2024 Prius Prime Owner Says His Car Was “Dead on Delivery” and Is Now on Its Third 12-Volt Battery at 19,000 Miles, While Toyota “Seems Content” to Just Swap Batteries

The Toyota Prius occupies a peculiar but earned position. Once dismissed as an appliance for the ecologically earnest, it has matured into something unexpectedly enjoyable. The fifth-generation Prius Prime, especially in XSE Premium form, is proof of that evolution. It is quick enough to feel lively, composed enough to be driven with intent, and advanced enough to remind you that the future arrived quietly while everyone was arguing about horsepower. Yet progress has a habit of exposing new weak points, and in this case, the Prius Prime’s brush with modernity has centered on a component as old as the electric starter itself.

That contradiction came into sharp focus when one owner, Chris Trops, shared his experience in the Toyota Prius 5th Gen Club on Facebook. His 2024 Prius Prime XSE Premium was, by his account, dead on delivery and required a battery and relay replacement before he could even take it home. Since then, the car has gone through multiple 12-volt batteries, leaving him on his third unit at just under 19,000 miles. 

“Here’s our 2024 Prius Prime XSE Premium with OEM summer shoes and aftermarket winter boots. It currently has just under 19k, mostly daily driven city/highway in EV mode.

It was dead on arrival(delivery day)…got a new battery and needed a relay replaced for delivery a week later.

Since then, it needed boosting due to 12v battery being dead on three separate occasions. We are now on the 3rd 12v battery if you count the one that was replaced prior to us taking delivery.

Other than the 12v battery issue, we love our Prius, and it has worked flawlessly. The fact that the wireless charger doesn’t work unless the phone is completely stripped out of a case is irritating, but apparently is a common Toyota issue 

Through all my dealings with Toyota on the 12v battery, here are some tips to pass along:

1. If your 12v battery goes dead and needs a boost, don’t rely on driving to charge it fully. Put it on a trickle charger to bring it up to full.

2. If your battery needs to be boosted 2-3 times, it probably needs to be replaced. Insist that the dealership do a load test, not a voltage test. This is the only way to properly test a battery. It will take at least an hour, if not longer, to do a proper load test.

3. If you go on vacation, especially if it’s in winter and you live in a colder climate, you will either need to put the battery on a trickle charger or disconnect it, or your battery will be dead when you get home.

The last time our Prius was in for service, 2 weeks ago(when the battery failed the load test and was replaced), I literally saw them deliver a pallet of batteries 5-6 levels high. It seems Toyota is content to continually replace batteries under warranty instead of looking for a solution.

We can only hope that maybe they’ll eventually upgrade the battery to a higher capacity AGM battery.”

Trops’ post was not a rant but a detailed account, notable for its calm tone and continued affection for the car. He emphasized that aside from the battery issue, the Prius has been flawless, efficient, and enjoyable to live with, even as he expressed frustration over smaller modern annoyances like a finicky wireless phone charger.

The Prius Prime itself makes that goodwill understandable. With its plug-in hybrid system producing a combined 220 horsepower, the car accelerates with confidence rather than apology. The chassis feels settled, the steering precise, and the low center of gravity lends a sense of balance absent from earlier generations. In EV mode, which many owners use for the bulk of daily driving, the car moves with a smooth, silent urgency that feels both refined and faintly mischievous. It is a Prius that no longer asks for forgiveness, and that makes its occasional failure to start all the more jarring.

The culprit is not the high-voltage traction battery that defines the Prius Prime’s mission, but the humble 12-volt auxiliary battery that powers the car’s computers, relays, and startup logic. When that battery falters, the entire system goes dark, regardless of how full the main battery may be. Trops’ experience highlights how dependent modern vehicles have become on layers of electronics that never truly sleep. Even when parked, systems continue to draw power, and in colder climates, that drain can overwhelm a marginal battery with surprising speed.

Toyota Prius: Efficiency as a Design Philosophy

• The Prius maintains its focus on fuel economy, using its hybrid system to reduce consumption in stop-and-go driving where efficiency gains are most noticeable.
• Exterior styling adopts a lower, sleeker profile than earlier generations, signaling a shift away from purely utilitarian design.
• The cabin emphasizes simplicity and visibility, supporting a relaxed driving experience rather than performance engagement.
• Long-term reliability and low operating costs remain central to the Prius’s role as a practical transportation solution.

What raised eyebrows in Trops’ account was his observation at the dealership, where he reportedly saw a pallet of replacement batteries stacked several levels high. The image suggests a response strategy based on volume rather than resolution. Toyota has been replacing batteries under warranty, but according to Trops, there has been little indication of a permanent fix or an upgraded specification. His hope, shared by others in the community, is for a higher-capacity AGM battery that better matches the car’s electrical demands.

The discussion that followed his post revealed that his experience was not isolated. Other owners echoed similar stories, particularly those who live in colder regions or leave their cars parked for extended periods. Several noted that the Prius Prime rewards careful ownership habits more commonly associated with specialty vehicles, such as using a trickle charger during long periods of inactivity. This is sensible advice, but it also underscores how ownership expectations have shifted. A car designed to simplify fuel consumption now asks its owner to think carefully about battery management.

Trops also offered practical guidance drawn from hard experience, most notably the importance of load testing rather than simple voltage checks when diagnosing a failing battery. A voltage reading can appear normal even when a battery is no longer capable of sustaining real-world loads. A proper load test takes time, but it is the only meaningful way to assess health. That such diligence was required from the owner rather than automatically applied by the service department points to a growing gap between modern vehicle complexity and traditional diagnostic shortcuts.

None of this diminishes what the Prius Prime gets right, which is most of what matters day to day. It is efficient without being dull, modern without being alienating, and genuinely satisfying to drive. The frustration lies in the fact that such a well-executed car can be sidelined by a relatively small component that feels mismatched to the sophistication surrounding it. Toyota has built a Prius that finally wins over skeptics on the road. Ensuring it reliably wakes up every morning would complete the transformation.

Image Sources: Toyota Media Center

Noah Washington is an automotive journalist based in Atlanta, Georgia. He enjoys covering the latest news in the automotive industry and conducting reviews on the latest cars. He has been in the automotive industry since 15 years old and has been featured in prominent automotive news sites. You can reach him on X and LinkedIn for tips and to follow his automotive coverage.