How Many Auris Hybrids Have The 12 Volt Flat Battery Problem?

[PeteB]

Has Toyota finally made it into the last century and put the vehicle owners manuals online? Or does the customer still have to wait until the car is actually delivered and the painful handover ceremony (death by a million little pieces of paper)...

I bought a new Yaris in 2011 and an ex-demo Prius in 2012 from my dealer in Norwich and both times I was able to collect the manuals before taking delivery of the car (I like to read up in advance).

In the case of the Prius, II reckon I'd get an extra mpg if I left the manuals at home! The one for the SatNav and touch screen is bigger than the once for the main car, plus there's the parking sensors manual etc. Luckily the Gen 3 Prius still has quite a bit of storage space - it certainly wouldn't fit in the single small glovebox the latest Yaris gets!

[Nigel TS]

I emailed my dealer about this Auris Hybrid Battery Issue and they responded that the matter is fully resolved on all new vehicles being shipped and delivery date will be maintained and I should have no concerns about this issue.

Excellent news for me - and I am sure Toyota will issue a recall to implement this "fix" across all the vehicles out there, so excellent for all you chaps and chapesses as well I hope.

[cviclark]

That depends on the "fix". The fact is even if there is not any adverse drain due to a fault the Battery is still too small for the smart entry and all the extra "goodies" on the Excel if left for more than a couple of weeks. I have not heard of a recall yet either.

[RunningInPleasePass]

I emailed my dealer about this Auris Hybrid Battery Issue and they responded that the matter is fully resolved on all new vehicles being shipped and delivery date will be maintained and I should have no concerns about this issue.

Excellent news for me - and I am sure Toyota will issue a recall to implement this "fix" across all the vehicles out there, so excellent for all you chaps and chapesses as well I hope.

I'm sure your car will be fine, but as an owner that has been effected twice by this fault the fix can't come soon enough for me, it may help to restore some confidence in the car that is missing at the moment.

This has shown me that it's not a good idea to get the new model straight away, better to wait a year to make sure these things are ironed out first.

After a few months of ownership I think other things that could be addressed include:

Some way to open the boot without power, better to jump start it in a garage.

A spare wheel as standard, I feel naked without one.

A smaller roof aerial, it catches on my garage door and whistles in a cross wind.

Move the ECO and PWR Buttons to the steering wheel, you have to take your eye's away from the road when you use them.

The headlamps are a little under powered, could do with better one's on dark lanes.

As I say these are only improvements I would like to see in the face lifted model, when or if, it comes out.

[Johnhh]

Agree with your comments, but have bought spare wheel (£170 and had to trim rear panel to fit it) and a way to open boot without power would be nice - how come no key hole for emergency key?, have Battery pack in boot behind rear seat, not used yet.

Poor lights? nah they`re fine , have you tried a generation 7 Celica? My son had a Gen 7 Celica 190VVTLi, very fast, but those "projection" lights were bad!!! Ok in a straight line but no spread for bends.

[kithmo]

Edited March 6, 2014 by kithmo

[kithmo]

I emailed my dealer about this Auris Hybrid Battery Issue and they responded that the matter is fully resolved on all new vehicles being shipped and delivery date will be maintained and I should have no concerns about this issue.

Excellent news for me - and I am sure Toyota will issue a recall to implement this "fix" across all the vehicles out there, so excellent for all you chaps and chapesses as well I hope.

I'm sure your car will be fine, but as an owner that has been effected twice by this fault the fix can't come soon enough for me, it may help to restore some confidence in the car that is missing at the moment.

This has shown me that it's not a good idea to get the new model straight away, better to wait a year to make sure these things are ironed out first.

After a few months of ownership I think other things that could be addressed include:

Some way to open the boot without power, better to jump start it in a garage.

A spare wheel as standard, I feel naked without one.

A smaller roof aerial, it catches on my garage door and whistles in a cross wind.

Move the ECO and PWR Buttons to the steering wheel, you have to take your eye's away from the road when you use them.

The headlamps are a little under powered, could do with better one's on dark lanes.

As I say these are only improvements I would like to see in the face lifted model, when or if, it comes out.

On your list of improvements, the first one is easily addressed, reverse into your garage

[RunningInPleasePass]

Unfortunately reversing in to my garage is not easy, a combination of variations in driveway width, and layout of garage, mean if I did reverse in, I would be unable to open the drivers door.

What I've been doing when I park in the garage, is trying to leave as much room as possible at the front of the car, to enable me to open the bonnet, but if I don't go in far enough the aerial catches on the garage door when I close it, I've screwed a wooden block on to the floor to act as a stop at the correct place now.

So far for this car I've bought: a booster pack, a Battery charger, a digital multimeter, and, a clip-on ammeter, to help me sort this Battery problem out, you have to remember, when I first reported the flat Battery Toyota said it was my fault, so I had to try and find out why myself.

As I say the fix for this battery problem can't come soon enough for me!

[Johnhh]

Well, after 3 flat batteries in 10 days in January, moan at dealer and car dumped on them, they fully charged the Battery. I switched of bluetooth connection,parking sensors, and auto lights/wipers, and it has been well behaved. Maybe the Battery pack in the boot has frightened it into behaving. Roll on the recall!!

John

[cviclark]

This has shown me that it's not a good idea to get the new model straight away, better to wait a year to make sure these things are ironed out first.

After a few months of ownership I think other things that could be addressed include:

Some way to open the boot without power, better to jump start it in a garage.

A spare wheel as standard, I feel naked without one.

A smaller roof aerial, it catches on my garage door and whistles in a cross wind.

Move the ECO and PWR Buttons to the steering wheel, you have to take your eye's away from the road when you use them.

The headlamps are a little under powered, could do with better one's on dark lanes.

As I say these are only improvements I would like to see in the face lifted model, when or if, it comes out.

I would agree with all of that as I have already had to alter my garage with an angle grinder to open the doors, and cannot reverse in .

My biggest complaint is still the stupid speedo that has small increments and is too hard to see. I have bought a hud-e, and I still do not know why only LHD cars have heat vents for rear passengers. My dealer supplied touch up paint and space saver spare with the car as I made it a condition of sale. I have no idea why Toyota do not go the "extra mile" and address simple customer satisfaction issue with quick simple firmware updates. All that technology should e put to use by people who know about cars, not marketing.

[PeteB]

...All that technology should e put to use by people who know about cars, not marketing.

I remember frequently wondering in the 1970s and 80s whether the people who designed and decided on specification of cars actually ever drove the cars, or even drove at all !!!!

Nothing has stopped me wondering the same today.

A good example is heated mirrors (mercifully now fitted to the Gen 3 Prius) - back in the 1980s I thought I'd never have to drive a car without them again, but ended up doing just that through the last 10 years in Gen 1 & 2 Prius, all the time knowing that Prius owners in places like Portugal DID get them (but never needed them !)

Go figure !

[cviclark]

In light of all the Battery problems with our cars and the time taken by Toyota to resolve the issue this may be of interest. I recently found that I could deadlock my doors with a double tap. This is mentioned in the manual, but not in the section relating to door locks so I missed it. It would be logical, and a quick easy firmware fix, to link this feature to a Battery save function shutting down all the, non-essential, l ancillary equipment. Maybe the low voltage drain on the Battery would then be reduced to a realistic time. “Sods Law” says the battery would still go flat eventually, so my question was what would happen if it was double locked. Lots of people said the key would still unlock the door but this is the answer from the expert at the official Toyota web page. Of course he may well be wrong.

If the car was in my garage I do not know how a breakdown service would be able to help.

Author: David Crouch

Comment:

Hi Ian

Thanks for your post.

Sorry about the variation on page numbers. To answer your question though, if the vehicle is double locked and the battery goes flat then a brekadown service would need to be called in these circumstances.

See all comments on this post here:

http://blog.toyota.co.uk/toyota-auris-touring-sports-new-pictures-and-details#comments

[Nigel TS]

The issue of how to drive into the garage won't affect me as I don't have one.

Confused though on the comments about reversing into the garage or not making it easier to open the boot.

I understood from comments that the issue was that the Battery is in the boot, and if it goes flat, then you cannot get into the boot to jump start it. How does which way you drove into the garage make any difference to this? The Battery is still in the locked boot.

Maybe, at risk of great short term inconvenience, the solution is to always call out the break down service which will cost Toyota, so raise the urgency for them to complete the recall. Without financial pressure, they will probably just try to do some software fix through regular vehicle servicing, which could be a year away for some.

Still, I won't have this cause the local dealer says all fixed. I will update on her either way following car delivery. It should come in the next week, and going to India at Easter so that will be test of not using the car.

[RunningInPleasePass]

When the Battery is flat, you need to be able to get at the jump start terminals, on the near side under the bonnet.

If you have parked in the garage nose first, nose up against the back wall, with the near side up against the left wall, so you can get out, you have difficulty opening the bonnet and you have to lay across the engine to get to the terminals.

You could also connect to the Battery in the boot to re-charge it, but of course you need power to open the boot, or worm in through the back seat to try and remove the Battery cover.

Either way it's a struggle to say the least!

[Nigel TS]

Thank RIPP.

Can anyone here tell me if it will be possible to disable the keyless entry and just use the remote in the conventional way?

Keen to do this as my Mum had no end of grief with her keyless entry on her Focus. It kept finding the key, unlocking, then timing out and locking overnight so she kept getting flat batteries. Also, it just seems like a security risk to me in the first place

[Seamaster73]

I've just had to replace the 12V Battery on my on my 2011 Prius. Two and a half years old and 27K miles. The charge in the original Battery wouldn't last more than a couple of days, leaving me stranded on three occasions until I was able to get a replacement fitted.

First time I've ever had to have a Battery replaced during the life of a company car.

Not impressed.

[Thunderbolt]

The Battery of my 2008 Prius 2 is in need of replacing. I have to charge it every week or get caught with a flat Battery. Has anybody replaced it with a non Toyota supplied Battery? A Bosch S4 063 is supposed to fit from Eurocarspares for £42. When I phoned to ask about it I was told to check the terminal positions and the size of the terminal posts. From looking on the internet it seems that the negative terminal is much smaller than normal but presumably I can buy a new strap to fit.

Any suggestions please.

[Joseph D]

The battery of my 2008 Prius 2 is in need of replacing. I have to charge it every week or get caught with a flat battery. Has anybody replaced it with a non Toyota supplied battery? A Bosch S4 063 is supposed to fit from Eurocarspares for £42. When I phoned to ask about it I was told to check the terminal positions and the size of the terminal posts. From looking on the internet it seems that the negative terminal is much smaller than normal but presumably I can buy a new strap to fit.

Any suggestions please.

Yes, I have done exactly this, but I'd question whether the type 063 is the correct Battery. When I did mine, I had the choice of the type 055 or type 155 and I went for the 155 as it was rated at 45 aH. The 155 was £69 last time I checked.

The Battery does have smaller posts (Jap std) called JIS or Pencil Post (or small) at various places, but the Bosch S4 I got had the correct JIS posts. With the Battery in front of you and the terminals nearest to you, the +ve terminal should be on the left. Try and get a vent elbow with the battery to fit its vent plug or else file down the one that you take out of the OEM battery. File it at about a 30 deg angle, if you go that way. That is the only mod you'll need to make. Otherwise the Bosch just drops in. It should only take about 30 - 45 min to do.

HTH

[Edit] Just checked at Euro Car Parts and the "Online and Click & Collect price only" is now £53.50 Save 23% off the normal discounted price £69.60. FYI the list price is £81.54. Also checked the 063 and it is definitely the wrong battery.

[Thunderbolt]

Thanks Joseph that helps a lot. I was concerned because the Bosch S4 063 doesn't seem to have a flat top and I couldn't see how the positive terminal could possibly fit.

[Nigel TS]

Got the car today, checked two things:

1. No air vents to the rear (sob)

2. 35 Ah Battery, so nothing changed there from other people's reports.

Liking it so far.

[RunningInPleasePass]

Got the car today, checked two things:

1. No air vents to the rear (sob)

2. 35 Ah battery, so nothing changed there from other people's reports.

Liking it so far.

I think the flat Battery problem has been sorted for cars in production now, so you should be okay in that department.

That only leaves owners who bought before the problem had been identified, we had to bring this to Toyota's attention so they could find a solution, unfortunately they don't seem to be in any rush to repair our cars and we have to perform the 'short term fix' every time we leave the car to ensure it will start when we return.

[Mike169]

Mr Wong (who knows the Prius inside out) has quoted the following too;

I understand that the Lexus CT200h uses the same 45 Ah battery as the

current Prius: S46B24R. That battery size is barely sufficient for the

Prius and there are many reports from US owners complaining about short

battery life. Typically those reports come from owners who drive

relatively few miles.

It is not surprising that the Auris' battery with 20% reduced capacity

will leave even more owners dissatisfied with battery performance, even

those who log a "normal" amount of annual miles.

I suggest that Auris owners will need to use an AGM battery charger

periodically (2x per month for example) to keep the 12V battery

fully-charged. When the original equipment battery dies, see if a

larger battery can fit into the available space. It might be necessary

to modify or replace the battery bracket to make this work.

Yep, fair point, however, if I wanted to charge my car regularly, I would have bought a Nissan Leaf, Chevvy Volt, or a Tesla (if I could afford the $$$).

Someone at Toyota seems to have problems with simple physics.

A small bucket with a hole in it, with less water going in, than out, will soon be empty.

Every time the bucket is emptied, it is damaged, and holds less water, so empties sooner.

Mr T, is that so hard to understand?

G...

Very good way of explaining to Mr T. the problem Geo, Regards Mike169

[johalareewi]

Seems like it isn't just the new hybrid Auris with the flat bettery problem.

A friend has recently bought a new Auris (not a hybrid) with all the bells and whistles and after a couple of days of not driving it, had a flat bettery. His helpful Toyota dealer told him next time to call the AA. Meanwhile, over on the Toyota UK blog...

http://blog.toyota.co.uk/toyota-auris-owners-12-volt-flat-batteries

[toiota]

Hi everybody. I live in Finland.

I am an owner of Auris Hybrid ZWE186. I've had the problem with the 12 volt Battery going flat once.

[Devon Aygo]

The repair bulletin has just been published today for those of you with a 12v Battery issue call your dealer and quote bulletin ref BE-0069T-0514 and you will get your car reflashed with updated software.