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
The electrical consumers that can draw on the 12 volt battery when the vehicle is unused, include a dash cam if parking mode is enabled, I think it’s possibly contributing to the 12 volt battery drop. My 18 month old RAV4 12 volt battery has just let me down. My research has found the dash cam has developed a mind of its own. The car was unused for a while and I’m now forwarned and prepared for the problem. My dash cam now has parking mode disabled to see if this helps with the issue.
Hi Ray, thanks for your comment.
We are happy to hear you have solved your battery issues and thank you for providing this information for our readers.
Thanks.
This appears to be a known problem that Toyota UK refuse to acknowledge, far less do anything about. I’ve had this problem as well with my 21-month-old Yaris Cross, and was initially told it was due to my low mileage (9000pa!) and advised to buy a solar-powered trickle charger on Amazon before this advice was withdrawn. I routinely make 6-10 20-mile journeys each week, including motorway driving at 70mph. Despite that, my car had a totally flat battery after I’d been on holiday for 4 days.
This is my 6th Yaris, and my previous Yaris hybrid survived the pandemic without a blip. This Yaris Cross is a great car – apart from this power issue. The dealer has told me that it’s likely the auxiliary battery has been running down since the day I bought it, so it’s likely to go flat again in 12-18 months. I’ll get no warning of that. That’s not reassuring. Meanwhile the MyToyota app tell me I’m driving the car really well.
I find it beyond unsatisfactory that Toyota is advising customers to buy parts they don’t sell themselves while the car is under warranty, simply in order to keep the car going. The dealer has more or less acknowledged that there’s a problem – they seem to be dealing with similar issues daily – but could only advise me to contact Toyota Customer Relations. They bounced me back to the dealer!
I note an earlier Toyota response which said that Toyota use a small-than-usual auxiliary battery in hybrids these days. Perhaps that’s the problem?
If this isn’t resolved satisfactorily asap, I’ll have little option other than to contact the Motor Ombudsman or perhaps Which magazine, etc.. I’m certainly getting nowhere here. I’d advise other customers to do likewise if Toyota doesn’t step up to the plate.
Hi Allan,
We sincerely apologise for our delay in getting back to you.
Is this query something you still require assistance with?
Thanks.
We have a 22 plate Yaris cross , last year after return from an extended holiday car was completely dead ,AA came and got us going – 12v battery completely flat , had to leave the car on the drive “running” using our other car to block the drive as a basic security measure.
Only today after being used just a few times over the Christmas break , same again , granted not quite as bad as we could at least unlock the car in the first place -AA came out and got it going , again had to leave on drive running – not ideal AA advised 12v battery needs replacing so booked with main dealership for next week – wait and see if they agree with the diagnosis
There must be a fault with either the model or the type of battery that’s fitted – strange how when you buy the vehicle the need to keep it in constant use is never mentioned, previously Toyota dealership said that if car was not going to be used for a while disconnect the 12v battery
How would the in built security features work then ?? Let alone how to lock and leave secure
Are there any known solutions out there as we have numerous cars over the years all without battery problem’s ,a problem such as this is simply not what you expect from Toyota who on the face of it pride themselves on reliability
I think you should set up a complain section and put forward to the Motor ombudsman
I fully support it and I have similar problem
I bought my Yaris Cross in March 2022
My CHR (70 reg) has let me down for the third time in a year, getting pretty fed up with it to be quite honest. Did a 400 mile journey last week and have only left it for 48 hours without driving it. Jump started it with NOCO power pack (brilliant little device, every Toyota hybrid owner should have one). Have now got it booked in for a battery discharge but am fairly sure it is all going to be my fault for not driving it enough. Toyota need to sort this out even if it is a return to fitting an old fashioned voltmeter to the car so that at least you may have some warning that the battery is discharging. There are plenty of fancy graphics on the info screen, adding a battery condition graphic cannot be beyond the wit of man.
I am having the same problem with my Yaris 70 reg. AA have come to start me at least twice and local centre have changed 1 battery under warranty. I recently had a medical problem and the vehicle was left in my garage for 9/10 days. It failed to start and dash board told me to drive to my nearest centre!,!!. what a farce. AA soon in attendance and car got started . I was informed to leave in run mode for at least 45 minutes on the drive. (security problem there) keys in etc.
Surely there must be an answer somewhere within Toyota to solve this problem or is it cheaper for Toyota for me to keep paying my recovery fees every year.
Hi Clive,
Thanks for your comment.
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 whilst your Yaris is stationary for a period of time.
Thanks.
Why do we need to buy a trickle charger when we paid a pretty good sum of money to buy the car. Why is Toyota not told us of their problem saying the car is not for you if you only do round town mileage
You suggestion is not acceptable
Oh yeah do motorway run once a week for 29 mins at least
Where do you want me to go? Spending unnecessary money on my fuel and polluting the environment
I have the same battery issue on my Toyota Yaris Design, I am told I do not drive it enough.. These cars are advertised for their “run around” town small cars, no mention of battery problems.. I am retired and due to the car letting me down a few times, feel quite nervous when I go out as I know I am going to be let down again and wish I had stuck with my old B200 – at least it was very reliable
My local Toyota garage have said there is nothing wrong with the battery…My RAC man disagrees
Hi
I have Toyota auris hybrid 2011
It’s 12 v battry starting problem keep coming wornig light
I think need to change battery
How many years new 12v battery warranty or guaranty
What battry size….
Hi Yashin, thanks for getting in contact.
We are sorry to hear you have been experiencing these issues.
Your Toyota Centre are best placed to advise on this. You can locate your closest centre here:
https://www.toyota.co.uk/find-a-dealer
Please let us know if you have any further questions.
Thanks.
Ibought my Yaris Cross August 2022. At the time of ordering I asked if the hybrid battery would stay charged for 3months a time I received a reply from the salesman that it would. (As i’m often away that long) This it transpires was an out and out lie from your dealer. 3 times I’ve had to call the AA out. I ask my local dealship what was the Toyota recommended trickle charger, I was told there isn’t one.
When I bought the car a lot was said about me now being Part of the Toyota family. I ask you as a family member what can I do to ensure my car starts on return from my 3 monthly trips abroad. Maybe your cars should be sold with a warning.
My mother-in-law (83) has just bought a 2020 Yaris Hybrid and has had numerous problems with the battery not holding its charge. The garage have told her she must go out and drive the car every day for at least 45-60 minutes or this will keep happening. She only uses the car to go shopping once or twice a week but they have said this is not enough to stop the battery from running out of charge. However like many people on here, she does not want to go out every day in the car and she shouldn’t have to! I have also read that another alternative would be to go out and leave the car on for an hour once a week but at the moment the car is not lasting that long and again, she should not have to be doing this. If a battery goes completely flat after just a couple of days of not using the car, then this is absolutely not fit for purpose.
I noticed that in the US there is class action against Toyota because of this reason in the RAV4s and wondered if there was a similar action in the UK or for the Yaris, as the response from Toyota has been extremely unhelpful so far.
My wife has a 2021 yaris cross bought new already have had the battery replaced as the dealer said it was faulty.
Now as she is unable to drive at the moment car was started not driven 5 days ago and now battery completely dead as it would not even turn over when i tried to start it this morning.
So that would tell me if we went on holidays for a length of time when we return we would have the same problem.
I will now have to call toyota assist yet again.
This has to be one of the worse cars we have ever bought as this is only one of many problems we have had with this car.
Hi Gerard, thanks for getting in touch.
We are very sorry to hear you are experiencing this and completely understand your frustration.
We would recommend contacting our Customer Relations team to discuss this further.
The team can be found here: https://www.toyota.co.uk/help-centre#/
Please let us know if we can assist with any other problems or queries.
Thanks.
I had similar problem with battery Had to call out AA He said many people are reporting similar problem I was not told by Toyota Salesman this will be issues It is disgrace that company know this issue yet no solutions to this issue I Donot wish to drive 60 minutes every week for no reason I think Toyata should correct this problem or refund the money