12v battery maintenance, issues, etc.

[anchorman]

5 minutes ago, Bob Sutton said:

Hello Marek, sorry for the delay in replying.

That is part of the problem. She does not commute and the car is only used infrequently. It might be used only a couple of days a week, then nothing for at least three weeks.

You are correct. A new OEM Toyota battery was fitted by the dealer as they would not fit a Yuasa branded one (YBX5202).

Hello anchorman, I am not going to stress about it anymore. As you say, it is a good car, so, if and when the 12volt battery fails, I will call out the AA (courtesy as per my one years’ free membership which came with the deal) and then replace it myself with the Yuasa battery. I will have to accept it, as simply a running cost of the car, rather than (in my opinion) either a poor specification, or cost cutting decision, by Toyota.

 

Kind regards, Bob Sutton.

 

You’re next door in Cheshire.  Fetch it over and I’ll do it for you if it comes to that.  

[Countryside]

10 minutes ago, anchorman said:

You’re too honest for your own good.  You sometimes get these salesmen that come out with ludicrous statements that they cannot uphold.   If you hadn’t said anything he wouldn’t have known for one, but if wants to play silly bees, change the battery and just put the Mutlu back in 3 years.  Does he insist that if you wear the tyres out you fit the same brand because I doubt they’d even look.  Ask him to get it in writing from Toyota Head Office.  

Don are those solar chargers any good he mentioned ?

[anchorman]

31 minutes ago, Countryside said:

Don are those solar chargers any good he mentioned ?

They’re not bad if you can get enough light to them.   CTEK is better and new Battery better still.  Il be able to tell you on Tuesday what Battery they come with.   

[Countryside]

Look forward to Tuesday Don your right I shouldn’t have said anything the Battery on my Chr has never failed after 3 years 21000 miles I wonder if it’s same one giving the trouble in current Yaris ?

[hind]

5 hours ago, Bob Sutton said:

then nothing for at least three weeks.

that might put a strain even on decent brand Battery and will probably kill Mutlu, I'm afraid. So I'd take solar charger or CTEK (or both) anyway. 

[Bob Sutton]

6 hours ago, anchorman said:

You’re next door in Cheshire.  Fetch it over and I’ll do it for you if it comes to that.  

Hello anchorman,

Thanks for your very kind offer to fit a new Battery for me, but I won’t trouble you.

I didn’t want to do it myself, if I was going to “shoot myself in the foot” so to speak, by voiding any warranty with the car, but, from what I understand, that seems not to be an issue.

I don’t mind dusting off the old socket set and do the replacement, as and when necessary, but thanks again.

 

Kind regards, Bob Sutton.

[Cyker]

I dunno, I reckon the Mutlu would be pretty dead after 3 years of sitting on a shelf waiting to be put back in  

You'd have to leave it connected to a trickle charger for the whole 3 years for it to have any chance of surviving. Left unplugged it'd be dead within half a year I reckon - Lead acid batteries generally don't like being left for long periods.

Why does the turkish Battery have to go back in anyway? It's a consumable part so just leave the Yuasa in and say it was replaced as part of normal wear and tear. There's nothing stipulating it has to be that exact Battery, that'd probably be a breach of block exemption rules or something.

 

I've always wondered how effective the solar chargers are - The one someone posted, rated at 4.8W for instance; At 12v that'd be 0.4amps! Most USB ports put out more current than that! And that's peak! On a cloudier day it'd likely be far lower...

I had a mate with a 40W one but that was the size of a suitcase and concertina'd out to about the area of a picnic blanket  

[Roy124]

Michael,  your driving profile is ideal for the Toyota requirement.   You say you have had no problem with the CHR.  You will have no issues with the Yaris everything remaining as is.

I would simply enjoy the car.  If, and only if, you have a problem  a Battery change under warranty should fix the problem 

[Cyker]

When in doubt just take it for a hoon!  

I still love driving mine, and do so any excuse I get  

This is backfiring my attempts to stop my mates using me as a taxi thought...

[Rhymes with Paris]

10 minutes ago, Cyker said:

This is backfiring my attempts to stop my mates using me as a taxi thought...

Send 'em the Uber app.

 

[anchorman]

29 minutes ago, Roy124 said:

Michael,  your driving profile is ideal for the Toyota requirement.   You say you have had no problem with the CHR.  You will have no issues with the Yaris everything remaining as is.

I would simply enjoy the car.  If, and only if, you have a problem  a battery change under warranty should fix the problem 

Exactly.  As they say here in Derbyshire, if tha's going courting sheep tha needs wellies with them handles......  oh no, that’s another one.  It’s this one - dunner worry until tha’s got  summat to worry about.

21 minutes ago, Cyker said:

When in doubt just take it for a hoon!  

I still love driving mine, and do so any excuse I get  

This is backfiring my attempts to stop my mates using me as a taxi thought...

....and then you wonder why London is full of potholes.

[Countryside]

Thankyou for the replies I’ve got to say it’s reading on here that has scared me 👍 the car being on motability has 3 years servicing and checks full rac membership includes Europe tyres windscreen etc I just put petrol in allowed 60.000 miles in 3 year I do around 21000 ! Car is used most days maybe 3 days off if snow hard frost in winter ! My local Toyota dealer is lovely I’m 95% sure it’s a new revised Yaris excel for me in silver I adore the big centre screen and the 12 different dashboard displays ! Blind spot will be handy on the motorway I go to relations down M1 100 mile round trip every 2 weeks ! I love the auto folding mirrors the keyless the gorgeous new alloys etc 

[hind]

12 hours ago, Cyker said:

Left unplugged it'd be dead within half a year I reckon - Lead acid batteries generally don't like being left for long periods.

If they are left fully charged, not much would happen even after some time. It isn't more than 15% per month which means that if you charge it fully every half year, it would be fine. 

I have one quite old Maxis (basically a no-name) 95Ah battery which I bought 7 years ago as used. I charged it and used it once in a while, mainly to power lighting where electric socket was not available. Definitely left it without charging for at least a year. I was amazed how much "juice" was left after that time. And I'm still using it to power up my garden pump from time to time, it was already brought down to 4 or 5 volts once after the pump failed to shut off. So it should be dead for sime time already - but for some reason it still lives. 

[Tom Corbett]

On 3/2/2024 at 7:25 PM, AlJ said:

That pricing is ludicrous. Did they give any reason why that was the case? 
You're not going to break down on the way as once the car is in Ready mode, it's "running" and the big traction battery and fuel system is keeping the 12v battery charged up. 
How did this pan out for you? 

Thanks everybody for replying.

I decided to fit the Toyota replacement, mainly because the Yaris is my wife's car. LOL, Decisions on what to do with the car are above my pay grade! Further, I bought the Battery for £171 and fitted it myself, not being willing to wait for Listers to get around to it. I justify spending on my cars by telling myself it is only equivalent to a tank of petrol or so. So to get the car on the road again only cost me the £30 extra though it did make me feel the ***** was being taken! 

Now, after reading the comments here I would go for a cheaper Battery but at the time I thought there must have been something special about the Battery for it to cost so much! It is only 35 AHr, so just need the correct dimensions and vent in the right place and size. It's not even fast charge, restricted to 1/5 C of 3.5A max charging when I looked at the spec.

But never mind, I'm now worried about the start/stop of my Volvo -- but that is another forum!

Rock On!!

[Tom Corbett]

1 hour ago, Tom Corbett said:

Thanks everybody for replying.

I decided to fit the Toyota replacement, mainly because the Yaris is my wife's car. LOL, Decisions on what to do with the car are above my pay grade! Further, I bought the battery for £171 and fitted it myself, not being willing to wait for Listers to get around to it. I justify spending on my cars by telling myself it is only equivalent to a tank of petrol or so. So to get the car on the road again only cost me the £30 extra though it did make me feel the ***** was being taken! 

Now, after reading the comments here I would go for a cheaper battery but at the time I thought there must have been something special about the battery for it to cost so much! It is only 35 AHr, so just need the correct dimensions and vent in the right place and size. It's not even fast charge, restricted to 1/5 C of 3.5A max charging when I looked at the spec.

But never mind, I'm now worried about the start/stop of my Volvo -- but that is another forum!

Rock On!!

I haven't found the edit button. Do we have one? Of course 3.5A charge on a 35 AHr Battery is 1/10 C, not 1/5 C !! Finger trouble!

[Roy124]

Tom, the 3 dots top of your post 

[coreye9090]

2 minutes ago, Roy124 said:

Tom, the 3 dots top of your post 

It's only got  "Report" or "Share" option😅

[Chas G]

3 minutes ago, coreye9090 said:

It's only got  "Report" or "Share" option😅

The edit function is on a timer. Edit is only available for about 1/2 hour? after you complete your post

[coreye9090]

1 hour ago, Chas G said:

The edit function is on a timer. Edit is only available for about 1/2 hour? after you complete your post

Ah! Good to know! I had no idea!

[RickyC]

22 hours ago, Cyker said:

You'd have to leave it connected to a trickle charger for the whole 3 years for it to have any chance of surviving. Left unplugged it'd be dead within half a year I reckon - Lead acid batteries generally don't like being left for long periods.

But when you buy a new Battery, it could have slept on the shelf for months...

[Cyker]

I forget what the interval is, but unsold lead acid batteries are supposed to be cycled out for fresh ones every ?month? or so because of that exact problem, at least by reputable motor factors.

We had a guy who thought it would be a good idea to buy a spare lead acid Battery for their UPS system, and left it in the packaging in the store room. About 2 years later, when the Battery in use expired, he went to change it to the 'spare', only to find it had even less capacity than the expired one!

Lead acid batteries need to be kept at or near 100% to minimize the rate they degrade at. If not connected to a trickle charger, they will self-discharge; I forget the rate but IIRC it's lower than NiMH, but higher than e.g. alkaline or lithium batteries.

[FROSTYBALLS]

6 hours ago, Tom Corbett said:

I haven't found the edit button.

Members have a limited time in which to edit posts. 

A moderator, who can edit posts at any time, can be messaged to request a post be edited if desired.

[Derek.w]

I personlly be suprised if any 12 volt Battery survives on the shelf after 3 month without a recharge.

A solar charger may work but you still have to monitor it because around dusk it be a added drain to the Battery remember its rating in watts is for maximum output in direct sunlight.

[Derek.w]

4 hours ago, RickyC said:

But when you buy a new battery, it could have slept on the shelf for months...

Or maybe its then the supplier adds the distilled water gives it a electric charge then fits it or post it to you.

[hind]

8 hours ago, Derek.w said:

then the supplier adds the distilled water

What about the sulphuric acid? What about the batteries without the caps? Seriously a full charge once every 6 months is enough 🙂