Hybrid Battery Guide

[Nick David B]

I am keen to buy a car : Auris Hybrid 2010 model with less than 30,000 miles. Do you believe this cars hybrid Battery will be healthy and run well with such little mileage done ?

The car has only been driven 2000 miles in last 5 years. Toyota did a hybrid health check in 2023 and was approved.  It has full service history from Toyota

Any advice or experiences would be appreciated on this matter

[TonyHSD]

Hi and welcome. 
The hybrid Battery likely to be in better condition on low miles car in comparison to a high miles example. Although with age the chemistry inside the cells is also aged and it is a highly possible to have a need of replacing the Battery in near future. If the car has up to date Toyota service history and successfully pass Battery health check you will be covered against battery failure up to 15 years from first date the car was registered. After that only cost £1935 in London area for new battery all in. 
My car, same year but with just under 270 000 miles needs new battery which I am planned to replace myself over next two weeks. Battery price itself is £1448

[Nick David B]

Thanks so much Tony 

What signs should I look for  

Poor Mpg ?

Any other signs or sounds  ?

Would the electronics in drivers dash have any indicators 

 

I noticed on when car was left on in ignition as we inspected it that from time to time it switched itself onto idle engine running Is it normal for this in order to give the Battery some charge perhaps if its low ?

 

I also noticed that the mpg was very low 13mpg after returning on a short drive of a max 2 miles around town , I was surprise it was displaying  this  ? but perhaps you need to reset it  in someway? and with a short trip like that it would not have created a good summary of mpg ? and I dont know what the car had been doing the rest of the day ?

 

 

 

 

 

[Saxmaniac]

Mpg like that is to be expected for a 2 mile trip. It needs to do 10 miles or more to be fully warmed up and giving full efficiency. I find best economy at a steady 40 to 60 mph. Don't worry about the Battery, it will let you k when it's in trouble. Keep the fan clean and worry more about the conventional bits like engine, fluids, servicing brakes properly (stripping and lubing) and keeping an eye on the dreaded tin worm 

[TonyHSD]

Hi, 

the usual signs about old and tired hybrid Battery are slightly reduced mpg, sudden Battery charge loss, for example when the engine is off and you are waiting at traffics lights, or when you arrive at your destinations with full Battery then  after two minutes wait you have start to drive again and the battery goes down quickly and engine starts instead of driving on ev for a while. 
The most common signs though are these : Quick charge to full and quick discharge to empty and of course the more often engine run. 
 

Another sign is when accelerating to joint motorways for example  the car will do that slower and mostly or entirely on petrol power. 
Also your air conditioning is powered by the high voltage battery and if the battery is not good using ac will affect more the charge and battery will lose quicker it’s power. 
However in your case all that you have described including the low mpg figures are very typical signs for any short test drives and any Toyota hybrid will show them even brand new one from a showroom. I have tested recently a new Corolla and all you mentioned for the Auris matches what I seen in the Corolla with the slight difference that Corolla was only 3 years old and 20k miles which means would have healthy battery while any battery at age 10+ years will most likely need a replacement in near future. 
There are apps on phones and with suitable obd 2 adapter you can check the battery, more flat diagram you see better is the condition. 
Here an example, V shape of dead hybrid battery diagram. 

 

[Nick David B]

On 2/29/2024 at 1:45 PM, Saxmaniac said:

Mpg like that is to be expected for a 2 mile trip. It needs to do 10 miles or more to be fully warmed up and giving full efficiency. I find best economy at a steady 40 to 60 mph. Don't worry about the battery, it will let you k when it's in trouble. Keep the fan clean and worry more about the conventional bits like engine, fluids, servicing brakes properly (stripping and lubing) and keeping an eye on the dreaded tin worm 

Many Thanks for your thoughts and feedback

[Nick David B]

On 2/29/2024 at 1:54 PM, TonyHSD said:

Hi, 

the usual signs about old and tired hybrid battery are slightly reduced mpg, sudden battery charge loss, for example when the engine is off and you are waiting at traffics lights, or when you arrive at your destinations with full battery then  after two minutes wait you have start to drive again and the battery goes down quickly and engine starts instead of driving on ev for a while. 
The most common signs though are these : Quick charge to full and quick discharge to empty and of course the more often engine run. 
 

Another sign is when accelerating to joint motorways for example  the car will do that slower and mostly or entirely on petrol power. 
Also your air conditioning is powered by the high voltage battery and if the battery is not good using ac will affect more the charge and battery will lose quicker it’s power. 
However in your case all that you have described including the low mpg figures are very typical signs for any short test drives and any Toyota hybrid will show them even brand new one from a showroom. I have tested recently a new Corolla and all you mentioned for the Auris matches what I seen in the Corolla with the slight difference that Corolla was only 3 years old and 20k miles which means would have healthy battery while any battery at age 10+ years will most likely need a replacement in near future. 
There are apps on phones and with suitable obd 2 adapter you can check the battery, more flat diagram you see better is the condition. 
Here an example, V shape of dead hybrid battery diagram. 

 

On 2/29/2024 at 1:54 PM, TonyHSD said:

Hi, 

the usual signs about old and tired hybrid battery are slightly reduced mpg, sudden battery charge loss, for example when the engine is off and you are waiting at traffics lights, or when you arrive at your destinations with full battery then  after two minutes wait you have start to drive again and the battery goes down quickly and engine starts instead of driving on ev for a while. 
The most common signs though are these : Quick charge to full and quick discharge to empty and of course the more often engine run. 
 

Another sign is when accelerating to joint motorways for example  the car will do that slower and mostly or entirely on petrol power. 
Also your air conditioning is powered by the high voltage battery and if the battery is not good using ac will affect more the charge and battery will lose quicker it’s power. 
However in your case all that you have described including the low mpg figures are very typical signs for any short test drives and any Toyota hybrid will show them even brand new one from a showroom. I have tested recently a new Corolla and all you mentioned for the Auris matches what I seen in the Corolla with the slight difference that Corolla was only 3 years old and 20k miles which means would have healthy battery while any battery at age 10+ years will most likely need a replacement in near future. 
There are apps on phones and with suitable obd 2 adapter you can check the battery, more flat diagram you see better is the condition. 
Here an example, V shape of dead hybrid battery diagram. 

 

Thanks so much Tony for your further replies on all matters. . . its so appreciated. Is there a model OBD adaptor you recommend at all ?

[TonyHSD]

6 hours ago, Nick David B said:

Thanks so much Tony for your further replies on all matters. . . its so appreciated. Is there a model OBD adaptor you recommend at all ?

You are welcome.

I personally use Carista Obd 2 older reversion of this https://amzn.eu/d/gpD0P4E

works really well with their own app which is free for a month and £47 a year subscription then after or 20£ for 3 months . You can use the adapter with different apps like hybrid assistant or dr Prius, these two works on android phones. It might look not so cheap but only simple diagnostic at a dealer is £130 and upwards so it worth every penny imo. You can also do some more settings like lock and unlock functions, interior lights, service resets , many more things. My car has 31 ecu scanned and newer cars over 40 ecu available to read. Definitely a good investment 👌

[Nick David B]

On 3/1/2024 at 8:57 PM, TonyHSD said:

You are welcome.

I personally use Carista Obd 2 older reversion of this https://amzn.eu/d/gpD0P4E

works really well with their own app which is free for a month and £47 a year subscription then after or 20£ for 3 months . You can use the adapter with different apps like hybrid assistant or dr Prius, these two works on android phones. It might look not so cheap but only simple diagnostic at a dealer is £130 and upwards so it worth every penny imo. You can also do some more settings like lock and unlock functions, interior lights, service resets , many more things. My car has 31 ecu scanned and newer cars over 40 ecu available to read. Definitely a good investment 👌

Again Big Thank Tony !

[TonyHSD]

1 hour ago, Nick David B said:

Again Big Thank Tony !

You are welcome.