suitability of Corolla hybrid purchase

[Gray86]

If you have a driveway or garage then I’d recommend a smart charger (I use a CTEK MXS. 5.0) to keep your Battery in tip top condition. Letting it go flat then boosting it is a sure fire way to decrease the life of your 12v Battery. 

[poppy1]

How often should  you use this sort of charger? Is it when car hasn’t been used for several days? Or just build it into ownership and do it regularly? Or is there some way of seeing what level the Battery is?

[Gray86]

49 minutes ago, poppy1 said:

How often should  you use this sort of charger? Is it when car hasn’t been used for several days? Or just build it into ownership and do it regularly? Or is there some way of seeing what level the battery is?

I work from home, so leave my car for several days in the garage unused. I only charge the 12v when Ive not done any significant driving over a couple of weeks, then I plug it in - takes 2mins to clip it onto the Battery and I leave it for the rest of the day or overnight - can be left on for months and will just maintain the Battery. Typically only takes up to 5hrs to charge as it’s a small Battery, and you can do it as often as you like. A worthwhile purchase as Electric cars also have small 12v batteries and can suffer the same fate if left unused. 
 

The mode number displayed as switched on will show how depleted the battery is. Often starts on 3 for me (1 or 2 would be a very low battery). 
 

I never charge mine in summer - as warmer climate doesn’t deplete it like cold, and I tend to use the car more then anyway 

[poppy1]

That’s good to know. I think it’s worth knowing what to do and how to care for Battery if we do get a hybrid. 
 

Thanks to everyone for their helpful advice.

[poppy1]

One other query - if we wanted to have front and rear dash cam fitted, does this have any impact on the Battery.

[AndrueC]

12 minutes ago, poppy1 said:

One other query - if we wanted to have front and rear dash cam fitted, does this have any impact on the battery.

That probably depends how it's wired in. If it includes the ability to detect collisions while the car is parked it will be wired to get power all the time in which case it will put a 24/7 drain on the Battery which will exacerbate the issue.

On the other hand if it's only intended to operate while the vehicle is moving it can (should) be wired into the accessory circuit in which case it will only draw power while the vehicle is operating and shouldn't make any difference.

[simond64]

47 minutes ago, poppy1 said:

One other query - if we wanted to have front and rear dash cam fitted, does this have any impact on the battery.

I have a new TS and opted for a Finevu gx1000 front and rear with parking mode, no issue with Battery, check out www.dashcams.co.uk in power save mode up to 96 hrs parking mode, this company are very knowledgeable

[Stopeter44]

13 hours ago, AndrueC said:

I also think that the issue of the 12v battery is overstated and probably just from people who left the car unused for several weeks during Covid lockdowns.

I didn’t have a problem during lockdown, I have only once had a problem, that was when I left the car for three weeks unused.