As part of Toyota’s rigorous quality control programme, we have investigated the cause of a 12 volt flat battery issue that has left some Toyota Auris drivers unable to start their cars after only a short period without use, usually a couple of days.
We would like to apologise for any disappointment and inconvenience that may have occurred as a result of this issue. But we can now confirm that the cause has been identified and a permanent solution developed.
The following information only applies to any Toyota Auris (including Hybrid) produced between December 2012 and February 2014. If you have an Auris produced after February 2014 your vehicle is not affected by this issue. No other models are involved.
Toyota Auris Hybrid Flat Battery: What causes the issue?
The issue is caused when the hazard switch is partially depressed for a very short period of time, incorrectly activating the car’s CAN-bus electrical communications system. This draws a constant flow of current that can discharge the 12 volt battery if the car is left unused for several days.
How can I prevent this from occurring?
Toyota has published a Technical Service Bulletin to its dealer network advising them of a permanent solution to this issue. The bulletin contains information and software files that will enable technicians to modify the software of the car’s combination meter. This update will prevent the incorrect activation of the CAN-bus system and prevent any potential flat battery concerns arising from this area of the vehicle.
If you still have concerns regarding the 12 volt battery of your current generation Toyota Auris then we recommend you get in touch with your nearest Toyota dealer for further assistance. http://www.toyota.co.uk/find-a-dealer
I get the impression that Toyota are not treating this flat flat battery on the Auris seriously enough! My auris hybrid estate exell has key less entry which is an expensive cay and to be locked out of the car on the 3rd day from new! Had to call AA as key only opens the drivers door only,
I was not told about this fault by the dealers as if I had I would not have bought it. I have noticed that from the answers from Toyota differ which is obvious to me that nobody can give a definitive time scale on this! The work around is turning hazards on/off. This not good enough, when I bought this car I expected every thing to work!
Come on Toyota this is completely unacceptable and should be compensated adequately!
Derek A Gee
My 426 mile old Auris Excel (none hybrid) also had a half flat battery after being parked in my garage for 3.5 days.
When you pressed the stop/start button all the display started to flash with clicking noises.
Checked the battery which was down to 8 volts so I hooked up a charger I have and called my dealer.
After a 15min charge it had enough energy to crank the engine and started.
My dealer could find no fault and thought the most likely cause was me leaving something switched on. Car was locked and lights set to auto.
Plus if I had left something on, I would have just charged it up and got on with my life 🙂
I was told, if it happens again I should just call the AA and get them to do a report.
Not really the answer I wanted after spending so much on a car…
Browsing about, I found this, but the Toyota Owners Club forum say a dealer Toyota blog says the issue only relates to the ZWE186 Auris Hybrid model.
Can you confirm this, or as stated in this blog that it applies to all versions?
Toyota are committed to sending the software to all dealerships by the end of the month (April) to flash the ecu with new software to stop the battery going flat.
I have my auris hybrid estate booked in to have it done next week!
So hopefully no more flat battery’s !!!!
Will the Toyota dealers contact all the Auris owners to update the software as a matter of course, or will it be offered only to owners who have had problems?
Hi Gerry,
At this stage we are yet to roll out the final solution. Our priority will be to fix customer vehicles that are experiencing the issue. As soon as we have further information we will update this blog post.
Hope this helps.
Further to Derek Gee’s comments on 10th April 2014 , I have a 5 month old Toyota Auris Hybrid which has broken down twice (fully discharged battery) recently within a 4 day period.
After calling out the AA (Toyota Assist) the battery power was restored and the AA mechanic referred me to the main Toyota dealer in Leeds, informing me that Toyota had a software update which was designed to resolve the ECU problem.
When I got the vehicle to the dealer they confirmed the fault , but were adamant that there was no available software to resolve the problem and advised me to turn the hazard warning lights on & off each time I left the vehicle.
I took a copy of this blog to the dealer but basically they rubbished the comments and showed me the official bulletin from Toyota with the temporary solution (as above).
It was then that I refused to budge & insisted that they rang Toyota Technical.
Lo & behold they returned – rather red faced – to admit that Toyota have in fact got a Software kit to flash the update, but apparently there is only one kit available in the country and I am now waiting for it to arrive at my dealer.
Clearly Toyota are not being entirely honest about this problem – even to the extent that the main dealers are unaware that there is a solution available.
It is disgraceful that that Toyota are marketing & selling a car worth more than ÂŁ20k with an existing technical design fault.
Hi John,
Thanks for posting. Firstly, we’re sorry to hear about the problems you’ve experienced and for any inconvenience that may have been caused as a result.
While we appreciate you may feel let down, we have at no stage tried to mislead anyone. Problems can, and do happen but don’t always reveal themselves prior to production and sale. Often it takes time for issues to manifest and reveal themselves. It’s then up to us to do all we can to provide solutions in line with our commitment to customers under the 5 year warranty. However, as you rightly point out, in this instance our Dealers have had neither the equipment or the technical guidance in order to carry out the remedial procedure themselves. We are now looking to address this as a priority. As we understand it, the work required for your car is due to be carried out today; we’re confident this will provide a lasting solution.
Once again, apologies for any inconvenience caused but appreciate you taking the time to get in touch.
By way of compensation on flat battery probem, I was given first service voucher!
I see Derek Gee was given a voucher for a service as compensation for this problem.
I had the software update done a few weeks ago in advance of the general release. Someone from Toyota made a special trip to the local dealership to do it, possibly because I’d complained here (see below) and on the Toyota UK Facebook page, but I rather thought I might also be the guinea pig to test it out in the ‘real’ world. I’ve had no problems since the update.
I endured this problem for more than 2 months, had 2 Toyota Assist callouts, 3 trips to the dealership and the loss of my car for 7 working days in the workshop. Do Toyota think that any of the rest of us who have been affected by this flat battery problem might be compensated in a similar way? If not, why not?
Thanks,
Tom King
Hi Tom,
Thanks for your post.
We’re glad to hear that the fix has helped resolve your issue and are sorry that you remain unhappy.
May we suggest contacting Customer Relations who will be able to assist you further, they can be contacted through this link: http://po.st/O3vN72
Hope this helps.
Thanks for your reply, Tobi. I’ve done as you suggest.
Just happened on my prius battery flat so its not just that model
Hi Mike,
Sorry to hear you are having some battery problems. We must confirm however, the 12v battery related issue we are in the process of rectifying with the Auris, would not be the same issue you may have experienced with the Prius. Of course, it’s not easy to diagnose anything specific without inspecting your car so we would direct you to a Toyota Dealer in the first instance should you require assistance. Your nearest Dealer can be found by clicking here: http://po.st/hgeMjF
Hope this helps.
Have just returned my Prius Plug In to Jemca (Reading) accompanied by the AA, (Toyota Assist), for the second time (353 miles on the clock) with a flat 12 volt battery. The first time they said they could not find anything wrong. This time problems with 12 volt “gel” batteries was mentioned. They are investigating. The battery has gone flat twice now after two days of not using or starting the car.
Please advise. Thank you.
Hi John,
Firstly, we’re sorry to hear about the problems you’re having with your Prius Plug In and regret any inconvenience caused as a result. While we very much appreciate you getting in touch, we are reluctant to offer advice or any form of diagnosis without physically inspecting your car. As such we need to refer you to your Toyota dealer for further investigation. All authorised Toyota dealers have direct access to each and every department at Toyota Head offices, including our technical team who will be able to offer them any support as may be required.
As an alternative, if you wish to contact someone directly to discuss your experience you may wish to get in touch with our Customer Relations team either by calling 01737 367600 or by email via the following contact link: https://mag.toyota.co.uk/how-to-contact-toyota-uk
Thanks again for getting in touch.
Hi Andy (Andy Gell, message on April 3, 2014 at 14:37) and Tobi as well,
Have you have your DAB cut-off problem solved? I bought an Arius Hybrid 10 days ago and the car has only 400 miles on its meter by now but mid drive DAB cut-off has occurred five times, exactly as you described – suddenly no sound and cannot be brought back without re-starting the engine, but can be switched to FM.
Left the car to local Toyota dealer today to check over as suggested by Tobi’s reply, but they cannot find anything wrong and do not know what to do with it.
Any further advice on this problem?
Regards.
Thanks for your post.
After investigating this further, the issue you are describing appears to be caused by digital blackout spots. This is where the DAB radio will cut out as a result of the digital signal weakening or being lost. Unlike traditional AM/FM radios of which slowly lose signal (much like you may have experienced in a multi storey car park), DAB radios are more immediate and will simply cut out if the signal is not strong enough.
The government are currently investing millions of pounds in order to boost DAB coverage across the country. Once this process has been completed, the issue you are describing should no longer occur. The connection will then remain strong enough and therefore the need for the system to reconnect after disconnecting will not be required.
We understand you have done so already, although if you do believe digital coverage may not be the cause of your issue, we recommend visiting your Dealer again and requesting they contact the technical team at TGB.
Hope this helps.
Hi Tobi & Bin,
Firstly, apologies for this being in the “wrong” forum of 12v batteries not the general Auris forum but as we are just replying to posts it seems correct to follow the thread.
The problem I have (and possibly Bin too) is NOT one of signal/reception. I trained as an electrical/electronics engineer and I do understand the very basics of how digital services work, i.e. when there is not enough signal it will “cut out” rather than just getting “fuzzy” as traditional analogue transmissions do. Therefore I’ve already progressed past level 1 helpdesk of “is there a strong enough signal?”.
This problem has nothing to do with such issues. I often experience cut outs due to signal in low areas or behind buildings or when just in a general low coverage area and the sound will cut out and return when it can assimilate enough data again, exactly as it should! I agree that is a government issue not Toyota’s!
However, the problem I have is that, randomly the radio sound will cut out (I can’t tell you if it was after a session of low signal – I don’t look at the head unit whenever it cuts out) but never returns on any station or channel, and the not “returning” is the crux of this problem. The head unit actually “looks and feels” as if in the background it is working as it should (changing stations will show normal DAB procedure of short delay, then station information pops up etc.) and it won’t say “no signal” which I believe it might with no coverage (I’d have to check that fact though). It’s almost like a software codec within the DAB software gets corrupted and the head unit cannot recover from this without a full power off/on and so the DAB although working at one stage of circuitry is effectively “muted”. The power button on the head unit is not a full power down and more of a stand-by arrangement, so the only recovery is ignition off and ignition on and then sound is restored. If the issue was coverage the powering off of the ignition and back on would not fix the issue obviously as the signal still would not be there!!
Unfortunately I’ve not had time to follow this up and when it goes in for it’s first service (3000 more miles) I will bring it up. Being a total cynic I can tell you now, the garage won’t find the fault as it’s random and we will end up going down a nag to “change the head unit” line… I will be very impressed otherwise!
Kind regards,
Andy
Share with what you said, Andy.
The issue is the need for ignition off and ignition on to restore the sound. Likely to be a software or hardware problem.