2005 Prius will not start after replacing 12v battery.

Asked by LAH1790 Nov 06, 2013 at 09:12 AM about the 2005 Toyota Prius FWD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

My 2005 Prius would not start Monday morning so I was able to jump start it that to get to work.  I knew at that point I was going to need to replace the 12v battery ASAP.  That evening after getting off, the car would not start again so I had a co-worker help me jump the car.  The battery was completley dead after sitting in 30 degree weather for 10 1/2 hours, so I was not concerned when it didn't start immediately after hooking up the jumper cables.  After waiting about 30 min with no results, I readjusted the + cable on my car. When I reconnected the + cable, there was a huge spark and the fog lights flashed on and off. I then double check to make sure I didn't cross cables and all is well.  I tried to start the car again and this time nothing was turning on.  I left the car over night and came back to replace the battery the next day.
I purchased the new battery from a toyota dealership and they assured me that the battery had a charge. So I swaped the battery and tried again.
I put my foot on the break and push the power button. The power button LED then turns green, and that is it. No noise or anything else. I then (while keeping my foot on the break still), push the power button again. This time the power button LED turns orange, the parking break P LED turns on green and the check engine light on the dash turns on.  No other lights are on at this point. The main display doesn't come on, nor does the interior lights work, or anything else for that matter. The only thing functioning from inside are those 3 lights. I turn the car off and we just figure it needs more time to charge. So we give it a few more minutes of charging and still the same thing.
At this point I figure maybe a fuse was blown.  After looking closely at the fuses, I notice that there is a break in one.  If you're looking down at the fuse box, the break is at the top of the large rectangular fuse to the left. This fuse is connected directly to the positive connection for the 12v system.  I figure that the break is from the mysterious spark from the night before.  I have searched and xearch and can not find what theis fuse is called or how to replace it.  Any Prius experts have any knowledge or advice on this matter?  I would really appreciate some feedback asap.

Thanks!!

18 Answers

245

Try swapping a fuse from another less important function then drive to dealer

7 people found this helpful.
200

Did you ever figure out what the problem was? I am having the exact same problem. I swapped the battery then nothing but 3 lights. Thank you

6 people found this helpful.
90

I am having the same exact issue with my 05 prius. I feel so lost. When I try and contact the dealer they treat like Im stupid as if they have never heard of anyone else having this issue. Someone please help.

9 people found this helpful.
245

The Prius is notorious for having a poor battery ground.Symptoms as losing time on the clock, low battery recharge, not starting etc. are typical. Especially in cold weather. Lift up the hatch and check the auxiliary battery in the rear of the car. Tighten connections and most important, follow the ground to the body connect screw/bolt.

13 people found this helpful.
200

My problem was the fuse under the hood. It's a Toyota dealer part. It's the big long fuse under the hood fuse box.

14 people found this helpful.
110

I am having this exact same problem with my 2007 model Prius in Norway. I have ALWAYS had problems with the 12 V battery. I just keep using jumper cables and charger packs. I am interested to hear more about this "big long fuse under the hood fuse box". I checked all the fuses tonight and there was one 10 AMP fuse that had blow. I switched it (as suggested by a reader above) but it didn't solve the problem. Please tell me what fuse you are talking about!!! perhaps take a picture of where to find it? Thanks

7 people found this helpful.
40

same problem with my 2008 sadden that no one has an answer for this can anyone please give us a light at the end of our tunnel

4 people found this helpful.
110

I never solved this problem. It seems to be a chronic problem with Priuses. I bought a new e-Golf last year and love it. Imagine never having to buy a drop of gas again! I live in Norway where they have great incentives to owning electric cars. Not sure where you live but it is worth looking into.

4 people found this helpful.
230

I had the same problem. I had to get a special fuse from the dealer and have it replaced under the hood. After that everything worked great.

2 people found this helpful.
230

It's a dealer fuse under the hood on the divers side close to the base of the windshield.

3 people found this helpful.
10

Any idea exact position diagram,pic, or some more specific will be great from you Mr Brent .thanks ahead i have radio and ac problems electrician say faulty grund some were!

1 people found this helpful.
230

The long while fuse to The left. It's easy to see its bad once you open the fuse box. The fuse box is under the hood on the driver's side

18 people found this helpful.
70

thelongwayhome gave me the clue I needed to get mine going again. I followed a Youtube video on replacing my own 12v and instead of loosening the clamp on the negative (-) terminal, I unbolted the ground cable from the inside of the frame in the back. After reading this thread, I grabbed my 10mm socket and as soon as I tightened it some more, I heard clicking from the front of the car along with all the dash lights coming back on. It was stone dead before that. Thanks, all!

7 people found this helpful.
90

My Prius would not start. I think it could be the Fob key. I put the key against the power button and nothing happened . I changed the fob key and it seemed to work for a while. Then it would not start again and this time I reset the car computer by holding the power button down for 45 seconds and it started. Now I hold down the power button when I will not start to reset the computer and it does not work this time. I found out my 12v battery in the back is bad. This is the second bad battery I have replaced. But just days after my second new battery it is not starting intermittently. I will check to see if it is a loose ground wire. I wonder which specific fuses are most likely to be the problem if it is not the ground wire? I think perhaps the battery is low and it is not charging fully from the Big High Voltage batteries because the DC TO DC converter that charges the little 12 Volt battery( like an alternator does on a regular car) is not working. I will get a multimeter to see if my battery is below 12v. If so maybe it is the DC to DC converter or a fuse that connects to DC to Dc step down convert from the High voltage battery to the low voltage 12-volt battery. Any thoughts here????

2 people found this helpful.
90

I found this diagram for the Prius fuse box https://www.autogenius.info/toyota-prius-plug-in-hybrid-2011-2015-fuse-box-diagram/

7 people found this helpful.
10

I had the same problem. All I did was clean the contact of the negative screw where it is fastened to the car with some emery cloth and boom! back in power! So simple!

1 people found this helpful.

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