Flat Battery
So far this winter i have been unable to start car due to flat battery on 3 occasions.The AA breakdown service stated the battery needs replacing.However Toyota Garage said i do not do enough miles and Hybrid car owners should do minimum 8000 miles a year to avoid this.Has anybody else had this problem?
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Deleted User 139
Crikey, no I've not had the problem. Neither have I been advised by my dealer that I must do a certain number of miles a year - I'd be worried if I had been to be sure. For info, in 11 months I have done approx 9,000 miles.
Bought my Yaris Cross in April, this year. Tuesday, 31st October, with no warning, car refused to start - flat battery. Called Toyota Roadside Assist (AA). The guy that came out started it up with a jump pack and told me to leave it running for an hour to recharge the 12v battery. Said these cars need a long drive once a month - or, just leave it in "ready" mode on the drive for an hour.
Emailed Toyota to ask why they don't make that clear, either on the website or at the point of sale? Also, with the wealth of information displayed on the dashboard and Smart Connect screen, why couldn't they include something to tell you that the 12v battery is getting low?
Response was - a) This issue is covered on their website in a Blog article, b) if you'd asked the salesman at the dealer, he'd have explained and c) it's covered in the manual.
Well - a) Blog? Who knew there was a blog, let alone read every article just in case it's relevant, b) I would have asked the salesman if I'd known there was an issue to ask about, and c) No, it's not covered in the manual.
But I think I'd be wasting my time to take it any further. So, I've ordered a Noco battery jump pack to keep in the car for the next time this happens.
Emailed Toyota to ask why they don't make that clear, either on the website or at the point of sale? Also, with the wealth of information displayed on the dashboard and Smart Connect screen, why couldn't they include something to tell you that the 12v battery is getting low?
Response was - a) This issue is covered on their website in a Blog article, b) if you'd asked the salesman at the dealer, he'd have explained and c) it's covered in the manual.
Well - a) Blog? Who knew there was a blog, let alone read every article just in case it's relevant, b) I would have asked the salesman if I'd known there was an issue to ask about, and c) No, it's not covered in the manual.
But I think I'd be wasting my time to take it any further. So, I've ordered a Noco battery jump pack to keep in the car for the next time this happens.
Could this be the Manual Toyota referred to, rather than the Handbook?
https://www.toyota.co.uk/customer/manua ... X-52N75-EN
https://www.toyota.co.uk/customer/manua ... X-52N75-EN
@Tiptoe - looked at the URL you quoted. It listed number of handbooks and manuals. Put in my VIN to get the right one. Couldn't find anything about keeping the 12v battery charged.
Mind you, it did tell me the 12v battery was under the rear offside seat - which is definitely not true!
Mind you, it did tell me the 12v battery was under the rear offside seat - which is definitely not true!
That's where mine is.
Anyway, had mine since new in March. Battery failed on Friday so AA escorted me to the dealers.
They said they would need to do a Battery Drainage Test whoever the AA man said the battery wasn't retaining any charge.
They insisted on the test however I insisted on a new battery,...I won.
Anyway, had mine since new in March. Battery failed on Friday so AA escorted me to the dealers.
They said they would need to do a Battery Drainage Test whoever the AA man said the battery wasn't retaining any charge.
They insisted on the test however I insisted on a new battery,...I won.
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Mrwhiskers
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Sun Apr 16, 2023 10:39 am
Had mine since may 23, failed to start 1st cold day in November. I’ve covered 6,500. Miles so I don’t think low mileage is the issue. Battery was low. I think what killed it is that I tried the remote climate control on the app. As the heater is electric it seems to have put too much strain on the battery. It recovered later in the day and started. Took it for a longer run and had Toyota check it. Told battery was low but healthy. They charged it and so far not had problem again but I’m now reluctant to use all the electrical accessories such as heated wheel etc. I’ve bought a jump starter pack as you can jump from the terminals in the fuse box. I agree with all the dashboard info battery voltage should be an option. You can check it with a meter on those fuse box terminals but it’s not convenient. I don’t think the battery has enough capacity or the charging capacity delivering charge to the battery is balance sufficiently to keep the battery charged so it’s definitely a weakness. I would think a software solution would be possible.? A long time ago I had a Hillman imp with this problem and a higher capacity battery solved it for good.
I have just ordered one today and I get it first week in January as it is the showroom car and they will register it on last day in December so they get their sale and I get a very good discount.
I will be buying a jump starter for the glove box and another lead for my CTEK so I can give the battery a boost every month or so as I only do about 5k per year.
One question puzzles me though about people going out in the morning and finding the 12v battery is flat.
If it is flat I assume you can still open the door especially as the jump start will be in the glove box and bonnet latch is also inside. Don't you get locked out when it is flat as that system probably uses the 12v system to work.
Does this mean with this possible problem I should never double lock it as apparently the physical key doesn't work when double locked.
I will be turning off the keyless entry just as I did with my GR yaris - if possible on the Yaris Cross. I suspect you can. This will stop the car continually using power to look for the signal and stop those pesky thieves along with a Disklock. I will fit my dash cam that works off the cig lighter so it only works when car is on and also not using power all of the time.
Really looking forward to getting it but a little concerned about the small 12v issue. I know two others who have one with no problem experienced but they do a decent 50-100 mile journey each week or fortnight so that probably solves it for them. For me it will be a night on the CTEK once a month.
I will be buying a jump starter for the glove box and another lead for my CTEK so I can give the battery a boost every month or so as I only do about 5k per year.
One question puzzles me though about people going out in the morning and finding the 12v battery is flat.
If it is flat I assume you can still open the door especially as the jump start will be in the glove box and bonnet latch is also inside. Don't you get locked out when it is flat as that system probably uses the 12v system to work.
Does this mean with this possible problem I should never double lock it as apparently the physical key doesn't work when double locked.
I will be turning off the keyless entry just as I did with my GR yaris - if possible on the Yaris Cross. I suspect you can. This will stop the car continually using power to look for the signal and stop those pesky thieves along with a Disklock. I will fit my dash cam that works off the cig lighter so it only works when car is on and also not using power all of the time.
Really looking forward to getting it but a little concerned about the small 12v issue. I know two others who have one with no problem experienced but they do a decent 50-100 mile journey each week or fortnight so that probably solves it for them. For me it will be a night on the CTEK once a month.
@Cuddles. The problem is not that the battery is completely flat. There's enough power to unlock the door. But the first thing the car does then is to check that there's enough power to operate the power assisted brakes (which need more). If there isn't, the car won't go into Ready mode.
Thanks,MikeR wrote: ↑Mon Dec 18, 2023 12:36 pm @Cuddles. The problem is not that the battery is completely flat. There's enough power to unlock the door. But the first thing the car does then is to check that there's enough power to operate the power assisted brakes (which need more). If there isn't, the car won't go into Ready mode.
That makes sense. Have just bought the Noco GB45 for the glove compartment.
Another question if someone can answer.
My GR yaris has a possitive terminal in engine bay where I have permanently connected the CTEK cable and the Black to a nearby nut. It works fine as battery is in boot.
Has anyone done this with the Y - Cross - connected CTEK in engine bay as the back seat removal appears to be a pain in the err, rear seat area.
Yet another question, is anyone using the small battery monitor 2 which uses bluetooth to tell your phone what the charge is. Ideally onto the battery but could it be fitted to jump start red connector in engine bay.
Thanks for you ideas.
