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
Hello Eduardo
Thank you for your reply.
The issue which affects the Auris with the battery going flat after the hazard warning switch has been touched does affect Auris models across Europe. To rectify this issue a software upgrade is available which takes about 10 minutes or so and prevents this problem from happening again. If you have experienced this problem we would recommend that you talk again to Toyota Spain about this.
Hope this helps and let us know how you get on.
Finally Toyota Spain will fix the Issue, the start to send postal mail to all Auris hybrid owners and to petrol and gas ones will apply the update when they make the regular manteinance.
I live in Israel and I have this problem. I bought my Auris Hybrid car 16 months ago!! I’m still waiting for my garage to call me to come in to fix it!!! Every time I turn off my car I was told to turn the hazard light on and then off. This does work but it was supposed to be a temporary fix. Why isn’t Toyota Israel fixing this problem???
Hello Marsha
Thanks for your post and sorry to read that you have experienced this problem with your Auris.
We would recommend that you speak to Toyota Israel directly about this issue so they can advise what the current situation is regarding regarding the software upgrade. We do know that the fix will apply across Europe but we will not be aware of the timings involved for other countries. Here is a link for Toyota Israel if this helps. http://www.toyota.co.il/
I have had my Auris Hybrid for about 18 months now and have been really pleased with it until last weekend when it would not start after being left for 2 days, although I had been on holiday earlier in the year for 2 weeks and not had a problem. I contacted the local dealership who I must say were not very helpful saying I must have left something on and would have to get a recovery company to get it to the garage. Green Flag came out and charged the battery and all was well until this weekend and the car was left for 1 day and again wouldn’t start. This time I can’t even open the doors and the manual keys is vey stiff and I am frightened this will break in the lock. My husband went to the local dealership Hill of Stortford and again they were very unhelpful so we are left with a car we cant access on our driveway with my sons car trapped behind it. At least I would have expected the Dealership to have advised me last week to bring the car in to check if it has the fault outlined on your website and not left it until the fault happened again. They were really not interested. Very disgruntled customer.
Hi Lynn
Thanks for your post.
We are very sorry to hear about the problem you have experienced with your Auris.
You are correct, your dealer does need to see and check your car because if this was the issue you experienced, then a 10 minute software upgrade will be able to rectify this for the future. If you do want to discuss this matter further with us then we do have a customer relations team based here and they can be reached via this link. https://mag.toyota.co.uk/how-to-contact-toyota-uk
Thank you again for your post and if you need any further help please let us know.
I have an Auris Excel which exhibited this problem 8 weeks after I bought it in January 2013. As others have found, I was treated by the garage as a fool who was unable to shut his car down properly and Toyota customer help was no help at all.
In the mean time I have managed by doing frequent unnecessary trips, but today I had to again crawl into the boot to charge the battery. Finding this page online I was a little surprised that I hadn’t already been contacted by the dealer(they were quick enough, and persistent a month ago when trying to sell me another model).
Can you clarify whether the Toyota dealer will call me when ready to do a fix or do I have to chase them or inform them that a fix is available?
Hi Alun,
Thank you for taking the time to contact us, we’re sorry to hear this.
We have investigated the cause of a 12 volt flat battery and there is a permanent solution to this issue.
We recommend contacting your local Toyota dealer: https://www.toyota.co.uk/find-a-dealer the fix is a 10 minute software upgrade that will be able to rectify this for the future. If you’ve already spoken to them, we recommend contacting our customer relations team at head office, they can be reached via this link: https://mag.toyota.co.uk/how-to-contact-toyota-uk.
It should just be a matter of booking you in for the software upgrade!
Hope this helps!
I’m yet to have my car checked but getting it into my local garage is proving difficult. They seem to be over booked (I wonder why) and not overly helpful. Think I’ll try a different garage and see if they are more pleasant.
If this is so much of a problem for all current Auris cars why isn’t there a recall to sort the problem out?
Hi Robert
Sorry to hear about this. Let us know who your local Toyota dealer is and we’ll see if we can help. Otherwise and if you’d like to speak to someone about your experience, our Customer Relations team is there to help. They can be contacted on either 0344 701 6202 or 01737 367600.
Thanks for the post.
Is this software upgrade a permanent fix to this problem? I have ordered a used (albeit 2 month old) Auris HSD Excel Tourer and despite calm assurances by the dealership, I am tempted to cancel my order.
Does this affect all Excels or a certain batch of them? WIll my vehicle be affected as its pretty new?
I spoke to an owner of a hatchback Excel and said there’s no issues.
Hello Abir
Thanks for your post.
Just to reassure you, this software upgrade does cure this problem. Not all vehicles will be affected with this issue but should a dealer check a car and confirm this is the case then it can be quickly resolved with this upgrade and will not recur.
Hope this helps but do let us know if you have any other questions.
David
Thanks for the quick and reassuring reply.
Abir
What’s the spec of the 1.4 auris Exell 2013
Hi Peter. Thanks for getting in touch and we’re glad to hear of your interest. Below are some details about the Auris Excel that you requested. We suggest visiting http://www.toyota.co.uk/new-cars/auris-specs-prices for more information. Thanks.
Economy & BIK
-CO2 emissions (g/km): 107*
-Fuel economy (mpg): 68.9*
-Company car tax: 15%
-Performance
-Power (DIN hp): 90
-0-62mph (secs.): 12.5
Exterior
Key Features:
-17″ alloy wheels
-Rain sensing wipers
-Dusk sensing headlamps
-Privacy glass
-Retractable wing mirrors
-Front fog lamps
-Rear-view parking camera
-Rear chrome detailing (1.6 Petrol Only)
Interior
Key Features:
-Cloth seat trim with leather bolsters
-Toyota Touch 2 multimedia with Go Navigation
-Dual zone automatic air conditioning
-Smart entry and start
-Intelligent park assist
-Automatic rear-view mirror
-Cruise Control (Excludes 1.4 Diesel)
-Leather instrument panel inlay
-6 speaker DAB radio/CD with USB/AUX/MP3 connectivity
Hi I own a 2011 reg Auris Hybrid does the flat battery problem apply to my car please
Hi Cliff, the battery issue mentioned only applies to the latest generation Toyota Auris (including Hybrid) from December 2012 onwards. No other models were involved. Hope this helps.
Many Many thanks
regards Cliff
Hi Cliff – How did you solve the problem? I’ve got the same issue with my 2011 Toyota Auris Hybrid. Many thanks