Why doesn’t anyone tell you this about self charging hybrids

deltatango12

Hi, having been away from home for 3 weeks leaving my Toyota Yaris Cross all snuggly in the garage I come home to find the car completely and utterly dead.
so first thing I have to do when I get home is call out the AA. Lovely chap tells me to get a trickle feeder, ok that’s fine at home where I have power but what happens when I want to leave my car at the airport? I’ve also heard of someone sitting in their car waiting for the wife to arrive and he had the radio on and it drained the battery. Same car as mine
Would be interested in comments please

timjim

We have a Honda HRV which has the same problem if left for 3 or 4 weeks. We bought one of these from Amazon  

YaberAuto Jump Starter Power Pack,2500A 13800mAh Car Battery Booster Jump Starter

which we keep in the car. Very easy to use

Saves having to wait for the AA

daveyjp

Its not just hybrids, but it is more of an issue as they have very low capacity batteries,

Any modern vehicle has a requirement for power 24/7 and after 3-4 weeks it is likely many will have battery problems, even more so if the battery is a few years old.  Over covid the vehicle I had then didn't move much and after 3 weeks of standing it only just started.  

My father has a none hybrid vehicle which did about 3,000 miles last year.  Took mum for an appointment a  few weeks ago, 4 miles in cold weather with lights, aircon, heated windows, mirrors etc waited for her and the car wouldn't start as the battery was flat.

It is likely the manual has details and info on battery management, but who reads those?

WellKnownSid

deltatango12 said:

I’ve also heard of someone sitting in their car waiting for the wife to arrive and he had the radio on and it drained the battery. Same car as mine

You're supposed to leave it in READY mode - that way the aux battery is backed up by the traction battery and the ICE when necessary.  Instead of freezing / boiling depending when and where you are waiting, just switch the car on until you are ready to leave.

Obviously this also maintains the battery in a healthy state so when you are leaving it for a few weeks at an airport isn't a problem.

My son often has to go out to rescue customer cars that are 'dead'.  The cars can be ICE, Hybrid, Electric - but they all have the same thing in common:

• Customer is over 70
• Car covers a few thousand miles a year
• Car hasn't been used for a while

Ayr_Rage

Toyota self-charging hybrids all have similar issues, it's all over t'internet.

Here's Toyota Ireland's advice, they came up first in my search.

https://www.toyota.ie/company/news/2020/maintaining-battery-life

Alanp

Mine did the same Christmas before last, I’ve since learned to use ready mode , I’m lucky in that I have a garage and can trickle charge it if required, I bought a Noco jump starter just in case…

deltatango12

Hi all, thank you so much for all the info.
should I get a jump starter and a trickle thingy? Or is the jump starter enough. Should I get the £79 one, sounds more powerful but maybe not necessary 🫢

Ayr_Rage

Are you aware how your hybrid system works?

The 12v auxiliary battery is small because it only runs the control electronics and accessories, it does not crank the engine therefore you do not need a heavy duty jump starter.

Keeping the battery at a suitable level of charge is what you need to do, either by more use or a trickle charger, it is not good for battery longevity to keep letting it go so flat that it cannot even power up the system.

Edit : I have had several Toyota self-charging hybrids which have been left for between 24 and 60 days, I've always pulled the Ignition Off Draw fuse when away and the batteries have always had enough charge to power on the car, the traction battery has only ever dropped one or two bars and the ICE started first time.

Bigwheels1111

I have a GooLoo GT400, jump starter.
Just look up GooLoo on Amazon.
Try and get a 2000 or 3000 amp version. Around £42.50.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/GOOLOO-Starter-2000Amp-Supersafe-Portable/dp/B09CZC48RT/ref=sr_1_7?crid=XMBNU7R5M1FN&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.m4JCCUfM2gqKtCGrSvpIWvc3pBro0mnuCqYTlQPexgdundqZvyKqucoUVSLs6UXycQtheWDK7rcpAC8ACcVq76q0wgxxRii75R4anVHYW26eM1j-WXvcaj9ekIi7-FjiADCxdcPSoX5b43Pb_y0k2xoNvMQEVWDS6RZT3bH8t2WyQALC2OfTqoJ8HwV3vZDL9JjA1AE3nmSOONzPVHOLVrf3_RmAqZ4CPLmPj33dD0ziLmg10kxXU8TsrGKM1EJGyOIgMvAsbTYZzJQCb0Cx5e_kIQ5dBlBF9-wJivfjv6KrAZ-KjFbDOxgG_8f2l4ypczfJpRXwvgpZJYyb_hWI8B4ry5exXOKfpYUu-quj3XLRmh6NupX5HjtWZEU3h6yyu3-o_xv2CleRFyo8BMMvRRaqQ9hHBepWnZhv2PhyxYJG1mllzgs-zVtRAlcqGRBG._kW5_6QSVn4EF8CwZRt39Ez09aNfk962aSX0o8EAK4s&dib_tag=se&keywords=gooloo&qid=1739228184&sprefix=gooloo%2B%2Caps%2C104&sr=8-7&th=1

My GT4000 jumped a 2.5l diesel van 5 times, then a Citroen C4 diesel 10 times over a week.
While they waited for a new battery.
Still had over 80% charge.

Ayr_Rage

@Bigwheels1111 for a Toyota hybrid all the external pack needs to do is provide a few amps to power the electronics.

The HV battery cranks the petrol engine, not the 12v battery.

If the HV battery has gone flat due to a fault or a very long period of no use then it's a trip to a dealer to see if it can be saved, no amount of amps from a 12v jump starter works in that situation.

Goudy

I've heard that some dealers are recommending in car solar trickle chargers if you don't do many miles.
There are a few different versions but the better ones, sit on the dash or suction cup to the inside of the windscreen and plug into the OBD2 socket.

They usually put out enough to keep the battery chemistry active and the battery healthy, they won't really charge a flat battery, but that depends on the light obviously. Sat in a dark garage and it'll be useless.

You don't leave them fitted, just position and plug in when you leave the car for a while.
When sat locked doing nothing, a modern car will plug a few milliamps, but if left it's an ever decreasing circle as the battery lowers.
These hybrids tend to start with a small battery, something like 35 amps.
What started as a 35 amp battery yesterday isn't 35 amps today and less and less as the battery drains.

In reality, you should only need to replace these few milliamps to keep the battery topped up

The AA have started selling a version for exactly this reason.
I have one, my car was sat up for nearly 4 months last year and it worked a treat.
It's now sat in the mother in laws little car as she had some battery problems because she rarely uses it anymore and I kept getting the call when it was dead.
It's been fine every since.
It doesn't take up much space and she can easily plug in and out.