Auxiliary battery on my 2013 Prius won't stay charged
Asked by JanaW26 Jan 01, 2019 at 11:16 PM about the 2013 Toyota Prius Three
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
I came back from an 11 day trip and my 2013 Prius 12 volt battery was completely drained. I always turn off the headlights manually and most of the time don't even have the radio on. AAA came and jumped it. I took it to the dealer and they replaced the battery. That battery lasted 4 days before it was completely drained. Got it jumped again and took it back. They couldn't figure out what was wrong after charging it back up and starting it and driving it for a few days. I picked it up and it lasted 2 days before the battery was totally drained again. Now they've had it for over a week and still can't figure out what's wrong. If it had an alternator, I'd think that was the problem but. What could be the problem? I've checked on line but nothing fits my situation. I have a 2007 and a 2013 Prius and have never had this problem before.
8 Answers
I'm having a similar problem (2016 Prius V trim 4). If the car is driven it will start shortly after. However if it is parked for some time it won't start until maybe the 4th time I push the start button or not at all. When it doesn't start the display reads ""insufficient aux battery charge shift is unavailable". However I took it to the dealer where they said the 12V is ok and that they cannot see any error codes. I checked to make sure all lights/AC/radio are off so that can't be it. Strangely none of these systems appear to be suffering at the moment, lights are bright, keyless entry works etc. Dealer is not sure what's going on. Any progress with your car's diagnosis?
They still haven't found anything. They say they keep starting it and driving it and can't get it to "act up". When mine didn't start there was nothing even left in the battery to light anything up. Their diagnosis isn't showing anything. I called them yesterday and said I'd be happy to come and drive it around without turning it off to see if I could get it to "act up". They wouldn't even consider it. And yet they aren't working on it, the tech is busy on another vehicle. I am so frustrated. I'll update as I learn more. And good luck with your car!
Thanks for the update. Mine is currently also parked at the dealer. They want to do a cold start so are keeping it parked for a while. Strangely the last trip I took (to the dealer) it started immediately. It was warmer that day, not sure if related. Will keep you posted as well. Fingers crossed it’s not some hard to track down electrical issue!
Update: Once they finally did the recall, they couldn't get it to "act up" again. I checked into what the recall was for and, guess what, it was a software update for the inverter (which charges the 12 volt battery)! I've had the car now for 6 days and no more battery draining so far!
Glad to hear it. They just gave me a new battery so I can’t say yet if it solved my problem. If it hasent I’ll ask them to look at the inverter. Thanks for posting!
Well, it worked for 13 days... Got in it this morning and it's dead again.
Apparently it isn't a problem with the battery being drained. Now they think it's a fuse that acts up but not all the time. They say they can't test the fuse until it acts up again and it is working now. But they won't let me take the car home and drive it until it acts up. So I'm without a car again! This is just assignine.
I like to park my 2015 Prius pointed down on my inclined driveway. Lately, the car won't start the first 5 times I try. Now I'm parking nose up, and it seems to work fine.
