Battery discharge when not in use

[2bikes]

Hi all ,not a rav 4 owner yet but looking like next car when lease expires, ive just had to put our  current car on trickle charge so was wondering how the 2019/20 hybrids do when stood without use.we 're unlikely to experience a lockdown like this again but how do they do when stood at airport parking for 2 wks for example ?cheers.  

[PeteB]

My 3rd Gen Prius survived 3 weeks with no problems a few years ago when I had a bug that kept me indoors.  Just over a year ago, when I had a Gen 4 Prius, I was told not to drive for a month after a minor heart scare, and I sat in the car in READY mode for ½ hour every 10 days to keep the 12V Battery topped up.  I'll do the same during the lock-down if I'm unable to visit the local shop every few days.

The Gen 1 Prius (2000-2003 in the UK) had a higher current drain than later Toyota Hybrids, and only a 35ah Battery.  Some members of another group used an ammeter to measure the drain, but we never fully understood why the drain was so high, given the car only had basic remote central locking and no key-less start.  In fact, just leaving the key in the ignition in the off position increased the drain quite a bit, and I once had the leave the key in for a robotic car park and it flattened the Battery in 5 hours!  Leaving it in ACCesssory position would also flatten it in a few hours.

A Gen 1 with a perfect 12V battery, fully charged, and with everything switched off, would be lucky to survive much more than 3 weeks in an airport car park - four at a pinch, even when locked manually to ensure the alarm wasn't active.  Gen 2 & 3 did better, with 5 week periods being reported occasionally.

I'm told the latest RAV4 has a 52ah battery, but I take no chances and try to use electric seat adjustment (I use a memory button for a driving position and the other setting for getting in and out) or electric tailgate while in READY mode.

Since the battery drain wasn't fully understood in the very early days, the 12V battery was often already damaged by the time the car was sold, having been flattened during the voyage from Japan, and at least once at the dealer while waiting to be sold.  Only about 1,500 Gen 1s were sold in the UK, only 60 dealers could handle them, and they were never actively marketed, so they sold very slowly, mostly to people (like me) with a keen interest in such technology.  Once the issue was known, I understand the 12V battery was disconnected during the sea journey.

Since the early days (I got my first Prius in 2002) I've kept a jump starter in the car, just in case.  These days it's one of the mini ones, that lives in a seat-back pocket - which is handy if the battery is too flat to open the electric tailgate release, and especially if the car is deadlocked and only the driver's door can be opened with the emergency key!

[+robster+]

i have a company van that i can use for personal use so my personal cars i have owned can potentially sit for weeks and for this i have a solar panel that can sit on my dashboard keeping my Battery good

https://www.halfords.com/motoring/battery-maintenance/battery-accessories/12v-6-watt-solar-maintainer---upto-200ah-196489.html

 

this is similar to mine however mines was £20 and may be smaller

[2bikes]

Thanks for the reply ,I assume it's ok to use a portable jump starter on a hybrid .

[PeteB]

11 minutes ago, 2bikes said:

Thanks for the reply ,I assume it's ok to use a portable jump starter on a hybrid .

yes, I've done it many times, and many early Gen 1 Prius also owners carried a jump starter in the boot and used them without problems.  (the Gen 1 Prius was a saloon (sedan to Americans) and the boot (trunk) could be opened with the key or a cable release handle by the driver's seat, so opening when the Battery was flat wasn't an issue.  Also, there weren't the tiny, LiON jump starters available in those pioneer days.

The key thing to avoid (very expensive) trouble is to make sure you connect the jump starter (or jump) leads the right way round - red to red, black to black.  Most Toyota Hybrids have the 12V Battery in the boot, so for those there are jump start terminals under the bonnet (hood) normally near the fuse box.

The big thing to avoid is using a Toyota Hybrid to jump start other cars - that's been said to risk blowing some very expensive components.  That's another benefit of having a jump starter pack in the car - if someone asks for a jump, you don't have to try to make them understand why your car shouldn't do that.

Quite a few owners have successfully used solar panels as Rob suggests above.

[2bikes]

53 minutes ago, PeteB said:

yes, I've done it many times, and many early Gen 1 Prius also owners carried a jump starter in the boot and used them without problems.  (the Gen 1 Prius was a saloon (sedan to Americans) and the boot (trunk) could be opened with the key or a cable release handle by the driver's seat, so opening when the battery was flat wasn't an issue.  Also, there weren't the tiny, LiON jump starters available in those pioneer days.

The key thing to avoid (very expensive) trouble is to make sure you connect the jump starter (or jump) leads the right way round - red to red, black to black.  Most Toyota Hybrids have the 12V battery in the boot, so for those there are jump start terminals under the bonnet (hood) normally near the fuse box.

The big thing to avoid is using a Toyota Hybrid to jump start other cars - that's been said to risk blowing some very expensive components.  That's another benefit of having a jump starter pack in the car - if someone asks for a jump, you don't have to try to make them understand why your car shouldn't do that.

Quite a few owners have successfully used solar panels as Rob suggests above.

Great info thanks 😉