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Will my Toyota hybrid be okay if I don’t drive it?

By Matt Burt

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.
Toyota hybrid storage
  • 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.
Toyota hybrid storage
  • 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.
Toyota hybrid storage
  • 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

765 comments

  1. Hi there, I have Toyota Auris Hybrid 2014 and few days ago while I was driving my car a message poped up on my car “Check Hybrid System”. I took my car to local garage they cleaned the filter and the message was gone. After one day same message appeared again with all the lights on, on my car. So I went to a garage again they checked my car with computer. They found the code P0A80. Which means replace hybrid battery. So the mechanic changed 4 battery cells. Put the battery back and the problem is still not fixed. Also now the car is not going into the gears/drive. Can you guide me?
    Thanks

    Reply

    1. Hi Harry,

      Thanks for getting in touch with us. We’re sorry to hear you’re still experiencing issues with your car. In this case, as we can’t assess your car ourselves we can’t accurately suggest what may be causing any issues. Therefore, we would recommend re-contacting your Toyota centre to discuss these new developments with them.

      You can find the contact details for your dealer here: https://www.toyota.co.uk/forms-v2/forms?tab=pane-dealer

      Thanks.

      Reply

  2. My car is Toyota hybrid 2007, the car is always packed Monday-Friday I only run it doing weekends, but on Sunday I notice a message popped up showing a line run through the battery

    Reply

  3. MY 2005 Prius died from non-use, so I paid the hundred bucks and jumped it.
    Now it’s fine but I’m not gonna drive it for long periods of time again,
    so how do I turn the battery off??

    Reply

    2. We have a Toyota CHR hybrid (September 2018)with approx 9000 miles on the clock. We have the same problem which non starting after non use as we have been under lockdown for a number of weeks and shielding. We went yesterday a drive of 41 miles one way and 41 miles home. We had to jump start to start the car, this allowed us to do our journey and come home. This morning I tried to start the car and lo and behold car would not start. We have been on to Toyota customer service and the local Ayr dealer they both say the car needs a good run so that is what we did yesterday to no avail. It would appear that there is a flaw in the battery, it would appear that the battery is under powered or needs to be a higher voltage. I do not be having the car for much longer

      Reply

      3. Hi Alexander,
        Thanks for your comment.
        There are a wide range of solar-powered trickle chargers available, and we don’t recommend a specific product.
        Thanks.

  4. Thanks, yes its in a Toyota garage, has been there since the 3rd so they can look at it over a period of time to see if they can work out what is draining it. My car wasn’t left for a long time, it was about 2 weeks but the time doesn’t seem to matter, it can be anything from 2 days and the battery dies. Our other hybrid is 8 years old and we haven’t had any of these problems, even in lockdown when its been sat on the drive for a month. If I have to charge it just to keep it going then in my opinion its not a reliable car and we won’t be having another one.

    Reply

    1. Hi Fiona,

      Thanks for getting back in touch.
      As the technicians at our Toyota centres are currently looking over your car, we would recommend raising any further concerns you have with them.
      Please be aware our technicians have extensive experience with our cars and are therefore best placed to offer further advice specific to your car.
      Once again, we are sorry for any distress this issue has caused.

      Thanks.

      Reply

  5. Both myself and my wife are new to the Toyota brand having both recently bought 2019 C-HR hybrid cars and like a number of other customers have found myself working from home with out the need to use the car with in the week days.
    Recently I had the misfortune of experiencing as other customers have mentioned the C-HR cures, a flat battery.
    The car stands on my drive for 3 to 5 days but gets readily used over the weekend, I called the AA they attended and advised that the battery was flat and recommended taking to the dealers to be checked over.
    My car was fully checked by the dealer and the diagnostics found no fault found with the battery.
    I mentioned the findings on the forum/blog / Toyota web page there advise was to remove a fuse ( having spent near £50k on to cars I was a bit horrified and annoyed at such a suggestion ).
    In your replies you have mentioned to customers to run in the ready mode / buy a trickle or solar charger should this not be free off charge until Toyota fixes the inherent flaw / fault within the brand after all this is a work around to the flaw and not a fix.
    We yearly holiday for three weeks away leaving the car at the airport is my first call back on my return going to be to the AA for a boast/charge against a flat battery.
    When the car is off / in shut down should this not be in sleep mode ? What is on with in the car to drain this weak battery. If the battery fully charged should it not be except able for the car to start after a three week window.
    Looking at some of the comments dated 2018 what are Toyota doing to fix the problem?

    Why is there not a fix after all this time ?

    Shouldn’t these cars be the way forward for the environment ?

    None of the sales guys mentioned that the cars needed to be constantly run, why not is this not mentioned or made clear.

    Very disappointed that Toyota has not fixed this long lasting issue

    Reply

    1. Hi Steve,
      Thanks for getting in touch. We’re really sorry to hear about the issue you’ve been experiencing with your C-HR.
      As with any car, the ideal situation would be for it to be in regular use rather than sitting on a driveway for prolonged periods, as we have been forced to do in recent times. Whilst the car should not need to be started every day, infrequent use combined with short journeys may not give the 12 volt battery enough time to fully charge, which could be what has happened in your situation. The 12 volt battery in our hybrids are smaller than most as they are only needed to run small systems in the car. One of these systems, is turning on the relays/switches that allow the hybrid system to turn on. Once the hybrid system is on (as indicated by the READY light), the 12 volt battery will be charged by the high voltage hybrid battery, which in turn is powered by the engine.
      To avoid this issue, we would therefore recommend either putting the car in ‘Ready’ mode for about 60 minutes once a week to maintain the battery or to take more frequent, longer journeys.
      We mention a solar powered intelligent charger to maintain the battery if the car is not being driven for longer periods.
      Once again, we are sorry to hear you’re unhappy with your car. If you would like to make a formal complaint or discuss your situation further, you can contact our customer relations team here: https://www.toyota.co.uk/contact-us/email-us
      Thanks.

      Reply

  6. C-HR excel, That’s it I have had enough, car going and I am never getting another Toyota, Everytime I come to use the car the battery is flat, I know I don’t use it everyday but then being retired why would I, It’s only used for short journeys when needed.
    The other day I even put the hazard lights on for 5 minutes whilst I did some work and the battery was flat again, causing a great deal of inconvenience as I had to leave the car whilst I returned home and borrowed a jump lead from a neighbour.
    I have purchased a solar trickle charger of 2.4 watts to keep the battery charged as suggested, but this obviously is of insufficient power as it is not helping, so what current does the car need in standby whilst locked and parked on my drive way, And if the auxiliary battery is big enough to keep the essentials alive what then is required of that battery to power up the computer. As it looks to me if The battery fitted is insufficient to supply the car’s needs.
    So far I have spent £100 pounds on jump starters and trickle chargers in addition to the car of course, why should I need to do this, and to keep lifting the bonnet every time I want to go anywhere is a joke.
    Don’t reply saying put it in ready mode for an hour a week, how is that good for the environment which was the main reason for purchasing the car and as for taking it back to the dealership they again will just recharge the battery overnight and say there is nothing wrong. The battery has been tested by them.
    I should have realised there was an issue with this car when purchasing it as two of the three cars available at the dealership had flat batteries, but not understanding at the time it was shrugged off, if I’d have realised then what was wrong I would have never ever purchased this car.
    Toyota sort this problem out, I can assure you at this time if anybody asks me about this car I will tell them the truth “ Not fit for purpose Do not purchase it”
    David

    Reply

    2. I totally agree with David… I have had the same problem with my exact same Toyota. The car bought brand new 13 months ago had flat 12 v battery. The retailer Hendy Toyota Bournemouth not very helpful. I have done 7,500 miles since I bought it. The retailer said I need to go on long drives to keep the battery charged…I too am retired and drive about 10 miles each day. Surely that is enough to keep the 12v battery charged in an almost new car. At 33,000 pounds, I don’t expect this sort of performance for a so called state of the art car. I asked the retailer to replace battery, they said no. So I have to recharge it. Very disappointed, this is my 12th Totota…no more Hybrids for retires or work from home owners! In lock down I can’t go for unnecessary drives just to keep the battery charged.
      Good customer service whould have been on behalf of retailer ( I have bought 2 brand new Toyota cars from them in the last 5 years) would have been to repace battery with new, and then explain what I should do in the future to keep it charged…the 60 minutes in the drive way in ‘ready mode’ now and again. What a perfomance!

      Reply

    3. Hi David,

      I’m having the same problem with my C-HR which is only just over a year old. The Toyota roadside assistant (AA man) tried to jump start it and then keep the engine running on my drive. When he restarted it again the battery was already dead. He phoned Toyota on my behalf to tell them there was a fault on the battery and they said there wasn’t and that I needed to immediately drive it for one hour after it had been jump started. He said simply running the engine without the car moving would not recharge the battery, which obviously goes against the advice on this page. For a Battery on a new car to go flat after only 4 days of not being driven is ridiculous. So I agree with you that I would not buy another Toyota. Funny that they don’t include this fact in their sales pitch. The car is pretty much useless for me as I don’t really drive in the week. Hope you get your issue sorted to your satisfaction or buy a better car 🙂

      Thanks
      James

      Reply

  7. Same problem for me – I’m furious! When my automatic Auris hybrid wouldn’t start in June, I blamed myself i.e. lockdown=not really used it much. AA wanted £150 to come and start it! Ended up the Toyota garage said I needed a new electric battery (the one in the boot that you can’t get to if the batterie’s flat). Okay – sort it. But it has just happened again today and I’ve made sure I use the car regularly since the last expense. What makes it worse is that I bought a brand new manual Toyota Corolla before this and it developed exactly the same problem even after numerous new batteries. I had to carry jump leads round – sadly the hybrids are not so easy to jump – I understand if it’s done incorrectly it can knacker the engine. I bought Toyota because I was told they were reliable. The garage said of my Corolla – tough you must have got a Friday afternoon car. I will never never never buy Toyota again!

    Reply

    1. Hi Joharthan,
      Thanks for getting in touch with us. We’re sorry to hear about the issues you’ve been experiencing.
      We would recommend contacting our customer relations team to raise this issue further as they are best placed to offer support and help in any way we can.
      You can contact them, here: https://www.toyota.co.uk/help-centre/email-us
      Once again, we apologise for any distress this has caused.
      Thanks.

      Reply

  8. I really appreciate this information, thanks much! I wish I would have seen it months ago. It’d be lovely if Toyota could send this in a newsletter to owners, since we already get emails.

    For those with really really dead batteries, I charged mine with the battery from another car for 2 hours up to 12.1 V and then did the procedure listed here. I repeated the procedure listed here for a few days straight to be safe.

    Reply

    1. Hi Justin,
      Thanks for your comment and feedback. We’re really glad this article was useful for you!
      Which Toyota model are you currently driving?
      We’ll pass your thoughts regarding a newsletter on to our wider team.
      Thanks.

      Reply

  9. Hi everyone,

    My Toyota Auris is having problem when starting ignition, i have to try 2 3 times to start it. if i switch the headlights off ( means turn off auto lights mode ) then it will start in 1st or sometime second try, can someone please tell me why is this happening> either is it a weak battery or something els ? if its a battery then how to fix it ? or do i have to change the batteries ?

    Reply

  10. Hi Graham,
    Thanks for your comment. We’re so sorry to hear about both your experience with your Toyota centre and the issue you have been experiencing with your Toyota.
    Should you wish to raise your situation further, our customer relations team are best placed to look into your specific case, and they can be contacted here: https://www.toyota.co.uk/help-centre/email-us
    Thanks.

    Reply

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