Have I got faulty battery?

[crookd]

Purchased  2021 Yaris Dynamic 3 days ago, sat on drive for 2 days because I found a tyre fault which the garage fixed. Now with just ignition turned on for 5 minutes while sorting out how to reset the tyre pressure monitor I got warning message of low brake pressure. Could not turn off ignition, trying to start engine caused the brake peddle to pump up and down, various warning lights came on. Could not remotely lock doors. When we first view the car they had to use a Battery boost to start it, they said they would test the Battery during presale checks.

This is not a back street garage, it is Inchape Toyota.

[Mojo1010]

Jump starting when viewing a car isn't going to give confidence, that would be a major warning of weak Battery. Who knows how long it has been sitting there and whether it has been driven/charged enough previously. 

Get the garage to sort it out, for your peace of mind ask for replacement. 

[TonyHSD]

You have been sold a car with dead 12v Battery. If a car needs a jump start before test drive or to be shown to customer means new Battery should be part of the deal or just walk away. 
If me I will argue and fight for a new Battery replacement free of charge and many apologies.
What a lovely service by the dealer.  Then we should not call them rip-off, really?! 
 

[anchorman]

It’s not unusual for the 12v Battery to go flat on a car that is unused, it’s well documented on this forum.  You shouldn’t leave the ignition switched on unless it’s in ready mode and when your fiddling with a fresh car 5 minutes can soon  become 10  and that doesn’t include all the other minutes in and out of the car without starting it.  It’s not a big deal, put it in ready for a period of time and it will charge or get using it but the woke snowflake entitled culture loves a bit of drama.  A protest to block the dealers forecourt is what’s needed before taking it to the European Court of Human Rights. 
 

you could always snap out of it, follow the instructions for proper use and get on with it instead of blaming everyone else.  

[Roy124]

With respect, Don is not considering the facts set out here. 

1. You bought a car with no Battery history. 

2. The Battery was flat when you bought it. 

3.  A sound Battery should last 10 minutes but powered up without being in Ready mode is not advised. 

The previous owner is not going to tell the dealer that his battery is knackered. 

The dealer is not going to tell you how long the car sat with a flat battery. 

As everyone except Don says, get the garage to replace the battery FOC. 

Regarding 3.  Don is correct.  Put the car in Ready mode.  It will recharge the 12v battery from the HV battery and decide when or if to start the engine (ICE). 

As a routine, get out of the habit of switching the ignition off at first opportunity.  For example, at a filling station it will switch itself off when you stop.  At the shops, if you stay in the car, don't switch off.  If you want to listen to the radio or use the systems, put it in Ready mode. 

You are not alone.  Even Toyota only cane up with this advice a month into the first Covid lockdown. 

Speak with that dealer. 

 

[crookd]

I have spoken with the sales manager and he confirmed that the Battery had only been checked but not replaced. 

This smacks of penny pinching.

The car has just been collected and hopefully will be back this afternoon so it can be used and not just be a garden ornament.

Why does every forum have to have aggressive types like Anchorman...

The ignition was in ready mode, no woke snowflakes were hurt in the process.

[anchorman]

You don’t get a new Battery with a second hand car and what we don’t know is how long this Battery has been powering the aircon and everything else in this “five minutes” and any additional minutes that have been accrued without it being in start mode.  The reason I dig in on this matter is because when I first got a MK4 Yaris, there were 2 occasions where I sat in it with the car not in ready mode while I waited for somebody and on both occasions, it warned me by saying “put car in READY mode to avoid flat battery”.  That was after a number of minutes but this car has been sat around at a dealer, sat around with a “tyre issue” (no details of what happened) so why can’t the Battery be charged up like the rest of us have to do in such situations.  If the car is in ready mode it will start if the traction battery isn’t charged enough.  We’re not getting the full story here.

[anchorman]

9 minutes ago, crookd said:

I have spoken with the sales manager and he confirmed that the battery had only been checked but not replaced. 

This smacks of penny pinching.

The car has just been collected and hopefully will be back this afternoon so it can be used and not just be a garden ornament.

Why does every forum have to have aggressive types like Anchorman...

The ignition was in ready mode, no woke snowflakes were hurt in the process.

Sorry if I hurt your feelings.  I hope the dealers that cheated you is ashamed of themselves.

[APS]

Good to hear you will get the problem addressed. Seems odd for a dealer to think it's OK to deliver a car that needs jump leads to get it going and not follow up to make sure Battery is fine.

I do think the required change in user behaviours to avoid draining the 12V Battery is a bit of a flaw. Hopefully, this was the last of your troubles of this kind. Happy motoring!

 

 

[tfc]

Can I just say when me and my mate went to see a dealer to view his now bought car that the Battery was dead flat for a test drive and the sales guy had to jump start it for a test drive. He's  had the car 6 months now and only uses about twice a week to go to the local shops and no hint of trouble.

Same goes for me . When I test drove mine everything was fine, bought the car and went through the Dashcam files and found one where the car is in the workshop and you hear f#$$ing h^&^ and next  thing you see the mechanic under the bonnet with a jump pack and I've had no problems , like my mate the car doesn't get used that often , last time it went out was last Thursday and I'm going out later and do a whopping 7 mile round trip but  I do keep a jump pack in the boot just incase.😉

[Yugguy1970]

I am convinced there's a set of Yarisseses with dodgy batteries.  

Who knows how the original owner treated it and once a Battery is knackered you can't fix it.

Yes, we need to keep them in Ready mode and not Accessory but that is not the issue here, the OP is not at fault and IMO is right to want a replacement under warranty.

 

[Roy124]

John, the Battery will accept a major discharge and recharge but such mistreatment is accumulative. You may never have a recurrence but then again you might. 

[TonyHSD]

Respectful dealer will check and charge the Battery prior to showing the car to the customer. 
If the car fail to start again will point towards weak or dead beyond salvation Battery and they should offer a new replacement Battery as part of the deal. They ( the dealer) should explain to the potential buyer or new owner that these cars (Toyota hybrids) are different from standard petrol or diesel powered cars. They have a small 12v battery and keeping the car in acc mode it’s not advisable and to keep the car in ready mode anytime they need to use it. These little bits and transparency make the custumer happy and to keep coming back for service, parts and another car. 
I will accept nothing but brand new battery, apologies and eventually a free next service and first mot.
And this is what I would have offered if I was representing the dealer in question. 

[Rhymes with Paris]

Reminds me of the rougher end of the car auction trade many years ago.

Trundling round with the jump starter to get some awful old heap to fire into life.

Half flat tyres, and blown head gaskets everywhere.

Not a dealer wanting a huge lump of money out of car sale though.

 

[flash22]

Unfortunately, it's the nature of the car trade, you're not the first and will never be the last to get screwed by a dealer, margins are more important than customers, sales people are very money driven, i have sent over £200k of potential sales from friends and family to other dealers that actually give an ......................... rather than the clowns i dealt/dealings with in the past

[Roy124]

5 hours ago, APS said:

I do think the required change in user behaviours to avoid draining the 12V battery is a bit of a flaw. Hopefully, this was the last of your troubles of this kind. Happy motoring!

True to a point, however there are other issues. The Hybrid is neither A Petrol or Diesel Car.  

Most of us will have learnt to drive in a basic petrol engined car.  Over the years we have got starter motors, synchromesh gears, choke free motors, automatics etc etc.  The changes were incremental and often a selling point. 

With diesels we were briefed about the gloplug light after switching on.  Eventually that disappeared too. 

The Hybrid is a step change on the way to EV. We must learnt new techniques and to change habits. 

Yes, Toyota could have designed the problem out or provided a built-in recovery mode as others, such as Kia have done. 

[yossarian247]

I suspect that a dealer having to jump start a used car that has sat for a while is a quite common occurrence. Most of them are just smart enough to only do it when a potential customer isn't looking! Some of the better organised ones have a few CTEK or similar chargers on hand and will charge the batteries on their stock of cars on rotation.

I used to work for a company which fitted out vans for the utility companies. At any given time we would have 150-250 vans on site, and when it was time to move any of them it was always jump packs at the ready, as a good proportion would have flat batteries. Most of those were brand new unregistered vehicles straight off the transporter too.

[Roy124]

Nick, you make a good point. Before we selected our replacement for  Mercedes we visited several dealers who had hybrids. We visited one showroom.  The car we wanted to see was 'on charge'.  We made our excuses and left. 

We also rejected a Kia as there was no power on it. 

[FROSTYBALLS]

7 hours ago, crookd said:

I have spoken with the sales manager and he confirmed that the battery had only been checked but not replaced. 

This smacks of penny pinching

Well if the Battery had been tested and checked out OK as part of the pre-sale checks, why would they replace it at that stage ??

I'm sure most dealers, regardless of marque, would do similar.

Yes it may have failed later, and, yes, possibly a new Battery is now required.

However, Inchcape weren't to know whether the previous owner may have contributed towards the Battery becoming an issue - short runs, limited use, etc, etc, and the recent two days sitting on the drive unused may not have helped.

Hopefully, Inchcape have now resolved the issue.

[Cowgirl]

8 hours ago, Roy124 said:

With respect, Don is not considering the facts set out here. 

1. You bought a car with no battery history. 

2. The battery was flat when you bought it. 

3.  A sound battery should last 10 minutes but powered up without being in Ready mode is not advised. 

The previous owner is not going to tell the dealer that his battery is knackered. 

The dealer is not going to tell you how long the car sat with a flat battery. 

As everyone except Don says, get the garage to replace the battery FOC. 

Regarding 3.  Don is correct.  Put the car in Ready mode.  It will recharge the 12v battery from the HV battery and decide when or if to start the engine (ICE). 

As a routine, get out of the habit of switching the ignition off at first opportunity.  For example, at a filling station it will switch itself off when you stop.  At the shops, if you stay in the car, don't switch off.  If you want to listen to the radio or use the systems, put it in Ready mode. 

You are not alone.  Even Toyota only cane up with this advice a month into the first Covid lockdown. 

Speak with that dealer. 

 

Are you saying that when you fill up with petrol you leave it in the ready mode?

[Roy124]

4 minutes ago, Cowgirl said:

Are you saying that when you fill up with petrol you leave it in the ready mode?

Yes.  As the car is usually fully charged and warmed up the ICE will not start during the refuelling operation.

Obviously, If there will be no one in the car when I go to pay, I will switch off and lock the car.

[Cyker]

'eh I wouldn't go as far as to recommend that... there is still a chance the engine will start and the petrol station staff tend to get upset if they notice your engine is running while you are refuelling!!

I'd stick with the "If you're in the car, be in Ready Mode" advice, but definitely turn it off when getting out for more than very brief periods!!

[TonyHSD]

24 minutes ago, Roy124 said:

Yes.  As the car is usually fully charged and warmed up the ICE will not start during the refuelling operation.

Obviously, If there will be no one in the car when I go to pay, I will switch off and lock the car.

I believe this is wrong and not recommended. 
The car should be completely off when filing with fuel. Engine may fire up at any one moment and can even trigger engine fault if the tank filler cap is open. Best to switch the car off and then refill. Same applies for checking the engine oil level, coolant or brake fluid, with car switched off only. 
In my previous place with tons of Priuses there was a rule when the car comes into the garage for service to remove the key from it and keep it away from the car. 

[anchorman]

2 hours ago, Cowgirl said:

Are you saying that when you fill up with petrol you leave it in the ready mode?

I wouldn’t recommend that.  Turn the car off while refuelling.  If nothing other than the radio is on the 12v Battery will cope but it won’t run the climate control and other items for very long as it isn’t designed or rated to do that.  Don’t let this worry you Caroline, these Battery issues are few and far between and only occur after long periods of standing during which the recommendations for periodic use of the ready mode were not followed or misuse by the owner (which is often quite innocently done).  

[Cowgirl]

It’s OK, I have always turned off the engine when refuelling. That’s what I was taught to do.

I’m assuming that if you have a push button start/stop that you can’t get acc mode.