Jump starting a Prius? Help!

[Bryan Vazquez]

Hi,

I forgot to turn off our Prius yesterday and now it is dead(this no keys thing is screwing with me!). I am assuming it is the 12v in the back and just needs a jump. I've done this on regular cars, but the Prius freaks me out. I've found some various info on-line but would really appreciate if anyone has experience with this kind of thing to help me out. Couldn't take more than 5-10 minutes. I'll even throw you a few bucks if you want. I live behind fiesta market. I have cables and a running car, just need you to tell me what to do! Thanks!

[Bryan Vazquez]

So I went ahead and tried it on my own and somehow sparks started flying when I connected the negative terminals = not cool. Dealer has no clue. I followed the textbook rules, or so I think. Anyone?

I forgot to turn off our Prius yesterday and now it is dead(this no keys thing is screwing with me!).

[John Eder]

Bryan,

This happened to me, and I was freaked out as well. You are correct- there is a 12 volt battery in the rear of the car. It can be jumped just like any other 12 volt battery. Remember, the negative (ground) battery jumper cable on the Prius (dead battery) end should go to any grounding point on the vehicle- not the negative post of the dead battery (this is standard battery jumping practice). Connect the positive to positive posts. The 12 volt battery only starts the car and provides power for the accessories (radio, etc.). The tow truck driver who jumped mine connected the positive lead to a metal tab that sticks up out of the fuse panel under the hood (mine is a 2008). You can see where this tab is in common with a threaded stud under a cover with a + sign on it (on later model Prius, there is a metal tab under this cover). I was going to hook to this, but I wasn't sure, and on my car, the threaded stud is located where a jumper cable clamp can't access it. The negative jumper cable clamp was then hooked to one of the nuts securing a suspension strut to the car body. It worked fine- no damage. Disconnect the ground cable on the suspension nut first, and then the red positive cable. See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxXL_g4ONrU or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlRleR8WcoU. Plus, it is covered in your owner's manual.

IMPORTANT: Do not let the battery jumper clamps come into contact with each other, or the positive (red) clamp to come into contact with a metal (grounded) surface.

Here's the fun part- you have to leave your car running for about five hours to fully charge the battery. It will cycle on and off at will, but will eventually charge. I locked my car manually with the key and left it running in my driveway. Again- no problems.

[Bryan Vazquez]

Thanks so much! I got it up and running again just a minute ago.

This happened to me, and I was freaked out as well. You are correct- there is a 12 volt battery in the rear of the car. It can be jumped just like any other 12 volt battery.