Guerrilla Style 2009 Prius Troubleshooting
 

So there I was minding my own business at the auction today, when in rolls a tow truck. On the back, was a 2009 Prius with 25,000 KMs (15k miles) on it. It was being sold by a big leasing company that sells many cars there every week. I was told by someone in the know that the car had actually driven in under it's own power last week, but they couldn't get it started for the auction, so they towed it through. Apparently they tried to jump start it but it wouldn't do anything. Now, I don't know much about these cars, and neither does anyone at the auction, so most people were assuming that there was some major electrical problem.

My question is this - if someone had say left the interior light on and killed the 12 volt battery, will these cars even try to start with a jumper battery attached, or do they need a properly charged 12 volt battery in them in order to run? Also, can anyone think of a Prius specific issue that would leave it dead as a doornail that I could check for? It didn't sell, and it will be cheeeeeeeap, but I don't want to try and buy it if it's going to need a new traction battery. Thanks! :snail:

Edit - Someone else decided to step up and bought it after the auction. I just have a gut feeling it was something simple and nothing serious. And it sold for about 1/3 the price of the ones that drive through. When I heard how cheap it sold for I literally felt sick and had to sit down for a moment lol. Oh well, I can't buy everything!

Well, first they have to look for the battery in the rear hatch and jump it. If its like the Insight you got to leave the cables on it for a few minutes or it will die right away as soon as you disconnect them.

If the hybrid battery is dead the dealer has a procedure to revive them. Some Non us models came with a charger for the hybrid battery.

How cheap? Come on clue us in.