9 Month Old Prius No Start

[kevin224]

Hello i'm new to the forum. I registered before i went to buy the prius, the car is 9 month old demonstrator done 10k. It is at the toyota dealers,it failed to start so salesman tried to jump start it he hooked it to the metal tag in fuse box and earth connection to bonnet latch on slam panel still no start. I came home a bit disillusioned. My landcruiser never fails me, not sure weather to go for it. Reading on the net a 12volt Battery for these can be damaged by flattening. Any thoughts on it because they will ring tomorrow should i insist on a new Battery. thanks Kev

[Chris Dance]

Could be the 12v Battery? I would get the garage to sort out the problem. If in any doubt do not buy it as there are other Prius cars on the market. There may not be a lot wrong as it is a relatively new car with a 5 year warranty. Hope it gets sorted, I can understand your disappointment.

[kevin224]

Thanks chris i will wait for their update tomorrow and what action they have taken. I see you have a new prius how has yours been. How is the mpg.

[timberwolf]

I am confused by your post - when you went to the dealer were you going there for a test drive, or were you going to collect the car that you had already bought?

If a test drive and you like the car when you finally get a test drive then you can make it a condition of the sale by asking for it to be replaced - I think it is best to have this written on the sales form (customer and dealer copies) e.g. New Genuine Toyota 12v Battery to be supplied and fitted - I am not a solicitor but some words with the least wiggle room?

If the car is due a first service then I would probably pay for and have that done separately or again explicitly agree and write it in as a condition of the sale. I've had experience of a main vauxhall dealer sales when I bought a Vectra of the car either not being serviced or taking the car to a back street garage in Slough. Perhaps, I was just unlucky? But it never went through the dealers shop - no record on the computer.

[Chris Dance]

Hi Kevin, Our Prius is a 2011 model Gen 3 T Spirit. Leather upholstery. Great car and no problems except for one fault: cold start knocking. This was fixed by the fuel inlet manifold being changed under warranty. I am getting 64 MPG for all types of journeys. Now the weather gets colder I will get about 59MPG. I have never had less than the 59MPG. My son has a gen 3 T spirit and a good mate has one as well we all think they are the best cars we have owned.

[kevin224]

Hello timberwolf i was only going for a test drive. The dealer phoned me today and said the car jump started now it is fine, they had the doors open last week in the fine weather. Don't toyotas time off the int lights. i'm looking at some 60 reg cars now for less money as milage does not seem to be an issue. what mileage are prius services due is it every 10,000. Thanks for replies.

[timberwolf]

The 12V Battery will need to be replaced with a new one. The dealer was very careless...

On Toyota Hybrids, the brake pump is live even when the car is switched off, it can be triggered by opening and closing the driver's door. I can't recall if there is a timer on the interior lights on later models - if it has one it wasn't much use! Posts on the internet are not rare on this subject for the Prius, I'd suggest doing some background research to get a feel for the problem. People don't usually post when everything is going well, so you'd have to judge by comparing how many owners post messages about flat batteries on another make/model of car.

I would guess that a lot of the cars will have been fleet owned.

Yes, every 10,000 miles/1 year.

[kevin224]

I agree about people not posting when things are going well. still looking for a Prius.

[theoilburner]

Just to say, I had to buy a new Battery for my Ford this week after it started behaving strangely. When I took the old one out I was surprised to see that it had already been replaced once, and this was on a 4.5 year old car. I've had it for 18mths, so it must have been swapped at less than 3 years old!

Clearly it's not just the Prius that can (but not always) need a new 12v Battery from time to time.