C-HR Excel 2020

[Nighthawk22]

Any one else had the misfortune of wasting £30K to buy one of these in 2020 ? Made the mistake that taking the Hybrid jump for routinely buying Mercedes seemed like a good idea! What a disaster. Also made the mistake of thinking you don't have to drive it every other day to make it work. Basically I am on first name terms with the AA guy who has to come out to get this piece of (Mod edit) started if we don't touch it for a week. Major let downs with my good lady who has to care for her 96 year old mother in breaking down miles from home trying to sort hospital appointments , Care provider issues.  etc. 

Hate the dam thing.

I would sell it if it worked but afraid new owner couldn't drive it away!!!

Absolute trash. Dont ever buy one of these things>

 

[flash22]

ok................... Have you actually tried talking to the dealer to rectify the issue, more than likely it needs a Battery charged/swap

The Battery may have drained during shipment what can take up to 8 weeks

[Gerg]

You have my sympathies.

It would seem to be a problem with some other owners:-

And at least one in France as well:-

https://hybridlife.org/threads/probleme-convertisseur-converter-chr-toyota-hybride.7399/#post-153690

The problem could be down to a dashcam that has been incorrectly installed (so not one powered via cigarette power socket).  Have you got one fitted?

Probably unrelated, but, there was a similar Battery draining problem on the Auris model in around 2012/13, where evidently the car's on-board computers failed to 'go to sleep' after the car was locked up, and kept pulling too much power from the 12 volt Battery.  In that situation a new firmware revision was installed by Toyota dealers that fixed the problem, but not before many owners were thoroughly cheesed off, if I remember correctly.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Moved to the C-HR club.

Having a rant on these forums is doing absolutely nothing as regards highlighting your issues to Toyota. We're an independent club - Toyota don't visit these forums and won't see your concerns. 

When the car isn't being used (ie at your accommodation) if you keep the key in range, the car may be constantly searching for the key and discharging Battery whilst doing this. 

[Catlover]

Obviously a problem because I have a 2016 Prius Gen4 and the wife a 2010 Auris hybrid and sometimes during lockdown we not driven one or the other for a fortnight, but no problem come the next journey.               
I would press your Toyota dealer to fit a new Battery.

[TonyHSD]

1 hour ago, Nighthawk22 said:

Any one else had the misfortune of wasting £30K to buy one of these in 2020 ? Made the mistake that taking the Hybrid jump for routinely buying Mercedes seemed like a good idea! What a disaster. Also made the mistake of thinking you don't have to drive it every other day to make it work. Basically I am on first name terms with the AA guy who has to come out to get this piece of (Mod edit) started if we don't touch it for a week. Major let downs with my good lady who has to care for her 96 year old mother in breaking down miles from home trying to sort hospital appointments , Care provider issues.  etc. 

Hate the dam thing.

I would sell it if it worked but afraid new owner couldn't drive it away!!!

Absolute trash. Dont ever buy one of these things>

 

I will highly recommend to you to sell it or return it to the dealer, you have some consumer rights. If you believe that  Mercedes will serve you better you can also swap it for a merc, just not the right times to do so at the moment. 👍

[Nighthawk22]

On 1/5/2021 at 2:14 PM, flash22 said:

ok................... Have you actually tried talking to the dealer to rectify the issue, more than likely it needs a battery charged/swap

The battery may have drained during shipment what can take up to 8 weeks

Yes 4 times now. Their suggestion, drive it more !

Refuse to replace the Battery.

AA guys suggestion, keep it on a trickle Battery charge  as they have identified a fault with Battery only accepting 11amps on charge rather than 30 to 40amps. Toyota reluctantly agreed to take car in and "Do their own check". Well you can imaging what their result might be! rather than replace the battery on an 10 month old car! Appreciate no-one from Toyota reads these forums ( it would be a full time job !). Just letting others know of their unreliability. 

Will be selling the moment this is fixed and buying a modern reliable car!. 

[TonyHSD]

 

here some interesting info about batteries on hybrids. Your car might be ok but a combination of few various factors can kill a new Battery in weeks, in case you change your mind about selling the car or have no choice because of the lockdown. Just trying to help, I don’t want to argue but if Toyota it’s no reliable car, then there are no options left, any other make might be better in Battery life but worse in anything else.👍💡

[yossarian247]

In this situation I would probably fit a new Battery at my own expense to at least see if it fixed the issue. Taking the hit on depreciation on a £30k new car just because of what might be caused by a faulty £100 Battery is cutting your nose off to spite your face. We have 2 CH-R hybrids in the family and both seem fine to be left unused for 2 weeks or so without flattening the 12v Battery so it definitely isn't normal. I've owned quite a few Toyotas and really reliability doesn't get any better. I gave up with German cars due to numerous problems.

[Gerg]

On 1/7/2021 at 11:42 AM, Nighthawk22 said:

AA guys suggestion, keep it on a trickle battery charge  as they have identified a fault with battery only accepting 11amps on charge rather than 30 to 40amps.

Normally I put great weight on anything an AA technician says.  But, assuming the 12v Battery on a C-HR is an AGM type of Battery (higher spec., more robust), then the Yuasa rule-of thumb for the  charge rate for any Battery of that type is 10% of its rated capacity (so, probably  around 4.5 amps in your case).  The battery can be charged faster, but with the risk of damaging it through the excess heat generated, the suggestion of putting 30 - 40 amps into the battery would be a good way to wreck it. 

These Yuasa recommendations come from their UK technical department.  They are original equipment suppliers on all the earlier Toyota hybrids, but perhaps not yours (which might have Varta battery?), but I'm sure that that recommendation would be the same from Varta themselves, if this is an AGM battery.

As Flash22 mentioned above, the best way to recharge an AGM battery is a trickle charge overnight. 

At the moment, because the battery in all Toyota hybrids are never used at all to turn the engine over when starting, it is difficult to judge if it is nearly flat - it will sound just the same.  The battery will turn the computers and contactor on when it is fairly flat, but not when it is fully flat. And the high voltage (traction) battery will always effortlessly spin the engine up, even when the 12v battery is nearly empty. 

I wonder if the battery is moving between these two states of charge, and that is what you are (unfortunately) seeing with all the nightmare aggravation that comes with it?

When the battery is known to be fully charged up, then at least you can have someone investigate what (if anything beyond the cars normal, slow, parked-up load) is draining it.  Although this is can take time to monitor...

 

[yossarian247]

3 hours ago, Gerg said:

Normally I put great weight on anything an AA technician says.  But, assuming the 12v battery on a C-HR is an AGM type of battery (higher spec., more robust), then the Yuasa rule-of thumb for the  charge rate for any battery of that type is 10% of its rated capacity (so, probably  around 4.5 amps in your case).  The battery can be charged faster, but with the risk of damaging it through the excess heat generated, the suggestion of putting 30 - 40 amps into the battery would be a good way to wreck it. 

 

 

On our C-HR hybrid the 12v Battery isn't an AGM, but a conventional lead acid calcium Battery. I think its the original as it has a Toyota label on it, but also the brand name 'Mutlu' which from Googling appears to be a Turkish brand, no doubt due to the C-HR's Turkish origins.

[Gerg]

2 minutes ago, yossarian247 said:

On our CH-R hybrid the 12v battery isn't an AGM, but a conventional lead acid calcium battery. I think its the original as it has a Toyota label on it, but also the brand name 'Mutlu' which from Googling appears to be a Turkish brand, no doubt due to the CH-R's Turkish origins.

Ah! OK, thanks!  Note made! 

I did, very quickly, look into the new Corolla 12v Battery spec. (different reason), but could find  almost nothing about it, strangely.  Toyota choosing a non-AGM must be all down to its location in the car, then? 

I had wondered if the previous AGM fitment installed on previous hybrids was because of the location and that it's other characteristics were better suited the car's normal usage pattern.  Looks like that's a false assumption.  It was all about passenger safety....

 

[Gerg]

...But this does beg the question; why does the C-HR's inverter not charge a heavily-discharged 12v Battery up more rapidly (than seems to be the case with some owner's cars), when the AGM battery's charge limitations aren't there? 

[yossarian247]

50 minutes ago, Gerg said:

Ah! OK, thanks!  Note made! 

I did, very quickly, look into the new Corolla 12v battery spec. (different reason), but could find  almost nothing about it, strangely.  Toyota choosing a non-AGM must be all down to its location in the car, then? 

I had wondered if the previous AGM fitment installed on previous hybrids was because of the location and that it's other characteristics were better suited the car's normal usage pattern.  Looks like that's a false assumption.  It was all about passenger safety....

 

It surprised me too, but as you say, I think the choice of AGM batteries on some other hybrid models must be due to the location rather than the characteristics.

Looking at the Tayna website I see its possible to buy a Varta silver replacement in this size with a 5 year guarantee for around £60 delivered. I think if it I was in this situation I'd be inclined to give a replacement a try. Of course you shouldn't need to on a nearly new car, but if it fixes the problem.. 

[Gray86]

You need a CTEC MXS 5.0 charger. This comes highly regarded in recent group tests - I also recommend it highly - I purchased mine in the March 2020 lockdown. It’s looked after my Golf R, wife’s Yaris, an Auris Hybrid and now my Corolla Hybrid. No Battery issues here - it can even recondition and highlight potential issues. Did a quick top up on my Corolla earlier this week, only took a few hours. 
 

https://www.tayna.co.uk/battery-chargers/ctek/mxs5-0/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIlLGG6uKR7gIVt4BQBh3LJQigEAQYAyABEgJ37fD_BwE

 

[hayalgoparati1878]

hi graeme does this charger you mention have to be plugged in to a standard wall socket, or is it like portable....mick.  

[Williams]

It's got nothing to do with shipping, or fitting a dash cam. The problem is inherent, all the CHR's have this problem. Took mine back to dealer loads of times - solution to drive it for at least an hour everyday. Told them " who's going to pay for the petrol?" whilst there a woman drove up in one, got out, threw the keys at the service manager, told him in no uncertain terms how bad it was and so on.. My father in law has one, change Battery loads of times, drove it for four hours on holiday, stopped for a cuppa and it wouldn't start. Shame because it's a nice car. In the end I went back to the dealer, asked him to buy it back, which he did, and I bought a RAV 4 petrol, 2017 reg which gives the same mileage if you drive it sensibly. Not going to buy another CHR until Toyota do something about the problem because at the moment they are completely unreliable!!!

[Catlover]

On 1/31/2021 at 2:56 PM, hayalgoparati1878 said:

hi graeme does this charger you mention have to be plugged in to a standard wall socket, or is it like portable....mick.  

The CETEX 5 is a very slow charger, plugs into a standard 13a socket. Really are good for standard wear batteries and AGM batteries. Once fully charged it can be left plugged in and it will go in”float” mode, that is trickle charges on and off to keep the Battery topped. I bought mine from Tyna in North Wales, £66. A good buy that will last for years.

[Roy124]

Badger your dealer.  Mine, with minimal badgering checked out the Battery and swapped out the original 40 amp/h one for a 52 amp/h one.  

The run for an hour is run the car in READY mode for an hour.  The ICE will not run for that long during this time.  It is a PITA if you don't have a charger or cant use one.  

The actual source of Battery drain is not, AFAIK, confirmed but the Dashcam might be a culprit but the alarm and the key search functions are more likely.

Trawl through this forum, print out selections of our different stories and confront the dealer.

[Starensis]

Get dealer to change “looking for key” setting from 5 days to 2 days. This helps preserve Battery drain.