12v battery maintenance, issues, etc.

[Dezzer21]

Posted 2 hours ago

Is there anyone on here that hasn’t had Battery issues with a brand new Yaris Cross ? 
 

/I have a Y Cross just been away 12 days car started no problem on return.

Like JTHSPACE I also am prepared with a jump pack and CTek charger.

 

[chazbri]

Hi Dezzer, Ive had a Yaris Cross Excel for 2 years mostly driving short distances on School runs and round town and have had no problems at all. The car is just right for my needs and have another on order that I expect in the next few weeks. Prior to the Cross I had 3 Rav 4 hybrids and didn't have any Battery problems with them either. No cars perfect  but having had VWs, Mitsubishis, Nissans, and Fords I can honestly say that I prefer Toyota. However the Battery problems owners have had is a concern that should be addressed by the company.

[Countryside]

50 minutes ago, chazbri said:

Hi Dezzer, Ive had a Yaris Cross Excel for 2 years mostly driving short distances on School runs and round town and have had no problems at all. The car is just right for my needs and have another on order that I expect in the next few weeks. Prior to the Cross I had 3 Rav 4 hybrids and didn't have any battery problems with them either. No cars perfect  but having had VWs, Mitsubishis, Nissans, and Fords I can honestly say that I prefer Toyota. However the battery problems owners have had is a concern that should be addressed by the company.

That’s good news has it ever stood a few days ? The scare story’s on here put me off having one 

[chazbri]

Hi Countryside, That's an interesting question because when I think about it the longest time it's been left standing has only been 1 or 2 days at the most and then not often . ??? 

[Dala]

if you use the car every day, you won't have any problem

[Alan993]

When we bought the car in April 2: we explained the car would be used as a second car (1st car full electric costing 2.5p mile) driven no more than 3,000 a year (last car covered less than 28,000 miles in 10 years) going mainly to and fro golf club! Neither of our cars driven every day. Had we known it needed to be trickle charged by mains or solar plus driven at least 8,000 miles per annum we would not have bought it!

[jthspace]

40 minutes ago, Alan993 said:

........plus driven at least 8,000 miles per annum we would not have bought it!

? where did the 8,000 miles come from? 

[Countryside]

6 minutes ago, jthspace said:

? where did the 8,000 miles come from? 

Is it dealer saying 8000 miles a year then no Battery problems ?

[Dala]

This information is included with the warranty.  This has already been addressed on this site.

[chazbri]

Ive only done 7500 in 2years but the X has been used most days.

[jthspace]

25 minutes ago, Dala said:

This information is included with the warranty.  This has already been addressed on this site.

I've read the warranty and t&c and cannot find reference to the 8,000 miles - help!

Warranty - How it works

Warranty Terms and Conditions

[Dala]

Posted by Catlover, go through the comments

[jthspace]

18 minutes ago, Dala said:

Posted by Catlover, go through the comments

Thank-you, so nothing in the warranty about minimum mileage then.

The 8,000 mile "thingy" is a complete red-herring, I won't be doing 8,000-10,000 in the Yaris a year, more like a max of 5,000 which is what our Citroën did in the 9 years we owned it (55,000 in 12 years).  

What would be good is a sticky at the top of the section with some advice.

Recommendations 

1. Buy a better battery*

2. Buy a trickle charger

3. Buy an emergency booster

* Toyota probably bought from the lowest bidder, I would think. You can only ever have 2 out of 3 where "Better, Faster, Cheaper" is the aim.

I don't bemoan that none of my cars have a starting handle, technology moves on.

[Graham47]

32 minutes ago, jthspace said:

What would be good is a sticky at the top of the section with some advice.

Recommendations 

1. Buy a better battery*

2. Buy a trickle charger

3. Buy an emergency booster

Can I add another …..

4.  Ignore most of the rest of this thread …..

[Graham47]

53 minutes ago, Dala said:

Posted by Catlover, go through the comments

@Catlover sold his Toyotas well before the mk4 Yaris production began and never owned one anyway so I fail to see if he really claimed “8000 miles”.

I think you’re quoting ‘selectively’. !

[hind]

Miles have nothing to do in terms of potential Battery issues in hybrids anyway; frequency of rides and hours of Ready state do 😉

[Derek.w]

15 hours ago, Max_Headroom said:

Does anyone know at what volts the battery will fail to start the car? 

This may help you in maintaining your Battery info. from Battery supplier Tayna.

Battery Care
The best (and easiest) way to check the state of charge of a battery is to use a voltmeter or multimeter to measure the voltage. Once you know the exact voltage, you can determine the state of charge as follows:-

• 100% 12.7v or + No action required, battery recharged
• 75% 12.4v No action required
• 50% 12.1v Battery must be recharged
• 25% 11.6v Battery needs a full recharge as soon as possible
• 0% 10.5v Fully discharged battery, to be recharged as soon as possible
The more a battery is discharged before each recharging, the more it loses capacity and it’s life is shortened as a result. It is imperative never to fully discharge a battery (no matter how small the battery or its technology or application) and to recharge it as soon as possible.
 

[Roy124]

@Dezzer21 I haven't had any problems in 18 months.

Regarding the 8,000 miles, definitely plucked out of the air,  it will work.

However official Toyota advice is 20 minutes per week and that applies to hybrid or ICE.  Assuming you actually drove the car for those 20 minutes and an average speed of 25 mph that equates to an annual milage in the region of 400 miles. 

There are no conditions stipulated for those 20 minutes, ie AirCon, lights etc.   Only a per week .

If you do leave your car for 2 or 3 weeks you will probably be OK.  With an older car that probability will become a possibility.   It is no accident that car dealerships and airport car park operators have trolley Battery jumper kits.

 

[Countryside]

That’s good news Roy surely everyone drives 20 mins a week 

[Countryside]

Regarding the Yaris cross excel surely the power boot and the heated steering wheel take charge off the Battery ???

[Roy124]

10 minutes ago, Countryside said:

Regarding the Yaris cross excel surely the power boot and the heated steering wheel take charge off the battery ???

Probably, though doing a school bus run at o'dark hundred I sit in Ready mode, aircon on, lights on, seats heated,  and watch the energy flow. 

Typically,  after the initial 2 mile drive the HV Battery shows 75% and the ICE is not running.   At 4-5 bars the ICE kicks in for a minute or two.

OTOH, sitting in the car in Aux mode, Info screen live and audio on, the car is otherwise Off.  After a short time it will protest that the 12v Battery is low.

[Max_Headroom]

14 hours ago, Derek.w said:

The best (and easiest) way to check the state of charge of a battery is to use a voltmeter or multimeter to measure the voltage. Once you know the exact voltage, you can determine the state of charge as follows:-

Thanks for the figures is that for the hybrid or ICE?

I asked at what voltage the 12v Battery will fail to start the hybrid cars as the battery  only powers the 12v system there is no cranking involved so again my question is do any owners know how low their Battery voltage dropped before it failed to start the hybrid?

 

[hind]

3 hours ago, Roy124 said:

2 or 3 weeks you will probably be OK.

Mine, driven for 20 minutes daily, failed after sitting for 2.5 week. Unfortunately I didn't measure the voltage, the central locking opened and the mirrors unfolded but very very slowly. I stupidly hoped that it would still start. Well, it didn't and what was worse it remembered that the last power state was on and when I connected the charger it was desperately trying to switch everything on, causing charger to disconnect (too low Battery voltage). I had to connect second Battery which powered up everything and only then I found out it was already in Ready state. Anyway during my struggles I was seeing voltage of 3-7 V which would indicate that 7V was still too low. 

[Roy124]

Mark, I have had a fail to system start at less than 9v.

After my first failure in 2020 I connected my standard charger.  The car went from dead to carnival fun fair.  Left to run as a charger failed to work either.

The AA did a jump start.  Subsequently I have done a Battery pack jump start.  I also have a Smart charger for maintenance. 

[Mojo1010]

Last used the car 3 days ago, for 4hrs that day. Did not measured the voltage, so assuming the high of 12.8v reading it had previously after similar usage. Today it measured 12.07, so down 0.73v, 50% down according to the charts. 

The weather hasn't been very cold, the drain cannot be good? Would be interesting to get some measurements of members who changed it to the Yuasa/Bosch 45Ah. If I'm keeping the car long term I may just get rid of this Mutlu Battery and put a Yuasa in for peace of mind.