Leaderboard

You needed to fully charge the 12 V battery ASAP after the discharge event in order to have any chance of minimising the damage. Of course, how long it sat in it's discharge state is also a major factor - probably 4-5 days, which won't be helpful. :-( In order for the 12 V battery to reach anywhere near a full charge by charging in the car you will need to leave the car on in READY state for at least 8 hours. The other (better) alternative is to use a modern "smart" charger suitable for AGM (£40-50) and give it a full charge overnight. If you don't own such a charger, it would be a useful purchase to acquire one as I believe all Prii benefit from a regular monthly charge from an external source. Doing this will greatly increase the longevity of the 12 V battery life from the 3-4 years that people seem to accept, to much closer to the 10 years it should last. (Much longer, if well looked after). Just my 2p.

I'd agree about the 2002 with the vvti engine having the better engine, have had a lean burn 1.8 and now a 1.8 vvti. I know the thread is about the 2.0 but the comparison is relevant l think. Oddly,in my experience the vvti gives more to the gallon from.avg 36 in the 7afe to 39 in my current 1ZZ-FE which is surprising because it has a noticeably better power delivery throughout the rev range meaning I tend to use that power more because it responds to it where as the lean burn didn't so I cruised a lot more in it. The 1.6 vvti and the 1.8 are very similar and I've noticed the 2.0 vvti is different in quite a few respects. In other words the legendary oil issue that you talk of about the 1.6 you can apply to the 1.8 as it's every bit as potentially prone to it but I've rarely heard of the 2.0 having that problem. I maybe wrong but it's certainly not as regularly stated if it is the. case. Did you buy the Avensis then???

May be worth having a look at the Toyota Estima owners club -http://www.teoc.ws

The voltage is slightly higher (14.7 vs 14.4). The current is regulated and will reduce as the battery takes on charge. If the charger has a reconditioning cycle, it might be appropriate to use that, but consult your charger's user manual to be sure.

Put your hand over the end with the engine running. The pressure should build up and release when you let go. If it's blowing you'll hear it. Watch it'll be hot, use a rag or something.