What is that Prius doing when I'm not looking?
I continue to be annoyed by the Prius 12 V battery problem: it goes flat if you park the car for a "long" time (I think over 10 days is risky). In the 2006 manual the owner is advised to push the "KEY" button and dumb down the smart key if the car is to be parked an extended time. Dealer employees often will say the same thing. Only factory bulletins advising dealers (and my personal experience) reveal that this is not enough; disconnecting the 12 V battery is required. That is not terribly hard if you do it under the hood and have the right size (metric) socket wrench, but it wouldn't be fun in the rain. Without the disconnect, that car gets up to God knows what out on the lot. Does anyone out there have a list of its busy-works? Besides broadcasting key queries, I know it pumps hot coolant into a thermos right after you shut down, and I suspect it sniffs around for gasoline vapor once in a while, but I have never seen a list. I suspect the 12 V problem remains in the 2007 model; at least the "KEY" button looks the same. Have they solved the problem without revealing it? Very sneaky, I'd say. I contacted "Contact Toyota" and asked if installing a (12 V) battery disconnect switch under the hood would void any warranty. Their reply was standard boiler plate.
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