check everything before i left. but when i came back, my car was completely dead for no reason. no light, no nothing. and it remains a mystery.
yellowmiata says:
02:36 PM, 10/13/10
I think the most troubling thing I read in this blog was that the car cannot be shifted into neutral when its dead. How would you move the car? What if the battery was completely dead and you had to tow it? How would you disable park or drive? I'm sure there's an answer somewhere...
Kevin
toxic_science says:
03:15 PM, 10/13/10
If the battery's dead and you have to tow, they have little trucks that fit under all the wheels they can use to move it out to a position to tow...found out first hand with my A4 in a brutal michigan winter in 2003 and a dead battery...The tow truck driver was able to push it by himself out from between 2 cars and into the middle aisle where he could then jump me. Oh, if they have to tow your vehicle with AWD and they don't have a flatbed, they have trucks for whatever end isn't lifted by the tow truck.
rollk says:
05:56 PM, 10/13/10
Anyone else notice how the energy monitor screen shows the Prius' engine as a V8? lol
vt8919 says:
07:23 PM, 10/13/10
Looks like a 4 cylinder to me. Then again, even if it was wrong, all they need anyways is something that can be easily recognized as an engine.
greenpony says:
07:26 PM, 10/13/10
It's a DOHC I-4. And it looks like one too.
wyounger says:
06:06 AM, 10/14/10
Hybrids have big batteries for the high voltage systems that are supposed to last for the life of the car, but they also have regular 12 volt batteries just like a regular car, and lo and behold, after four or five years, they wear out and the car dies, even if you didn't leave a light on.
But I do agree that Toyota has been dragging its feet about a battery saver feature. With the pace of modern technology (and Toyota's competitors), it shouldn't be possible to be stranded because somebody left a reading light on.
Prius will not unlock the Park mechanism without 12 volts, period. You can drag it with a truck, you can put it on a dolly, you can apply 12 volts and then roll it, but that's it. But it's VERY easy to jump start the 12 volt system. Since it doesn't actually have to start the engine, you can do it with a flashlight battery. All it has to do is wake up the computer and click over some relays so the hybrid system can wake up and let the big battery start the engine. But... there is some thought that it is not safe for a Prius to GIVE jump starts... you may blow the battery fuse (between the battery and the 12 volt terminal under the hood) in the process and then have two stranded cars instead of one.
wyounger says:
06:09 AM, 10/14/10
Oh, and you need CHEAP jumper cables to jump a Prius. The terminals on good jumper cables are too bulky to even fit on its little terminals.
bigmik1021 says:
08:17 AM, 10/14/10
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.........new s60 with NJ plates.....interesting......