Toyota Auris Hybrid - Ready light not ready

[Zircon1]

Hello.
Help help help....help.

I recently bought a 2014 Auris Hybrid 1.8 VVT-i HSD Icon from a Toyota dealer. Good deal and low 13k mileage.

It ran fine for 4 weeks but then on 1 misty morning I got in the car and pressed the Power button and the READY light
did not come on.   I pressed the power again and the dash lights went black and I heard a strange whining noise that would not stop.
I tried pressing the Power button again but nothing happened.
I called Toyota roadside assistance who quickly came and gave my car a jumpstart.  They said the small Battery was dead and maybe I left a light on.
All was ok for 2 weeks then on 1 misty morning it happened again.  Same procedure. Jumpstart etc.  This time the AA guru told me to take the car to a dealer.
I took it to the dealer but they said there was not a problem with the small Battery.  They are now going to keep my car for 2 weeks  to see if they can find anything.

I've attached a video of the problem.   Has anyone had the same problem or know what is causing it?

 

 

 

Thanks!!

[Gerg]

With such low miles the car may have suffered a flat 12v Battery through being parked idle for months (before you bought it).

Deep discharging of the 12v Battery (it's a normal car battery in the Auris boot, just small) shortens its life, and if the battery was left deeply discharged it will have probably damaged it to an extent.

As the weather is turning cooler now, the Battery will be less efficient anyway, combined with the possibility of the above, then I think that is where the problem lies.

I think the 12v battery should be considered guilty unless proved innocent. As the car is so new to you, then a replacement should be provided by the seller.

The likelihood of it not being properly charged by the car is remote, although using the wrong jump-starting procedure (unlikely with a Toyota dealer and the AA!) can damage the charging circuit, I read somewhere.

[FROSTYBALLS]

There was an issue on early second generation Auris with the hazard warning switch causing issues with Battery drainage - this was rectified by a recall. Use the Toyota recall checker to check whether your car has any outstanding recalls - https://forms.toyota.co.uk/recall-checker?_ga=2.107486789.63789326.1507034695-1064145844.1507034695

[Zircon1]

On 03/10/2017 at 1:38 PM, Gerg said:

With such low miles the car may have suffered a flat 12v battery through being parked idle for months (before you bought it).

Deep discharging of the 12v battery (it's a normal car battery in the Auris boot, just small) shortens its life, and if the battery was left deeply discharged it will have probably damaged it to an extent.

As the weather is turning cooler now, the battery will be less efficient anyway, combined with the possibility of the above, then I think that is where the problem lies.

I think the 12v battery should be considered guilty unless proved innocent. As the car is so new to you, then a replacement should be provided by the seller.

The likelihood of it not being properly charged by the car is remote, although using the wrong jump-starting procedure (unlikely with a Toyota dealer and the AA!) can damage the charging circuit, I read somewhere.

Good news is that the problem was found.  The small 12v Battery in the boot!

The Toyota technician left the lights on for 10 minutes without turning the car on.  This had  the same effect as the video I posted.

New Battery on order and will be fitted tomorrow.

Thanks for the comments.

[cuius]

Seems to be a general problem with "experienced" automobile people not understanding hybrids - from Autocar "...but for the ‘detail’ pictures we moved to the security and warmth of our studio, where the car sat with its lights on and the ignition off for perhaps half an hour. And in the process we managed to completely flatten the 12V Battery and leave the car stranded."

Interesting that in some markets (the USA for one) Kia have provided their hybrids with automatic disconnect of the 12v Battery if the charge gets too low; then you have to press a reset switch when you need it

[Gerg]

Pleasing that that seems like it'll soon be fixed.

We have had a very similar Auris Hybrid for the last year. There are a few aspects of the car that have been reported about on this forum that may be of interest:

The distracting reverse beeping sound can be switched to a single reverse beep, but this has to be done by a dealer or someone with the compatible computer diagnostic reader. (Various threads on here). It only takes a few minutes. This hopefully has already been done, otherwise why not ask to get it done when the Battery is being changed?

The headlamps are sometimes criticised for having a lack of beam width (spread).  New,  revised headlamps are available on request, free of charge, from the dealer if your car hasn't already had them done. (Various threads on here).

It isn't involved to fit a cruise control to your car that works and looks exactly like the Toyota fitted part.  It's effectively 'plug and play', but the steering wheel airbag needs to be removed (can be fiddly - caution required!!!). The (eBay?) parts are as little as £20 - 25. (Thread on here).  The Toyota parts are about £140, if you chose to go that route.

Some drivers like to have some spare engine oil around in case the car needs topping up. It is *extremely* unlikely that your car will need topping up between services, and the genuine (0w/20) Toyota oil from a dealer is £84 for 5 litres (!). Just so you know.

[chrismorrow]

7 hours ago, Gerg said:

Pleasing that that seems like it'll soon be fixed.

We have had a very similar Auris Hybrid for the last year. There are a few aspects of the car that have been reported about on this forum that may be of interest:

The distracting reverse beeping sound can be switched to a single reverse beep, but this has to be done by a dealer or someone with the compatible computer diagnostic reader. (Various threads on here). It only takes a few minutes. This hopefully has already been done, otherwise why not ask to get it done when the battery is being changed?

The headlamps are sometimes criticised for having a lack of beam width (spread).  New,  revised headlamps are available on request, free of charge, from the dealer if your car hasn't already had them done. (Various threads on here).

It isn't involved to fit a cruise control to your car that works and looks exactly like the Toyota fitted part.  It's effectively 'plug and play', but the steering wheel airbag needs to be removed (can be fiddly - caution required!!!). The (eBay?) parts are as little as £20 - 25. (Thread on here).  The Toyota parts are about £140, if you chose to go that route.

Some drivers like to have some spare engine oil around in case the car needs topping up. It is *extremely* unlikely that your car will need topping up between services, and the genuine (0w/20) Toyota oil from a dealer is £84 for 5 litres (!). Just so you know.

Yes the 12v Battery seems to be quite weak as it is so small, i always put my grandmothers Battery on trickle charge when she goes away just to keep it topped up. Also you main dealer is putting a very high markup on the oil. Speak to parts and ask if they can do it for £60 that is what I paid. I always haggle with parts as I know they can always discount items. However I have started using Petronas 0W20 £25ish with a discount code from euro parts and it seems to give better economy on my 1.2T so im guessing it would have the same effect with the hybrid. I will try it in my grandmothers hybrid soon and see if she gets any better economy. They Toyota oil as far as i know is MOBIL1 With Toyota's label.

[FROSTYBALLS]

The Toyota branded oil may or may not be Mobil 1. 

However, that isn't necessarily the oil that dealers use. They have guidelines as to the oil specification to be used in different drivetrains, but vehicle manufacturers under block exemption, cannot specify what brand of oil is used by dealers. It boils down to whoever individual dealers or dealer groups contract with for bulk oil supplies.

So dealer A may use one brand of 0W-20, and dealer B another brand.

[mrpj]

18 hours ago, Gerg said:

 the genuine (0w/20) Toyota oil from a dealer is £84 for 5 litres (!). Just so you know.

Or around £45 on that well known auction site!

[Konrad C]

1 hour ago, mrpj said:

Or around £45 on that well known auction site!

I got my oil from Euro Car Parts and used what ever discount code to lower the price even further - https://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/p/car-parts/engine-parts/engine-parts1/engine-oils/?521773331&0&ce5_113&gclid=Cj0KCQjw9uHOBRDtARIsALtCa94PYhIdne6VeWnbT8C_-FKxbzz2KeYZdTVb9YJiRAAWQFCAufYFGDUaAnl5EALw_wcB

 

[Catlover]

 What sort of price is the small Battery for a 2010 Auris Hybrid??

[Gerg]

The Toyota Fixed Price Repair for a Battery replacement on an Auris is £120.

I haven't done much reading on this yet, but I think it is an 054H size. I think this fits a Kia Picanto and Honda Jazz.

If you are happy with a non-AGM type, then they seem to be available for about £55 delivered:   https://www.tayna.co.uk/A13-Varta-Blue-Dynamic-Car-Battery-540125033-054H-P8850.html. But this probably wont fit the vent plumbing without some adaptation.

So, the size looks good, but you are taking a risk with the other bits.  More digging required!

I look forward to hearing people's suggestions.

 

[Gerg]

A quick call to Yuasa UK provided these answers:

The OE supplier to Toyota is Yuasa, their part number is HJ-S34B20L-A. It is an AGM Battery that is designed to regularly run down to 40% charge without suffering damage. These are all made in Japan.

As a much cheaper alternative, he said you *could* use a Yuasa YBX 3054. This is a non-AGM Battery that has a design life of 80 cycles to 50% charge (This is the E1 rating, apparently). He estimated that this Battery would last about half as long as the above, and that it would gas a little more than the HJ. As a Conventional battery this is designed to live at 90 - 100% charge. The deeper you discharge it, the shorter its life.

Googling the HJ battery shows a price of about £170-ish.

The AGM battery will accept a higher charge current if that is available, and is happy running at 14.8v charge. My Auris seems to charge at 14.4v (not a problem at all says man at Yuasa), so perhaps Toyota are making the car compatible with the non-AGM battery, if fitted, as that charge rate is the one for 'conventional' batteries (as well as AGM).

All the parts-checker websites I have seen for this car don't mention the first battery above, and are, strictly speaking, wrong, says the man at Yuasa.

[Zircon1]

Back to the subject of my Battery....  My Auris has performed perfectly since I got the new Battery.

I notice that when I press the brake (when starting the car) I no longer get any warnings about low Battery.  I previously assumed this meant that the battery in my key remote needed replacing!!    Assumption is the mother of all...
 

Edited October 22, 2017 by Zircon1

[Zircon1]

Another question...   Map updates for Touch and Go.   I have version 2.8.4L which is a few years old.   Many of the roads near my house have reduced the speeds recently and 2.8.4L is not up to date.

Toyota sell version 2.16.0 for £109 on toyota.co.uk

Are there any other options?

[Catlover]

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