As the UK government has instructed the nation to stay at home and only venture out for specific, essential reasons in light of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) situation, many of us are being encouraged to park our cars if we can. Some owners of Toyota hybrids might be wondering what will happen to their car during long periods without use, particularly when it comes to the level of charge in the batteries.
The reassuring news is that no difficult car maintenance is necessary. However, there are some tips that, if followed, can help ensure your Toyota remains in tip-top condition during an extended layoff.
To recap, Toyota hybrids generally contain two batteries: a 12-volt battery (which powers systems such as the headlamps and audio) and a high-voltage hybrid system battery (which supplies the power to start the combustion engine and drive the electric motors).
The simplest way to maintain charge in both of these batteries is to simply go through the normal start procedure: press the ‘Start’ button with your foot on the brake and ensure the ‘Ready’ light is illuminated on the dashboard (you don’t have to keep your foot on the brake thereafter, but ensure your vehicle’s transmission is in ‘Park’ and the parking brake is engaged).
We recommend you put the car in ‘Ready’ mode for about 60 minutes before switching it off again and repeat the process at least once a week, providing you can carry out this procedure while adhering to the government’s advice regarding social distancing and Coronavirus (Covid-19). Please do not leave your car unattended when it is in ‘Ready’ mode.
During the time that that car is in ‘Ready’ mode, you may hear and feel the internal combustion engine kick in; this is a normal part of the self-charging process. You might be tempted to switch on the radio to pass the time, or turn on other systems, but bear in mind these will consume small amounts of electrical power so it is preferable to leave them off.
Ensure the handbrake is on; there’s no need to go for a drive, although we must stress that this procedure should take place in a well-ventilated area – something to consider if you park your vehicle in a garage.
What if my Toyota isn’t a hybrid?
Our petrol and diesel cars only have a 12-volt battery, which provides the power to start the engine in addition to the other systems mentioned above. Regular start-up of the vehicle on conventional petrol and diesel engines needs approximately 20 minutes of running to put back into the battery what you remove on start up, so to maintain this battery we would suggest 60 minutes of running at least once a week.
Is there anything else I need to do?
Whether you own a hybrid or a Toyota equipped solely with an internal combustion engine, there are a few other easy car maintenance points that can ensure your Toyota hybrid remains healthy and happy during an enforced hibernation. Again, please adhere to the latest government advice regarding social distancing.
- Check the tyre pressures are fully inflated to the recommended level and top-up if necessary. It can be a good idea to repeat this process when you first drive your car after a long period of inactivity.
- Clean the car thoroughly inside and out. If you are storing your car in a garage, make sure the vehicle is completely dry before you put it away.
- If you do plan to store your car in a garage, ensure the chosen storage area offers plenty of ventilation. If the space is secure, you could consider opening one of the car’s windows a small way to ventilate the interior. If you do this, you might have to change your car alarm’s setting to prevent it setting off the intrusion sensor – please consult your car’s manual for more information.
- It can be beneficial to leave the vehicle with the parking brake disengaged to prevent the brakes from binding, but only do this if you are certain the car is on level terrain and isn’t going to move. Ensure the transmission is set to ‘P’ for park and place wedges or chocks, if you have them, under the wheels.
- If you have a 12V battery trickle charger, or a solar panel charger, and are confident using them, then these are a good option to keep the battery fully charged while the vehicle is stationary for a period of time.
- If your vehicle is equipped with smart entry and start but the system isn’t operated for a long time, a battery-saving function will automatically be activated to prevent the electronic key battery and the 12-volt battery from being discharged. Battery depletion in the key is minimised by stopping the electronic key from receiving radio waves. On many models equipped with this system, it is possible to manually put the key into battery-saving mode, so please consult your car’s handbook for more information. If you aren’t planning to drive your car for a long time, consider putting the smart key in a safe place and not carrying it around with you in your pocket. This will prevent the car from ‘waking up’ unnecessarily should you happen to walk near it in your garage or driveway.
- If the vehicle will be kept on private property (such as inside a garage) for the duration of its storage, you could consider applying for a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN). This informs the DVLA that the car is off the road and you will receive a refund of any remaining full months of tax. However, you won’t be able to drive your car legally until you tax it again, so it is only advisable if you are positive you won’t use your car for a long time. You can read more information about how to SORN your car here.
Read more Toyota GB’s latest statement on the Coronavirus (Covid-19) situation
Corolla Hybrid 2lt 2019. When the car is left on ready for 60mins to charge the auxilliary battery, the parking lights turn on automatically in low light conditions. Is there a way to turn them off and how do they affect the charging process if tgey are on?
Hi, thanks for your question.
Please provide a Vehicle Registration so that we can look into this.
Thanks.
LA19GAO
Hi Alvaro, thanks for your question.
Our Technical Team have advised that you can turn the light switch from Auto to Side Lights, however you need to manually switch back to Auto to turn them off. More details on this can be found in your Owner’s Manual. The charging process is not effected by the lights being on.
Thanks.
I purchased Toyata Yaris 2years ago and have start up trouble from the beginning. Nobody told me I have to drive this car everyday. The salesman who knew my yearly mileage is Less than 3000 miles a yesr. I have called AA hundreds of time to start this car. My car service is done by toyata. Sometime they blamed me for leaving some lights on (which was no the case) . I live on own and need a reliable car. This my 4th car (Toyata) and I change my car every 3 years!
Hi, thanks for your comment.
We are sorry to hear about this experience.
If you are not driving your car regularly, we would recommend following some of the tips in this mag article to keep your hybrid healthy: https://mag.toyota.co.uk/coronavirus-toyota-hybrid-car-maintenance/.
Please contact our Customer Relations Team to discuss this further. You can find them here: https://www.toyota.co.uk/help-centre#/iframe/https%3A%2F%2Fforms.toyota.co.uk%2Fcontact-us.
Thanks.
Had to call breakdown company as the battery was flat. I had this problem 60 years ago with an old Ford Prefect, quite disgusting when it seems to be happening to top of the range 2 year old Toyota Yaris. I have in the last 2 years often boasted about how good this car was, but when it is unreliable, it is useless. I am sure if Toyota comment it will be about trickle chargers etc, If they are needed this vehicle is not fit for purpose. I had hoped to keep my vehicle for its life, but I shall be out of Toyota as soon as I can afford to be so.
Hi Roger, thanks for your comment.
We are sorry to hear about this experience and apologise for the distress and inconvenience it has caused.
We would recommend contacting our Customer Relations Team regarding this. You can find them here: https://www.toyota.co.uk/help-centre#/iframe/https%3A%2F%2Fforms.toyota.co.uk%2Fcontact-us.
Thanks.
Just thought I would let you see some of an email I received yesterday
“am looking to buy a replacement that is more green than the car I have currently. I remembered you telling me about your electric/hybrid car, and that you are very happy with it. I was wondering if you could let me know the make of your car and whether it has a high driving seat position (which I need since having back surgery)? Is it a car you would recommend? ”
It was ofcourse my 18 month old Toyota Yaris. Now 3 months ago I would have said, yes buy one great car, sadly today I am saying “Don’t go near a Toyota with a bargepole and where ever you buy just check on how the 12v battery charges”
Same thing keeps happening to my 2021 Yaris Dynamic. 6 jump starts in a year and a half. This is after 3 days of not being used. I know the 12V battery is not used to crank the engine but is is used to power up other components. As soon as I press the start button I get a dash message saying ‘Low Brake Pressure – take to Toyota dealer’. This is impossible if the car won’t start. Also the brake pedal vibrates and there is a grating sound. So I jump start the car with a power pack and all ready to go. This is all too common – not good Toyota – fix it!!!!!.
Hi Robert, thanks for your comment.
We are sorry to hear about this situation and apologise for the inconvenience this has caused.
In some cases, infrequent usage and short journeys can mean that the 12 volt battery doesn’t fully charge. Once the hybrid system is on (as indicated by the READY light), the 12 volt battery will be charged by the high voltage battery, which in turn is powered by the engine. However, if you are leaving your car unattended for a longer period of time, you could consider using a solar powered intelligent charger or a trickle charger.
Once again, we are sorry that you’re unhappy about this and if you would like to discuss this further, please contact our Customer Relations Team here: https://www.toyota.co.uk/help-centre#/iframe/https%3A%2F%2Fforms.toyota.co.uk%2Fcontact-us.
Thanks.
I have just gone through this failure of the battery the AA refused to transport my GR Yaris to the nearest Toyota dealer I then had to pay a local green flag mechanic £ 200 to recover my car to the dealer the AA then sent me a report of the service and stated that if this happens again they will charge a fee to attend
So the break down service for a new Toyota has stopped after 6 months when I ask my nearest Toyota service department how to connect to the 12v battery they refuse to inform me all I want to do is connect a smart battery charger to the terminals every time I park in my garage overnight and leave it on trickle charge so I can resolve my problem I am now considering The sale of goods act procedure
Hi Frank,
We are sorry to hear about the inconvenience this has caused.
Your Toyota Centre are best placed to physically inspect your vehicle and provide any recommendations.
If you wish to discuss this further, please contact our Customer Relations team here – https://www.toyota.co.uk/help-centre#/iframe/https%3A%2F%2Fforms.toyota.co.uk%2Fcontact-us.
Thanks.
I have a 2016 Auris. After 1 week parked, the doors won’t open without a key and it won’t start.
I think the availability of a motor vehicle is its most important characteristic, followed by performance and reliability. If it’s unavailable, it doesn’t perform and it isn’t reliable.
There’s nothing wrong with the 12V battery but the standing load is too high. This is a design disaster Toyota, which renders your hybrid vehicles useless.
Please advise how you will compensate me for buying the wrong make/type of car.
Hi David, thanks for your comment.
We are sorry to hear this and apologise for the inconvenience this has caused.
If there is an issue with your vehicle, we would advise contacting your Toyota Centre so that they can check this out.
In order to discuss this further, we would suggest contacting our Customer Relations Team. You can find them here: https://www.toyota.co.uk/help-centre#/iframe/https%3A%2F%2Fforms.toyota.co.uk%2Fcontact-us.
Thanks.
Having just had to jump start my Yaris Cross, I was surprised to find this forum and the number of other posts about flat batteries after a vehicle has not been used for a fairly short period of time. I have not read all the posts but 2 observations spring to mind that I have not seen mentioned elsewhere.
All newish vehicles have an OBD port – normally located in the driver footwell. This is powered even with the car vehicle switched off and is much easier to connect a solar charger to than to the battery terminals under the bonnet. Some solar & trickle chargers now come with an OBD connector. Instead of trying to avoid mentioning that this port exists it would be helpful if Toyota gave practical advice/warnings on its use for keeping the batteries topped up.
After using the vehicle it is not obvious what the status of the batteries is. It should not be difficult to provide a software update that would display the battery status when the power is turned off. A low charge status would provide a warning to the driver to connect a charger or to perform the recommended “leave car in Ready mode” action if the vehicle is to be unused for a period.
Another sucker who bought a Yaris hybrid (now 1 year old) which now won’t start as the battery is flat, for the second time. The last time I had a battery problem with a car was a 30 year old MGB; this is a pathetic situation for a modern high tech car.I read the answer is to get a trickle charger; who the hell should have trickle charge a modern car. And where do you connect it? Remove the panel from under the back seat and connect to the battery? How many people can do that, not that they should ever have to. Seems like the sort of issue that a class action law firm should be looking into.
And please Toyota do not reply with one of those lame automated messages.
Hi Daniel, thanks for your comment.
We are sorry to hear about this experience and apologise for the inconvenience this has caused. We understand your frustration.
If you would like to discuss this case further, we would recommend contacting our Customer Relations Team. You can find them here: https://www.toyota.co.uk/help-centre#/iframe/https%3A%2F%2Fforms.toyota.co.uk%2Fcontact-us.
We would like to assure you that our messages are not automated.
Thanks.
But they did reply with one of those lame auto messages. Because they really do NOT have an answers, we are stuck with it, Toyota hope that it will not leak out too much and they can keep selling these awful, useless, unreliable machines to unsuspecting punters
THANK YOU to all of you for posting about this problem. I just got rid of my 2014 Mazda CX-5 (with only 20k miles) because of this precise problem (& the same non-helpfulness from the dealer.) Mine was just a conventional gas engine but would be dead as a doornail if it wasn’t driven for 3 days. My local garage measured a 700 milliamp parasitic drain on the battery after it was parked! (older cars only had about a 50 milliamp drain, and in a modern car normal is up 85 milliamps.) Personally I think the problem is all the bells & whistles AND some very sloppy programming. They are knowingly fielding cars that drain the battery when they’re turned off. I haven’t picked a replacement yet. I couldn’t stand ending up with an expensive paperweight again! Again, many thanks. No toyotas for me.
I too own a Toyota CHR- Hybrid and so far I have not had to charge the battery nor have I had a flat battery which seems amazing given all the issues owners have had on this post.
I did however find out that the hybrid battery is not getting enough charge due to short journeys therefore defeating the object of having hybrid at the moment.
I asked my local toyota dealership to have a look at this whilst having its service.
If I had known this at the time of purchase having not been told by the salesman I would’ve gone to other dealerships and asked the question about battery drainage etc.
It is so nice to see that Toyota seem to fob everyone off in this post with “oh so sorry blah blah contact our customer relations team”.
Ermmmm NO Toyota representitives on this thread should take the details and then pass to the relations team to contact them.not making the customer do all the running around….
I am able to change my car this time next year – 2024 so unless there is a significant improvement in the hybrid technology I think it will be a case of going back to petrol regardless of the carbon footprint nonsense or another dealership.
Lets face it the government can’t dictate that when they fly off here & there for “meetings”
How this crazy government thinks they are going to impliment all electric vehicles in the near future will be as rare as rocking horse poop….
I have a 2 year old CHR. After being left for 12 days in September 2022 it would not start due to the 12 volt battery dropping below the required level to fire up all the electronic guff in the car. Green flag got me going with a jump start. Main dealers know all about the problem but do not seem to advertise it too much unless you have a go at them. Their only advice is to buy a jump start pack or a trickle charger. Yesterday the car would not start again, I jumped it myself with a small battery pack I purchased after the last incident. Back to the main dealers again and got the same spiel as the last time. I have now bought a solar trickle charger so now have a nice collection of starting accessories for the car. A car that will not start is completely useless and as others have mentioned on this thread it is many years since I have had to call out the breakdown services. This is unacceptable on a modern car especially from Toyota who have a good reputation for reliability. It must be a fairly easy problem to fix. I will think very carefully before buying another Toyota unless this problem is fixed.
Hi Brian, thanks for reaching out to us.
We understand your frustration and apologise for the inconvenience this has caused.
For hybrids, it is recommended to place the vehicle into ‘ready’ mode for around 60 minutes each week. This will help to ensure the health of both the Hybrid and the 12v battery. In order to do this, all you need to do is press the ‘start’ button with your foot on the brake and the ‘ready’ light will show on the dashboard. You can then remove your foot but make sure to keep the vehicle in ‘P’ mode with the parking brake engaged. Remember to keep an eye on your vehicle at all times and do not leave it unattended.
If you would like to discuss this further, we would recommend contacting our Customer Relations Team. You can find them here: https://www.toyota.co.uk/help-centre#/iframe/https%3A%2F%2Fforms.toyota.co.uk%2Fcontact-us.
Thanks.