While a 2007 Toyota Prius battery was charging the engine turned off and on many times - is this normal?

Asked by carbuyer999 Feb 15, 2015 at 12:40 PM about the 2007 Toyota Prius

Question type: General

We have never owned a hybrid but are thinking of buying one and were looking at a 2007
Toyota Prius in a car yard today. The 12 volt battery was flat so the dealer jump started it
which allowed the car to run just fine. However whilst it was idling (just sitting in the
parking lot), the petrol engine kept starting and stopping every couple of minutes. - is this
normal?

1 Answer

86,785

Yes, it's normal. We have a 2009 Prius . For some reason our original 12 volt battery that starts the engine failed at 35 months. We just had the car serviced at 60,000 miles and they're telling me that the 2nd volt battery is weak. I don't know why some cars use up batteries more quickly, but, this may be one of them. Get them to install a new one if you purchase the car and if it fails call the AAA and purchase your next one through them with a three year unconditional guarantee. I wouldn't get too concerned about the 12 volt battery, the hybrid battery is a much bigger deal. It should last 125,000 to 150,000 miles.

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