12v battery maintenance, issues, etc.

[scar]

Today I got a warning message up on my wife's Yaris hybrid. The car had been driven about 10 miles yesterday and a couple miles today before I parked up and put my radio on. It was only only a few minutes when the message popped up (attached photo).

I have had a read of the handbook and they talk of putting it in ready mode and leaving it to charge the Battery via the engine running. I don't particularly want to do that and would prefer to charge the Battery via my mains charger.

Is what I have experienced normal ?

I have a RAV4 hybrid which does a lot less miles than the Yaris but has not displayed a similar message. 

 

[john p williams]

Yes it is Stephen.Follow Handbook advice.

[martswain]

Perfectly normal message, but not usual to see it that quickly.

How old is the vehicle ?

Follow the handbook advice.

[flash22]

If the Agm 12v is low they take ages to charge fully as its not always being charge when the engine is running if you park off road or in a garage a Battery maintainer aka trickle charger wouldn't be a bad idea

 

These AGM batteries like to charge low (current) and slow

[scar]

2 hours ago, martswain said:

Perfectly normal message, but not usual to see it that quickly.

How old is the vehicle ?

Follow the handbook advice.

Its 6 weeks old. 900 miles on the clock. Built to order, so no standing around.

[scar]

2 hours ago, flash22 said:

If the Agm 12v is low they take ages to charge fully as its not always being charge when the engine is running if you park off road or in a garage a battery maintainer aka trickle charger wouldn't be a bad idea

 

These AGM batteries like to charge low (current) and slow

Thats good advice, will put it on a trickle charge.

[scar]

Put it on a trickle charge and it went from charging to maintenance in 15 mins. So it seems the Battery is in fine health. I would suspect the engineers have set the threshold of the warning I saw at a very low level. That would discourage using electrical accessories, in my case the radio. Whilst the car is 6 weeks old this is the first time I have sat in it and listened to the radio so it may happen on a regular basis.

My wife had a petrol Audi before that and a similar warning would come on but not as quick.

The difficult part was releasing the 3 tabs that hold the fuse top cover in place. One is easy to get at the other 2 more difficult. On a dark night without a torch virtually impossible. 

[Mike J.]

1 hour ago, scar said:

That would discourage using electrical accessories, in my case the radio. Whilst the car is 6 weeks old this is the first time I have sat in it and listened to the radio so it may happen on a regular basis.

When I park up to relax, etc., I always keep the 'system' running (and thus charging the 12V battery) with park set and 'handbrake' on. This keeps the cabin air perfect, whatever the weather. Obviously not recommended in an enclosed area as the engine may start (for heater or traction Battery replenishment)..

[Roy124]

Scar, my Corolla is also fairly new. and does the same.   It really depends on what you call a few minutes.  With Covid I stay in the car while my wife goes shopping.  I switch off the engine, start Acessory, and listed to the radio.  It cuts out after 15 minutes or so.  The other day I stopped and left the car in Hold.  After a few minutes I was instructed to put the car in Park.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Toyota: advice on battery maintenance during lockdown or lack of use. - General Discussions - Toyota Owners Club - Toyota Forum

[nontoyotalover]

Having not long purchased a new 2021 Yaris Excel Hybrid....may I say... and after owning mumerous excellent Toyotas in past 50 years....that this Yaris is the worst car ever priduced by Toyota.  Even the Warning list in the handbook gives one a lack of confidence.  I have had numerous intermittent warnings regards Battery levels...traction or other.  Will I buy another Toyota....possibly not unless they revert back to good engineering practices as in the past.   Be warned if thinking of buying  new Yaris.  Perhaps the problems start with where it is built...France.

[Catlover]

On 10/26/2020 at 3:21 PM, scar said:

I have had a read of the handbook and they talk of putting it in ready mode and leaving it to charge the battery via the engine running. I don't particularly want to do that and would prefer to charge the battery via my mains charger.

The engine will not be running all the time Stephen. Putting the car into Ready mode means they hybrid Battery will in effect charge the 12v Battery. Most of the time that will be silently. However, when the hybrid Battery gets low the engine will kick in to charge the hybrid battery. This should only last a couple minutes for say 3 times an hour. If you turn all electrics off whilst this process is happening then less chance the engine starting often. It is Toyotas way of doing it without a charger. 

[Mikw]

6 hours ago, Catlover said:

The engine will not be running all the time Stephen. Putting the car into Ready mode means they hybrid battery will in effect charge the 12v battery. Most of the time that will be silently. However, when the hybrid battery gets low the engine will kick in to charge the hybrid battery. This should only last a couple minutes for say 3 times an hour. If you turn all electrics off whilst this process is happening then less chance the engine starting often. It is Toyotas way of doing it without a charger. 

Quite. If the hyrid Battery level is quite high, and you turn off the climate control, the engine only comes on for a moment after about 30-40 minutes.

[Cyker]

8 hours ago, nontoyotalover said:

Having not long purchased a new 2021 Yaris Excel Hybrid....may I say... and after owning mumerous excellent Toyotas in past 50 years....that this Yaris is the worst car ever priduced by Toyota.  Even the Warning list in the handbook gives one a lack of confidence.  I have had numerous intermittent warnings regards battery levels...traction or other.  Will I buy another Toyota....possibly not unless they revert back to good engineering practices as in the past.   Be warned if thinking of buying  new Yaris.  Perhaps the problems start with where it is built...France.

Oh trust me, they've gotten a lot better at the French factory: You should see the Mk2 I had... abysmal build quality - Worthy of Tesla!   In contrast, everything on the Mk4 actually fits together properly!  

The warnings in the manual are mainly to cover their backsides, as a lot of people are idiots with no common sense. Think back to that thing in the USA "Oooh my car is accelerating by itself and I crashed!" and these people didn't think to brake or put the car in neutral or switch the engine off or move the mat off the accelerator (Seriously, how can you have a car accident because a floor mat is on the accelerator?! People must work very hard to achieve that level of idiocy!).

So now they have to put a million warnings on everything - It's not just Toyota, literally all manufacturers of everything, not just cars (e.g. Warning, May Contain Nuts on a box of Kelloggs Crunchy Nut Cornflakes, or a salted peanut packet! Or Caution, May Be Hot on hot beverages, ovens, stoves, kettles, matches...) - Because people are idiots with overinflated senses of self-entitlement and not enough of responsibility.

Anyway, if you think it is the worst car they've made, you really need to try my old Mk2 1.33L Yaris - The Mk4 Excel is like a god-like buck rogers rocket ship compared to that thing!

 

The whole 12v draining because they left the car in Accessory-only mode thing is stupid anyway - I don't know why anyone would have a problem with leaving it in Ready mode; It's not like the engine is running 90% of the time in Ready mode, and that lets the traction Battery charge the 12v Battery.

There is literally no reason to run the car off the 12v Battery alone when there is a massive traction battery that can do all that!

I can understand if someone coming from a normal car had gotten used to doing that because they didn't want the engine running, but that is something easy to unlearn in a hybrid... because the engine doesn't run when you're stationary in Ready mode! (Well, unless the traction battery is super low, then the engine starts up, charges it, then switches off again!)

Plus in Ready mode, the AC still works, which it wouldn't in Accessory mode...

[Catlover]

Well said Cyker, add to what you said …… also put the blame at the door of legal companies that make a good living by wanting to claim thousands of £’s on behalf of “victims” of stupid incidents. I have had more then a few phone calls from companies saying they can “claim damages on my behalf in a road accident I had 3 years ago”, when I not been in a road accident 3 years ago. We, the motorist pays for those spoofs in car insurance cost.

 

 

 

[Kim 123]

I was just flicking through some old threads that I had previously missed and this one has got my attention.  This is my first hybrid (and automatic) car and with my other diesel Yaris if I was parked up and wanted to listen to the radio I'd turn the engine off.  With my new Yaris when I put it into park and then pressed the power button I couldn't listen to the radio so was actually listening through a phone app! 

I feel stupid now, so if I am parked up and just want to listen to the radio for a while I put it in P and leave the power button alone? Is that all, or do I need to do anything else? The "handbrake" automatically goes on when I put it into P.

 

 

[Cyker]

Yeah, just 'leave the engine running' as it were; No need to turn it 'off' back to e.g. position 2/accessory mode like you would in a normal car.

I just leave it in P in Ready mode, although if I'm going to be parked for a while I usually turn the car off and on again (To ready mode, so i.e.  press power to turn off, hold footbrake, press power to turn on) so the DRLs stay off, because I hate DRLs with a passion and am very conscious of beaming them at other drivers unnecessarily.

 

[Kim 123]

Thank you!

[Shivers]

Learned my lesson on this the hard way. Thanks for the advice.

[Jasper.]

Please can someone confirm the type of 12 volt Battery fitted to my 2021 Yaris hybrid  ?

I have been given a Noco GB40 boost starter and this is only recommended for use on lead acid batteries.

Just wondering if it's suitable if I'm ever in the unfortunate position of needing a 'jump start'..

 

Thanks...

[Cyker]

All 12v batteries are lead-acid!

Do you mean it's only suitable for flooded lead acid batteries (Can be trickle-charged) and not AGM (Really don't like to be trickle-charged; Prefer cyclic on-off charging)-type?

TBH as it's just a starter pack, it should be fine - You won't need to leave it connected for ages before trying to turn the car on as hybrids need very little current to start - Just connect it, put the car in Ready mode, then you can disconnect it again. Make sure you know where the + terminal is as it's not in the normal car place (i.e. don't rip the passenger seat apart to get at the 12v Battery!), but rather on a red covered terminal in the fuse box under the bonnet.

[Catlover]

That Noco GB 40 is more than adequate to jump start  hybrid Battery. As Cyker says, you need little power to get to the point the hybrid Battery takes over. However, £99 is a lot for a jump starter. If you want a jump starter there are plenty less priced that suits a small 12v Battery.  
My Prius has not been used for 8 days, and not a lot on the last day. Today, I put the car into Ready mode, and just sat in it for 50 minutes (with my ipad so I wasnt bored) and just let the big hybrid battery charge up the 12v battery, just as Cyker said. I Norwich it will be good for another week now.

[Catlover]

The 12v Battery you will have is an AGM type, that is Absorbent Glass Mat. There is acid in an AGM Battery but not sloshing about, hence it is a safety feature when fitted inside a cabin area of a car, which it is in your Yaris. In case the Battery bursts open, as in a crash, there is no acid thrown about seriously causing injuries.          
If you keep the 12v battery up on charge either by putting the car into Ready position as already mentioned, or use a battery charger a few times a year to take the battery slowly up to 100% charge. A CTEX 5 is a good charger to do that and more (rejuvenates as well).

[Dala]

NOCO writes that it can also be at WET, GEL, MF, EFB and AGM 

https://no.co/media/nocodownloads/format/g/b/gb40_sell_sheet_4.22.2020_1.pdf

The problem may be in the distance for NOCO cables 

 

longer cable manufacturer does not produce 
I've already contacted him

[RickyC]

There's no need to connect the negative clamp to D point.   The Battery negative is connected to car chassis so there're plenty of points that can be used for negative clamp closer than D point.