Battery replacement?

[mwilkinson04051950]

Our 2014 Auris Hybrid has never given any 12v Battery problems to date (unless the night that the alarm kept going off all night for no apparent reason, was anything to do with a temporary Battery problem at the time - it only happened on one occasion). 

When the Auris was in for a service we received a call from the repairer to say the 12v Battery was on the low side and would we like them to replace it?  We declined this as we thought using a trickle charger would fix it (we are only doing very short journeys at present).  However the paperwork that came with the Auris when it was returned said that the 12v battery needs replacing, which is not what we were told by 'phone.  We then realized that if it is the original battery (which it probably is), it is 6-7 years old.

Question: is the 12v battery likely to let us down without warning if we do not have it replaced?

By the way, I visited the local Kwik Fit to ask this question, and the person I spoke to there was unwilling to advise about a battery in a hybrid vehicle, and recommended I speak to a Toyota main dealer.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Split into new topic and moved to the Auris club.

[Catlover]

Martin, was the guy at Kwik Fit aware you were talking about the 12v attery and not the hybrid Battery???

[TonyHSD]

12v Battery can last long time but also can go bad in a very short time, all depends how the car been used. If you keep using the car daily even for short runs will probably be ok, when not in use and you do trickle charging then there is nothing to worry about replacing at the moment., perhaps wait until dies completely and then you can buy a new one . 👍

[1.8 hybrid]

besides tracking, tyres , exhausts & mots

Halfords aren't allowed to work on hybrids and i'd rather have someone

just say no instead of having an un educated guess and messing your car up

[TonyHSD]

1 hour ago, 1.8 hybrid said:

besides tracking, tyres , exhausts & mots

halfords aren't allowed to work on hybrids and i'd rather have someone

just say no instead of having an un educated guess and messing your car up

Even if allowed garages like Halfords, Kwick fit, F1, Mr. Clutch pretty much all nationwide chains are full stop, perhaps only tyres but even those can be found at better prices and places, seriously the incompetence of their staff mechanics and all its beyond imagination, some of them might be ok but low paid, unmotivated and without any interest of cars and the job they do says it all. Best care for any car can be done by the owner, the dealer or independent enthusiast mechanics is what I had experienced throughout my driving experience, plus been in the trade for many years. 
Regards 

[yossarian247]

2 hours ago, 1.8 hybrid said:

besides tracking, tyres , exhausts & mots

halfords aren't allowed to work on hybrids and i'd rather have someone

just say no instead of having an un educated guess and messing your car up

They're going to find themselves increasingly short of work over the next decade or so if they continue with that policy!

[Roy124]

I must defend KwikFit as we had a puncture discovered on a Sunday morning and we needed the car fixing then.  We manged to find a KF that has the tyres we needed and was open on a Sunday - there was no one else.  True we didn't get the cheapest deal, or rather we did as it was the only one in town.

Then again, same KF, I went in for a Battery change.  The specified Battery was for a Stop/Start feature that was not relevant to my car they pointed that out but said they could fit it if that was what I wanted.  They also questioned whether I actually needed a new Battery.  As it was 10 years old and I had had a couple of starting difficulties I said go ahead.  They certainly weren't trying to sell the battery and would have been happy for me to walk away.

[mcntosh]

2 hours ago, yossarian247 said:

They're going to find themselves increasingly short of work over the next decade or so if they continue with that policy!

Halfords, unlike Kwikfit, do actually offer hybrid servicing:

https://www.halfords.com/car-servicing/hybrid-car-service/

I’m sticking with Toyota dealer servicing, not least to maintain the hybrid Battery warranty. Toyota 5+ servicing works out about the same or cheaper than Halfords + the standalone Toyota hybrid health check.

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

13 minutes ago, mcntosh said:

Toyota 5+ servicing works out about the same or cheaper than Halfords + the standalone Toyota hybrid health check.

Toyota now don't seem to offer the standalone hybrid health check ,as it has been incorporated into the hybrid electric service.

[mcntosh]

2 minutes ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

Toyota now don't seem to offer the standalone hybrid health check ,as it has been incorporated into the hybrid electric service.

Hmm, I’ve just logged in on the My Toyota site and they’re still offering the standalone check as an option there (for £45).

It would be a bit off if they didn’t - would be locking owners into Toyota servicing if they want to keep the hybrid warranty going.

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

The main Toyota site isn't. Aside from that why offer an extended warranty where the car has been serviced elsewhere.