12v battery maintenance, issues, etc.

[Mojo1010]

10 hours ago, TruBlu said:

I totally agree and have the same issue for the last 2+ years. Toyota doesn't seem interested in the fact that customers are continually worried if their car will start or not.

£22,000 pounds worth of worry.

A member has fitted a bigger capacity Battery of 45Ah, it's in the forum thread, maybe that is something to consider.

1 hour ago, Mojo1010 said:

Maybe it could mean the 'new battery' was not in a good state to begin with? (No holes is my theory)

*In 

[Dala]

today

[Roy124]

Dala, interesting, and more so comparing it to my profile.  When I start, and that is probably opening the door, I show a large drop in voltage to near 12v before ready mode shows a larger spike.  The profile then is more akin to yours. 

What we don't normally see under the cloak 😁

[Bassa]

Thank you, very interesting information. 

[Bassa]

14 hours ago, Roy124 said:

Dala, interesting, and more so comparing it to my profile.  When I start, and that is probably opening the door, I show a large drop in voltage to near 12v before ready mode shows a larger spike.  The profile then is more akin to yours. 

What we don't normally see under the cloak 😁

 

[Impith]

So two weeks ago in the middle of the freezing spell with snow on the ground, I parked my car at Tilbury Docks to join a cruise. Having read all the horror stories about how awful the Toyota Hybrids are at keeping a charge in their 12v Battery for anything over half an hour, it was with some trepidation that I approached my car on my return this morning.

It started without issue… 😊

[Bernard Foy]

21 minutes ago, Impith said:

So two weeks ago in the middle of the freezing spell with snow on the ground, I parked my car at Tilbury Docks to join a cruise. Having read all the horror stories about how awful the Toyota Hybrids are at keeping a charge in their 12v battery for anything over half an hour, it was with some trepidation that I approached my car on my return this morning.

It started without issue… 😊

It’s great to hear a good story on the 12v Yaris Battery. I’ve never had any trouble either with my last three Yaris Hybrids and I never drive more than 4K miles a year mostly very short journeys too.

[Yugguy1970]

We only had an issue with our old one when it was left for 3 weeks.  Be interesting to see how the new one fares.

[Hicardo]

There are horror stories I know, but most people don't have any problems. Touch wood ive never had a problem with 4 Toyota hybrids over the years. 

[FROSTYBALLS]

Similar topics merged.

[Joby1]

Well, I’m very pleased for those of you who haven’t had any issues - including having parked at Tilbury for 2 weeks - but very sadly, many of us, through no fault of our own (I drive my car approx 450-500 miles a month) are. 

[Roy124]

Just had 4 straight days with the car garaged and unattended. 

4 hours after shut down on Monday night the voltage was 12.66v. By midnight Tuesday it was 12.49v.

By midnight Wednesday it had decayed to 12.42v. Today, Friday, it is around 12.41v.

From this I conclude that my Yaris Cross has an insignificant loss after 2 days. 

A tentative conclusion is that some Yaris Cross will not have a problem. 

And it may be possible that Toyota has actually made changes from earlier models.  For obvious reasons they have not publicised that they have fixed a problem some people never had 😊

[Yugguy1970]

I think it was an issue affecting 2020 and 2021 made Yaris, possibly a bad batch of batteries, but I've no way of being sure.

[cruiserOAP]

I carry a rechargeable starter pack in my car. I also have a smart trickle charger. When I collect my Yaris Cross, and I get this problem, I will check with the dealer where the trickle charger should be connected.

It's important to report any issues to the dealer for the record, even if you have found a way to cope with the problem. I carry the starter pack as I don't want to have to wait for assistance when I can get it going in 5 minutes, and I have already rescued a couple of neighbours with flat batteries.

 

[cruiserOAP]

On 2/13/2023 at 8:37 PM, Roy124 said:

Max, no. You would need a tester or monitor. 

You remind me, some cars used to have proper instrumentation such as ammeters and oil pressure gauges. 

On my Triumph 1300 I added a reversing light, voltmeter and oil pressure gauge.  Today we just have warning lights. 

Given that Toyotas are basically computers with a motor and wheels there is no reason why they can't send battery status to MyT. 

I think some makes can be remotely monitored so the roadside assistance already knows the fault before they arrive - BMW I think? I know that Rolls Royce monitor their aero engines live 24/7 and can adjust parameters remotely 

[Roy124]

Mike, if your charger had a tail that can be connected to the Battery and then the charger plugged to that as required, get the garage to fit the tail before handover.  Mine did at no charge.

[Roy124]

2 minutes ago, cruiserOAP said:

I think some makes can be remotely monitored so the roadside assistance already knows the fault before they arrive - BMW I think? I know that Rolls Royce monitor their aero engines live 24/7 and can adjust parameters remotely 

Mike, indeed.  My son in law was rammed on the A34.  Not only did the Volvo report back, it also recorded the extent on the damage which was not obviously visible.

[cruiserOAP]

If the dealer is making you wait you wait for the workshop to test the 12v Battery, go to Halfords, who will use their smart Battery tester, which measures the Battery capacity as a percentage, not just the state of charge, for free. They also pointed out the small window in the top of the battery which changes colour when the battery needs replacing. 

[tfc]

I had problems with my i30, it would go flat for no apparent reason, the other half would go to the local Tesco which is .6 mile away jump back in the car and its totally flat, I would go out with a set  of jump leads fire it up and its ok for maybe a couple of weeks and the same would happen anyway changed the Battery and had no problems.

Now I replaced the Battery 27 months ago and I kept the old Battery gathering dust on the garage floor, well I've just gone out and tested the battery and its never been on charge  whilst its been on the floor and here are the results and I think it would start a vehicle up in its current state. 

[Max_Headroom]

58 minutes ago, cruiserOAP said:

go to Halfords, who will use their smart battery tester,

Or go to Halfords and buy a meter for £8 and follow the instructions (obviously a ICE but the info is still relevant)  

 

 

[Hibird]

1 hour ago, tfc said:

I had problems with my i30, it would go flat for no apparent reason, the other half would go to the local Tesco which is .6 mile away jump back in the car and its totally flat, I would go out with a set  of jump leads fire it up and its ok for maybe a couple of weeks and the same would happen anyway changed the battery and had no problems.

Now I replaced the battery 27 months ago and I kept the old battery gathering dust on the garage floor, well I've just gone out and tested the battery and its never been on charge  whilst its been on the floor and here are the results and I think it would start a vehicle up in its current state. 

12.19 Volts & 27 months I think it's had it John but update us with any news

[cruiserOAP]

2 hours ago, Max_Headroom said:

Or go to Halfords and buy a meter for £8 and follow the instructions (obviously a ICE but the info is still relevant)  

 

 

A multimeter will show you the Battery voltage at the time of checking, but a professional Battery tester will show the charge capacity and highlight other issues. I checked my Battery with a meter, which didn't indicate a problem, but the meter test showed that the charge capacity had dropped to 75%, still within serviceable limits, but replacement before winter probably a good idea.

[Max_Headroom]

14 minutes ago, cruiserOAP said:

A multimeter will show you the battery voltage at the time of checking,

You didn't watch the video did you.

Having my own meter means i can check it whenever i want instead of going to Halfords and *trusting them, when the reading gets too low its time to change. 

*I will never take my car to Halfords again having had a bad experience with them in the past,  i am not alone.

[cruiserOAP]

Just now, Max_Headroom said:

That may be the case but i would never take my car to Halfords i have had a bad experience with them in the past and i am not alone.

Any garage with a professional Battery tester will do, but they might charge(hah!) you. A voltage meter will tell you if you have a duff cell, and will show if the Battery is charging when you start the engine, but it won't show the charge current, charge capacity (i.e. number of times it will start the car) or rate of charge degradation.

A voltage meter is useful to show if the Battery is charging in the car, and if you fully charge the battery off the car and it still shows under 12 volts, that's enough to show you need a new battery 

[Max_Headroom]

I think i will leave it there you are obviously not taking on board how i  use my meter following the instructions in the video..