The Toyota Prius along with many other Hybrid cars have an auxiliary battery, that needs to be either replaced or recharged from time to time. As most lead-acid batteries need to be replaced within 4 years, your Prius may need to be Jump-Started if your battery fails.
So can you Jumpstart a Toyota Prius?
Well Yes, you can! The procedure to jump-start your Prius is fairly straightforward, and once you do it you will always remember. The only warning is that there are a whole lot of extra electronics in a Toyota Prius and other Hybrid cars compared to the average family gas car. So if you get it wrong you will fry some of your electronic computers and that will get very expensive to repair.
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How to Correctly Jump Start a Toyota Prius?
If your Toyota Prius has a flat battery you can quickly and easily boost jump start your car by using either a set of jumper leads or as I prefer a cheap pocket jump starter.
These pocket-size jump starters have a whole range of safety features built-in to protect the sensitive electronics in your Prius. They are made idiot-proof so that you cannot hook them up back to front. If you do you will get a warning. With up to 15 starts in a single mini jump starter, you can start all the cars in your street.
Prius Battery Location Jump Start
So the first thing to do if you need to JumpStart Toyota Prius is to make sure your car is turned off. You can now safely open the lid on the main fuse box in your Prius engine bay. This is located on the same side as the driver. Just pop off the lid cover to gain access to the fuses. There is a large red tab, which you can swing open. This is where we will get access to the main positive jump-start terminal.
Once you have swung the tab over you will have access to the positive (+) post where to attach the red jumper cable lead. Attach this first and then attach the negative (-) black cable to an exposed bolt like a shock strut bolt. Make sure there is no paint on the part you attach the negative alligator clamp to.
You can now turn on your pocket-size jump starter and start your Prius. Don’t forget to remove the jump booster pack as soon as the car has started.
Here is the review we have done on the DB Power mini jump starter. We have used it successfully on a Toyota Prius and a Toyota Corolla.
You should look into the reason why you have a flat battery. Possible causes can be:
- Left your lights or radio on.
- Faulty or old battery. It’s recommended that your battery is replaced after 4 years.
- Faulty alternator. This charges your battery.
- Incorrect battery water level. Unless it’s a sealed unit.
- Corroded battery terminals. Clean and try again.
How to jump a car with a Prius
The procedure is the same to jump a car with a Prius as the main source of power, as it is for a normal car for using a set of jumper leads. You can either jump from the positive tab in the fuse box or use the battery in the back trunk.
Make sure red possessive lead goes to the red positive on both batteries. The negative black cable needs to be attached to the frame on both vehicles. This is to prevent sparking near the battery. Any bare metal part can be used. Like a bolt or engine tab.
The only problem with using the battery in the rear trunk is you have to take out the boot floor mats and molding. This will take time, especially if your trunk is full of stuff. This is why there is an easy-to-access jumper tab, in the front engine bay fuse box.
We will explain later on in this article, how to access the battery in the rear.
How to jump a hybrid battery – Lexus CT200H
The Toyota and the Lexus are very common in where to attach the Jumper cables in the fuse box. If you have a dead battery in your 2011 Lexus CT200h, the symptoms are usually a clicking noise from the engine bay when turning the key. Or the engine will turn over really slowly and will not start.
Open the fuse box lid and flip open the red tab. (Shown near the blue relays) This is where you will attach your 12v power positive cable. The Negative cable clamp can be attached to any bare metal post or bolt.
How to replace your Toyota Prius Battery
Your Toyota Prius auxiliary battery is located in the rear boot or trunk of the vehicle. The standard battery on 2004+ Toyota Prius is the Yuasa Battery GS S46B24 (325 CCA 45 AH.) Its location in the rear of the car makes it slightly difficult to jump-start, and or replace the battery.
If you need to replace the battery in your Prius follow these steps.
- The first step is the review your workshop or user manual for any extra special steps that may be unique for your year model Prius.
- Open the rear hatch door and take out the carpet mats
- Unlock the rear deck panel fasteners and pull out the panel.
- Remove the black plastic cargo tray and the gray plastic battery panel protector on the right-hand side. You will now be able to see the battery.
- Use a 10mm socket or spanner to remove the negative cable clamp and place it carefully away.
- Follow the same procedure for the red positive cable, and place it to the side.
- Find the battery breather drain tube and pull it straight out.
- Un-clip the battery temperature harness if your Toyota Prius has one fitted.
- You can now unbolt the battery hold-down harness. Be careful not to short out the battery when you remove the metal bar brace.
- Pull out and remove your Yuasa S46B24 battery using the correct lifting techniques. Replace it with a new battery of either the same spec or upgrade to an Optima Yellowtop (DS46B24R) Prius Battery. This is one of the best performing direct fit batteries for the 2004 and up Toyota Prius.
- Replace the brace, cable clamps, and temperature sensor if fitted.
- Check all connections and once satisfied you can go ahead and replace all the plastic moldings, cargo tray, and trunk mats.
The whole process should take you less than 20 minutes, and you will be good to go for another 4 years of trouble-free starting.
Replacing your Toyota Prius 12v Battery Video
As you can see there are a few steps required to remove your hybrid battery. As this battery is tucked away, it’s also why Toyota has chosen to give us a jump-starting tab in the fuse box engine bay. It just makes life so much simpler when you get a dead battery.
If you got confused will all the steps in removing the battery in your Prius, you can check out the great video tutorial. This was made by the battery shop for you to follow.
Prius Battery Life and Best Aftermarket Replacement – Optima DS46B24R Yellow Top
Your Toyota Prius will usually have an auxiliary battery life of around 4 years. If you use a quality battery tender you will get extra life out of your car battery. One of the best replacement batteries for your Toyota Prius is the Optima Yellow top check out the link for full user reviews.
- Premium Starting And Deep Cycle Power
- For Off-Road, Competition, Performance, and constant drain car audio systems.
- Vibration Resistant
- Non-Spillage and Maintenance Free
The Yellowtop is a very high-performance AGM battery (Absorbed Glass Mat ) that has all the power for your needs. It’s one of the true dual-purpose automotive batteries available for your Prius. It has great cranking power and a very impressive cycling capability.
It’s perfect for modern hybrid accessory-loaded vehicles. This battery can be constantly be brought back from deep low power usage, to full charge really fast. Especially if you use a quality battery tender.
| Brand | Optima |
|---|---|
| Item Weight | 26 pounds |
| Product Dimensions | 9.9 x 5.1 x 8.9 inches |
| Made in | Mexico |
| Item model number | OPT8171-767 |
| Manufacturer Part Number | 8171-767 |
| Amperage | 38 A |
| Voltage | 12 volts |
Toyota Prius Red Triangle on Dash Warning
If you start to get some warning messages on your dash like the dreaded red triangle you may be having a low battery warning signal. This should not be ignored and a battery test must be done as soon as possible. Your Prius should do a quick battery check by its self upon startup. This is shown by the battery led indicator on your dash.
All batteries will begin to fail over time. You can extend your battery life by using a Battery Tender from either Noco or Ctek, this will extend your battery life replacement plan. You should be able to get a few more years of good cranking power by using one of these so it’s a great investment.
How to Test your Toyota Prius Battery
To test if you have a faulty or dead auxiliary battery do the following.
- Get yourself a quality multimeter like the INNOVA 3320 Digital Multimeter, and test the voltage with the Toyota Prius turned off. It should be just over 12.6v
- Start your car and measure the voltage again. It should increase to over 13-14v
- Go for a drive for about half an hour and then retest your battery voltage with the car off.
- Get someone to help you. Get them to start your Prius while you watch the multi-meter. If your battery drops under 10v while starting you may need to replace your battery.
- The other way to test is to turn on some electronics like the radio and the air-conditioner. This will put some load on the batter. Your battery voltage must not drop under 10v if it does your battery will need to be replaced.
Toyota Prius 2001 to 2012 Haynes Repair Manual
If you like to do some small maintenance jobs yourself then it’s wise to get a Prius workshop repair manual. These are relatively inexpensive and you can save yourself a small fortune at your local garage. Haynes writes every book based on a complete tear-down of the vehicle. In this case, they strip down the Toyota Prius.
It will describe the best ways to do a job, and that makes it quicker, easier, and cheaper for you.
These workshop repair books have clear instructions and hundreds of photographs. Services like engine oil changes will be super easy for you, especially if you use the fast Mityvac oil extractor we talked about.
Hybrid Future
The Toyota Prius is here to stay and hybrid cars are becoming more popular with other manufacturers getting in on the hybrid bandwagon. Such as Saturn Vue, Toyota Prius, Toyota Camry Hybrid, Ford Escape Hybrid, Toyota Highlander Hybrid, Honda Insight, Honda Civic Hybrid, Lexus RX 400h, and 450h and others.
The market is moving to all-electric vehicles and Lithium Batteries becoming safer and cheaper. You will start to see lead-acid batteries being replaced by lithium-ion cells. Bring it on.
I am a qualified Industrial Electrician for the past 20 years and I love to share my knowledge on home repair and maintenance jobs.
I love fast toys like Motorcycles, Cars, Jetskis, Boats, and Computers so writing about them is easy. Working on them is fun.
To keeps costs down I do all my own mods, repairs, and servicing. These skills I want to share with everyone. DIY is a skill everyone can learn.
The Optima Yellow Top is not a good battery. It used to be, when it was manufactured in the USA, but not now that it is manufactured in Mexico. I tried one and it failed in less than a year after being run down only once.
Depending on how low the battery was run down most batteries will fail if completely drained. Thanks for letting me know about the yellow tops being built in Mexico. Shame that a lot of our quality products are being built elsewhere and not in the good old USA costing us jobs.