Since 1997, drivers have enjoyed better fuel economy, lower running costs and unrivalled levels of comfort and refinement thanks to Toyota’s hybrid technology. Today, Toyota’s range of hybrid cars encompasses small hybrids like the Toyota Yaris Hybrid, family size cars like the Toyota Prius, Corolla and Toyota C-HR, even estates like the Corolla Hybrid Touring Sports. But have you ever wondered how hybrid cars work?
Read on to discover exactly what Toyota’s hybrid drive system is, how it works and how it benefits the environment and your wallet.
What is a hybrid?
Simply put, a ‘hybrid’ is a vehicle with two or more power sources. Most hybrid road cars use a normal internal combustion engine paired with an electric motor, but the way these work together means that there are several different kinds of hybrid setup.
Beginning with the original Prius, Toyota pioneered the full hybrid system that uses two separate powerplants – a battery-powered electric motor and petrol-driven combustion engine – which can work together to drive the vehicle or can each be used in isolation. It is the most popular hybrid system in the world, and has sold more than 15 million units since the Prius was launched in Japan in August 1997.
The second kind of hybrid is known as parallel. It uses a normal combustion engine as the main source of power, with an electric motor fitted between the engine and gearbox to provide assistance. This arrangement tends to be more restricted in its function than a full hybrid, and fitting an electric motor into a very small space also limits its power and EV (electric vehicle) range.
Lastly, the third hybrid variation is the series type. In this type of vehicle the electric motor provides all the drive. The normal combustion engine isn’t connected to the transmission, and instead works as a generator to power the electric motor. The main hurdle for a series hybrid is maintaining its efficiency once the battery power has been used up. For this reason, series hybrids are rare.
Toyota hybrid – how does the system work?
Toyota’s hybrid drive system consists of six primary components: petrol engine, electric motor, electric generator, power control unit, and a power split device that uses a special type of gearbox to smoothly distribute power from the engine, motor and generator.
It is a clever, fuel-saving technology that can seamlessly and automatically switch between electric power and conventional engine power. Capable of adapting to different driving conditions, our hybrid system intelligently controls the power coming from both sources and tells the car how to combine them for the greatest efficiency and performance.
The system delivers true synergy between the two power sources. When the engine is running, it charges the battery via the generator; when driving conditions allow it, such as in slow-moving traffic, the generator can cut out the petrol engine and let the electric motor take over for zero-emissions travelling. The sophisticated engine management system can sense when the car is stopped and will switch off the engine to conserve power and cut emissions, automatically starting up again when needed.
The battery is kept well charged by the system, so a hybrid-powered Toyota won’t need to be plugged into a mains supply to be recharged.
However, Toyota does produce plug-in hybrid electric vehicles for people who can make use of its greater range of more than 30 miles in electric-only EV mode and cars which convert hydrogen into electricity. Read more about the different types of hybrid and electrified vehicle by clicking here.
How are the batteries charged?
Toyota’s hybrid system charges the battery in two ways. Firstly and as already mentioned, the petrol engine drives the generator to charge the battery. The second method is through regenerative braking, a system that puts braking energy to good use.
Every time you put your foot on the brake or lift off the accelerator, the system diverts energy back to the battery where it is, in effect, recycled. Instead of the energy being lost as heat or noise from the brakes, it is captured and then used to power the electric motor later. This is particularly efficient in stop-start traffic where the system recovers and stores a great deal of energy, making the car more efficient overall.
For a PHEV like the Prius Plug-in, the on-board battery can also be charged at home using the mains supply or at dedicated charging points along your journey, allowing the greater EV range of up to 30 miles.
How long do hybrid batteries last?
The batteries in Toyota’s hybrid vehicles are efficient, corrosion-resistant units designed to last, which is why Toyota’s standard battery warranty is five years or 100,000 miles and can be extended up to 15 years with no limit on total mileage – read more about this here.
The batteries are substantial units that have to store sufficient voltage to power the car with no assistance from the petrol engine. It’s true that their production does have a small, additional environmental impact, but this is more than offset by the environmental benefits of driving a hybrid car. In fact, we’ve dispelled that hybrid myth, along with others, in this post.
Toyota is also keen to recycle the batteries from its hybrid cars, which can be remanufactured to make new batteries or repurposed into other forms of stationary energy storage – this can be arranged through your Toyota dealer. We already recover over 90% of hybrid batteries from our vehicles, and are targeting a 100% recovery rate.
Is the engine different to that of a normal car?
In short, yes. The internal combustion engine used in a Toyota hybrid uses a slightly different engine cycle than the conventional Otto-type four-stroke cycle. Called the Atkinson cycle, this modified four-stroke cycle produces less heat and is therefore more efficient.
By cooling the internal combustion chamber using recirculated exhaust gases, it avoids a problem faced by engines with traditional cycles: injecting more fuel than necessary to reduce combustion temperatures and prevent the catalytic converters from overheating. The traditional remedy works, but uses more fuel in the process. However, Toyota’s solution is more fuel-efficient and is very reliable.
A more in-depth analysis of Toyota’s use of the Atkinson cycle can be read here.
Do I have to drive differently to make the most of hybrid technology?
Not at all. Because Toyota has made the hybrid system fully automatic, it will optimise its operation and minimise fuel use for each driver. You can sit back and enjoy the drive!
You can read more about the experience of driving a Toyota hybrid by reading this article, in which motoring journalist Tim Dickson takes a Corolla Hybrid for a spin.
There are also some general tips, many of which apply to maximising the fuel economy of hybrid and non-hybrid cars alike, at this link.
To find out more about our complete range of hybrid vehicles, click here.
We have a Toyota CHR Hybrid, 2 years old. This morning car wouldn’t start, local dealer unable to help so had to call out recovery service to jump start the car, was told the battery very low and probably needs replacement battery! Visit to the dealer who said as I am either driving in town or only doing short journeys the electric battery isn’t charging fully. I will take it into their service area tomorrow for a ‘trickle feed’ and hope this helps as told a new battery isn’t the answer.
This also happened in June this year when they changed the fob batteries then did the trickle feed so it has only lasted 3 months! We weren’t told of this potential problem when we purchased the car and not happy that this has happened again.
Do we need to run the car a long distance frequently? I have always tried to drive with the gauge in the eco position so is this running the battery down rather than charging up the battery. So much for us thing we are doing the right thing by purchasing a hybrid car – think we will go back to ordinary petrol now.
Hi Maria, thanks for contacting us.
We are sorry to hear you are experiencing these issues.
The 12 volt battery in our hybrids are smaller than most as they are only needed to run small systems in the car. 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. In some cases, infrequent usage and short journeys can mean that the 12 volt battery doesn’t fully charge. Therefore, we would recommend making frequent, longer journeys. Additionally, the use of a solar powered intelligent charger or a trickle charger can be used when your vehicle is left unattended for longer periods of time. This will help to maintain the battery’s health in the future.
However, we understand your frustration and are sorry you feel this way. If you would like to discuss the situation further with us, please contact our Customer Relations team. They can be found through the following link: https://www.toyota.co.uk/help-centre#/iframe/https%3A%2F%2Fforms.toyota.co.uk%2Fcontact-us.
Thanks.
Hi, just reading this post about the started battery, what is considered a long trip to keep it charged?
Considering a CHR as my next car and this issue is something that I would need to consider as our normal long trip is a 20mile round trip
Hi Nigel, thanks for contacting us.
We are pleased to hear of your interest in the Toyota C-HR!
We would 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.
Your Toyota Centre would be happy to talk to you about your best vehicle options. 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.
Hi I am considering buying a hybrid but first I would need to know what constitutes longer, frequent journeys that would be ideal for recharging the battery? How long? How frequent? Can this be defined a bit more? I’m definitely not going to run it for 60 minutes per week parked….
Hi Lisa, thanks for getting in touch.
Issues with the 12V battery are not unique to Hybrids, but it isn’t really possible to set a time frame as it all depends on individual driving style. An hours interrupted journey each week is advisable, things that can place additional drain on the battery are very short and infrequent journeys with heavy use of cabin electronics.
Thanks,
Toyota UK
Leave the key away from your front door or it keeps communicating with it and kills the fobs and car battery. My brand new chr car battery had a black cell and had loads of problems until the ecu blew up. I replaced the battery myself with a stop start advanced one as they said it was fine (exide efb). I could hear the one cell boiling up gas.
Its been fine since and no starting issues or unresponsive hand brakes!. I can leave it weeks and still starts.
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I have just purchased a new 2023 Toyota GR yaris 1.5 Hybrid on the 22/9/2023 brought it home on Friday and put it on the drive. I got up in the morning then later on in the day around tea time I decided to take it for a run but when I started the car it sounded really noisy I took it for a short run thinking the noise mite go away but when i returned and put it back on the drive and went to put it into park there is a noice coming from the automatic gear box when moving it from park to drive. and also fron the electronic hand brake. It’s making the same noice. I am going to return it tomorrow and see if they can sort out the problem if it is going to take to long I am going to ask for a replacement car as I have only had it two days. Can you advise me p,ease
Hi Raymond, thanks for your comment.
We are sorry to hear you are experiencing these issues.
Your Toyota centre is best placed to advise with this.
You can locate your closest centre here: https://www.toyota.co.uk/find-a-dealer
Thanks.
Can I switch off the automatic lights on my Toyota Yaris Hybrid when I leave it in “READY” to charge the battery?
Hi Judith,
Please provide your vehicle registration so that we can look into this for you.
Thanks.
That’s the single useless feature on Hybrid cars! There are often instances when lights do not need to be on, but the automatic system puts them on and drains the battery. When parked in a car park, listening to the radio for example. Also when just parked up. It is illegal to be stationary with headlights switched on.
There needs to be a switch to turn off the auto function.
I have had a CH – R for 3 months and the battery has let us down twice, when we were going away for Christmas and on the way to a funeral. We have had Volvos and VWs, both diesel and petrol over the years, and they have hardly ever let us down. The vehicle recovery services will surely soon refuse to cover Toyotas.
Where exactly am I supposed to go on these long, frequent journeys recommended by Toyota? It hardly seems green. This problem was not mentioned when we bought the car. We were assured that the battery would simply charge itself.
Am I supposed to pay for a trickle charger? Given that this seems to be a major problem with Toyota hybrids, perhaps a trickle charger or solar charger should be supplied with the car.
I am very disappointed with Toyota. Back to VWs and Volvos I think
My Toyota Corolla keeps losing battery power due to short journeys. It has now got a flat battery as I was ill for a week and didn’t drive it. Now awaiting the pick up take it to charge it at the Toyota garage once again. Very disappointed with it’s performance. I was told a trickle charger would work but what siert do I use in my car? Nobody seems to want to tell me.
My daughter bought a Toyota hybrid /don’t really know how to operate it /have to learn it /the battery wen dead but was resarted.
Hi Errol,
Thanks for your comment.
We would suggest contacting your nearest Toyota Centre if your daughter needs further assistance in learning how to operate her vehicle.
You can find your nearest Toyota Centre here – https://www.toyota.co.uk/find-a-dealer.
Thanks.
My dashboard keeps telling me to turn on Hybrid Indicator System but I have asked the dealership where I bought the car how to do this and they say they don’t know how to do it. Is this a Toyota Secret?
Hello Harry,
Please may you provide your vehicle registration so that we can check this with our Product Technical team.
Thanks.
Hi, does the Hybrid use either the electric motor or the ICE, or does the electric motor also assist the ICE, i.e. working together to provide more power?
Hi Jaco, thanks for getting in touch.
The two components are constantly working together to offer the most efficient drive, there is an automatic process of regenerative braking that helps to charge the Hybrid battery also.
Thanks,
Toyota UK
Hello all!
Question because I heard several different opinion about P mode in traffic light.
Does Toyota recommend to keep the care in P mode while waiting in traffic for green light, or should we keep the foot break pressed?
Question is for a Prius mk4, but I am guessing it will apply to all hybrid cars.
Thanks!
Hi there, thanks for getting in touch.
The P mode is generally used for parking the vehicle. Whilst it can be used in extended periods of traffic, perhaps temporary traffic lights with quite a queue of traffic for example, you will notice an element of lag when shifting out of P mode as it is essentially designed to permanently park the vehicle. Most people would opt for brake hold instead, if the vehicle is equipped.
The owner’s manual does advise to “avoid repeatedly operating the shift lever and P position switch in quick succession. The system protection function may activate and it will not be temporarily possible to shift the shift position other than P. If this happens, please wait for approximately 20 seconds before attempting to change the shift position again.”
Thanks,
Toyota UK
I was going to order a Toyota Yaris Design from my local dealer Hills of Woodford but I was so lucky to stumble on the many comments regarding 12 volt battery failure due to lack of use . Toyota seem to ignore this important design issue. At least Hyundai have addressed the issue by putting manual switch inside the car to draw power from the main battery to the 12 volt battery to get it started. Why don’t Toyota incorporate the same logical feature. I have purchased many new Toyotas over the years but now I have no alternative to purchase a competitors car if I want a usable hybrid.
Morning Tony,
Thanks for your feedback. All modern cars drain the 12v battery when they are switched off. This is due to the onboard electrical systems. If the 12v battery is not given a chance to recharge often enough, it will go flat. Read more here and pick up some tips that, if followed, can help ensure your Toyota remains in tip-top condition during an extended layoff: https://brnw.ch/21wDfeR
Thank you.