Toyota Yaris 2022 will NOT start: Dealer Fix for 12V Battery Issue
Vložit
- čas přidán 26. 08. 2024
- My 2022 Toyota Yaris would not start when it was only 10 months old. The 12V battery had not had enough charge because my regular drives of 20miles on country lanes did not sufficiently charge the battery. My dealer recommended an AA Solar Charger to trickle charge the battery. The video shows the Solar charger being unboxed and installed in my car.
This is what puts me off buying one of these. I only drive relatively few miles. I can go a couple of weeks between driving but live in an area with literally no train service and no realistic bus service either. So a car is essential. My current car sits in our garage with no trickle charger, no solar panel, nothing. When I need to use it, I get in, turn the key and go. I wouldn’t be happy if a dealership told me the problem with the car was my fault because I don’t drive it far enough, or fast enough. What they’re actually saying is we’ve sold you a car that’s not fit for purpose. I’d ask for my money back if I were you!
With the low mileage that you do I would definitely say that a Yaris Hybrid Mk4 is not for you. My Yaris Hybrid Mk3 always started even during the COVID lockdowns. The Mk4 seems to be much more likely to have a flat 12V battery than other Hybrids.
Bizarre as it may sound I think my Yaris is fantastic so I don't want my money back but I would like Toyota GB to admit there is a problem with the design of the 12V system in the Yaris Mk4 and do a recall to fix the problem. Toyota are very unlikely to do this because it isn't a safety or regulatory issue and a recall to fix would cost a lot of money. Although if Toyota lose their reputation for building reliable cars then this will also cost them a lot of money.
This video and what I read in the comment section is exactly why I won't buy a corolla hybrid.
I drive daily 5km back and forth and that is not enough to recharge the 12v battery.
I would love to buy a regular ICE from them, but I can't find any... they only sell hybrids....
@f.ferenc88 I have been a big fan of Toyota. I have owned Toyota's since 2005. A LandCruiser (2005-2018), Yaris Mk3 (2018-2022) & Yaris Mk4 (30-Dec-22 to date). The two 12V batteries in the LandCruiser went flat and I had to call the AA out to jump start me ... but the batteries were the original factory fitted batteries and were 12 years old!!! ... so old age was definitely the problem ... no complaints in that situation.
I was shocked when my 10month old Yaris Mk4 would not start. I am disappointed and angry by Toyota blaming me for not driving the car often enough when I am doing UK average mileage.
I have dug into this further and I now think that the 12V battery may have gone flat because Toyota did an OTA update to fix a safety related problem with the e-Call system and that OTA went wrong and caused my battery to go flat.
czcams.com/video/XwY7m3xkybM/video.html
Yesterday I had another OTA and one of the things that it did was:
"Update of the connectivity module (DCM) to fix connection issues"
The DCM module includes the e-Call system so this is a second OTA to the DCM system.
I think the "connection issues" with the DCM system caused the OTA to fix the e-call system to go wrong ... and it went wrong in such a way that my 12V battery went flat. I suppose the good news is that if there is another OTA for the DCM then the connection issues are now fixed so my 12V battery should not go flat.
Whatever happened the situation is a mess ... I would like to be able to argue that you should buy a Toyota ... but to be honest with your low mileage I can't do that ... or at least if you did buy a Toyota Hybrid I would recommend that you buy a NOCO jump starter and/or a solar trickle charger.
@@Helpful-Stuff I'm considering the 1.5l corolla with the tnga dynamic force engine. Sure it has 3 cylinders like the yaris and aygo, but it is durable and has no fuss no muss like with the issues the hybrids are giving people. I simply just find it stupid that littelary everyone claims toyotas are oh so reliable and hybrids are amazing for low consumption in urban scenarios.... Yeah sure mate, just don't drive short distances or you will be late every week in the morning in your job. 🤡
@@f.ferenc88they sell the aygoX; I think it's called.
Toyota has a good reputation for reliability, but with issues like this, they're in danger of losing it.
I agree and this is why I really struggle to understand Toyota's approach which is effectively "hybrid's have a small battery - live with it!". This shows a total lack of customer focus or care and to be blunt corporate arrogance.
The problem is with all hybrids but Hyundai and Kia have recognised that customer's don't care about battery size they just expect a car to start so they both have a "12V reset" switch which doesn't solve the 12V battery problem but it means that the car will start after pressing the 12V reset button.
czcams.com/video/3k7SSJecDUg/video.html
Overall I think my Toyota Yaris is a better engineered car than either a Hyundai or a Kia but if it won't start then I would prefer a Hyundai or a Kia which have a better engineered 12V system.
I also think it is worth pointing out that this isn't only my problem. I have found two very long discussions about the 12V problem ... this one is on Toyota's own website and is 24 pages long ...
mag.toyota.co.uk/coronavirus-toyota-hybrid-car-maintenance/comment-page-1/
And another 69 page discussion in the Toyota Owners Club forum
www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/topic/217673-12v-battery-maintenance-issues-etc/
Toyota do have a reputation for building reliable cars but Toyota should take note of what Warren Buffett said ... "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently."
He also said "Lose money for the firm, and I will be understanding. Lose a shred of reputation for the firm, and I will be ruthless."
I have been a loyal customer of Toyota's since 2005. I have no immediate plans to sell my 11 month old Toyota Yaris Excel with Tech pack - its a fantastic car with loads of "toys" and is very economical - but if my new 12V battery management routines do not avoid my car from not starting again I will be selling it and buying from another manufacturer.
I just bought one, what a joke, 4 times its failed two months, please note Toyota, solar is no bloody use in Scotland, note the owner above had to buy the solar panel........
@bessie2275 Is your car a new or a low mileage nearly-new car?
If your car is a new car then 2 months seems a very short period of time for the car to fail to start 4 times. It was 10 months before my new car failed to start. If your car was brand new 2 months ago then I think the 12V battery is faulty and needs replacing under guarantee.
If your car is a low mileage nearly new car then I think it is very likely that the 12V battery was degraded before you bought the car which is why you have 4 failures in 2 months. I have just Googled and it typically takes a franchised dealer around a month to sell a car. During this month the car will only be driven occasionally for a test drive. This is not enough mileage for the 12V battery to be recharged so it is likely that the car will have been jump started ... maybe several times while waiting to be sold and each time the car has to be jump started the 12V battery is degraded a bit more.
If the car is a low mileage car then it is likely that the previous owner may also have had to jump start the car ... maybe multiple times so the 12V battery would have been degraded even before it sat on the dealer's forecourt for a month.
I have had several comments on my videos from people who have bought a low mileage nearly new Yaris Mk4 and suffered from multiple failures to start shortly after they bought the car ... however the good news is that they have managed to get the 12V battery replaced under the guarantee that comes with a nearly new car.
I think you need to talk to the dealer and find out the history about the car ... why did the original owner sell the car? How many times did the dealer have to jump start the car while it was sat on their forecourt? Assuming it has been jump started multiple times demand that the 12V battery is changed at no cost to you because the 12V battery was degraded before you bought the car.
I am considering doing a video about buying a second hand Yaris Mk4 ... the key message will be:
Ask how many times the car has been jump started by the previous owner & the dealer if it has been jump started multiple times then only buy the car if the dealer will fit a brand new 12V battery before you buy it
I own the Yaris Excel with Tech pack in the video. I really like the car - it is a great car with loads of gadgets but I agree it is seriously flawed. I have currently decided that I like the car too much to sell it so I "manage" the 12V battery with the solar charger, a backup NOCO jump starter and a weekly car wash when I leave the car in READY mode to give the 12V battery a good charge czcams.com/video/Ch-L0JbbQUg/video.html
You are correct in your comment ... I had to buy the solar charger and the NOCO jump starter. I am not at all happy about the entire situation ... but I am just trying to make the best of a bad situation and enjoy the good aspects of the car.
I hope you are successful in getting your 12V battery changed.
Change the weak original 12v (4amp) with a £50 (44amp) battery will sort it too. I also carry a NOCO just in case.
Thanks for the tip. When my car is one year old and out of guarantee I will change the battery. I have also bought a NOCO GB20 .. hopefully I will never need it!
Thanks I might just do that
Wow, really that simple? I don't feel quite so downhearted if a fix is that simple. Still unhappy with the dealer that has sold me a car that is dead after 6 days. But at least it sounds like an easy and cheap fix.
I thought the standard amp for 12v Corolla battery is 45 already, not 4? Photo seen with 45ah seen of fitted battery. Am I getting my terminology mixed up?
@@Helpful-Stuff I have read this (& your other similar vids & posts) with both horror and admiration.
Horror that Toyota are clearly aware of the issue and have chosen to ignore it, hoping (no doubt) that it will go away - it won't! And admiration that you have stuck at this - well done you!! We also have a Honda HR-V hybrid and have never, EVER, had a moment to even consider any battery-related issue with this car and it has a very mixed life, with days of not being used.
I am extremely close to buying a current model Yaris Premier - for all the same reasons you give on the PLUS side, but am now concerned as to this HUGE minus point.
One area that I am still unclear about, though, is in relation to the battery itself. Unless I have read this wrong (which is entirely possible) from comments made by others, the initial solution* appears to be installing a larger capacity (45Ah?) battery, to allow for the overall discharge rate - which will effectively overcome the problem. Have I read this wrong?
If not, other than the initial outlay (and the ridiculousness of the entire situation) what is the reluctance to install a higher rate battery? Is it warranty concerns, bearing in mind the Toyota10-year warranty feature??
I will be following this with interest and stalling my dealer, as a result.
*the permanent solution is, of course, Toyota dealing with the problem in a positive way and not just saying 'drive it more often'.
I installed one of these in my Yaris just after I bought it three years ago. Never a flat battery since. As Toyota must have been aware of this problem with the hybrid system for some time, why on Earth didn’t they, design and include a solar cell in the roof of the car to obviate the problem? Perhaps it might destroy their market in selling us their little expensive and inadequate 12 Volt battery. Other than this really annoying feature, the Yaris has been a pleasant and economical form of transport.
I often say my Yaris is the best car I have ever owned - fantastic fuel consumption, head up display, intelligent cruise control and loads of other gadgets... but unfortunately because of the 12V battery problem it is also the worst car I have ever owned.
I use my solar trickle charger if my car has a day parked. I have also got into the routine of a weekly recharge by putting the car in READY mode while I wash it.
czcams.com/video/Ch-L0JbbQUg/video.html
It is the cleanest car I have ever owned ... and it has also started reliably since it failed to start last October.
Unbelievable! A £20,000 plus car less than a year old and you are happy to install a solar charger that takes up half the dash and presents a safety issue if you forget to disconnect it. Toyota will be telling you to use a dipstick to test the quality of your fuel before every trip. I am lost for words. This is not a practical solution.
What makes you think I am happy with the situation? I am extremely angry with Toyota GB ... I have spent £25K on a top of the range Yaris with a head up display. In a lot of ways it is the best car I have ever owned ... amazing petrol consumption, loads of fantastic tech (HUD is great!) .... but its also the worst car I have ever owned because it failed to start when it was only 10months old.
Toyota have designed a flawed 12V system in Yaris Mark 4 but Toyota's strategy is to blame customers because it would cost Toyota a lot of money to fix the 12V system in every single Yaris Mark 4 that has been sold. My previous car a Yaris Mark 3 started reliably for 5 years even during lockdown when I only used it once per week to go to the supermarket - so Toyota can design a Hybrid that starts reliably.
However, I have bought a new Yaris Mark 4 and, unless I am prepared to take a massive financial hit by selling it when it is only a year old, I am stuck with this car for the next couple of years. So I am being pragmatic and I am doing stuff that will ensure my 12V battery does not fail to start the car again:
(1) regularly using the solar trickle charger with the cable installed for free by my dealer czcams.com/video/o8MkFUPfdvQ/video.html
(2) Toyota recommend turning the car on in READY mode for 1 hour per week to charge the 12V battery - the car does not need to be driven - so I combine this with a weekly car wash czcams.com/video/Ch-L0JbbQUg/video.html
(3) I have fitted a voltmeter to the accessory socket so I can monitor the 12V battery voltage czcams.com/video/0nYdnNVgvJI/video.html
(4) I carry a NOCO GB20 jump starter in the car in case the above does not work and my car fails to start
But do not think that because I am doing this I am happy ... I am absolutely furious with Toyota GB. I have discovered there is no point being angry with dealers because they are only agents and they are just following Toyota GB's instructions on how to handle the problem.
I am producing these videos to show other Yaris Mark 4 owners how to be pragmatic and live with their cars. I am also doing other stuff in the background which I cannot share at the moment but may be in future videos.
A quick story ... I was filling up with fuel and somebody shouted across to me "My other car is a Yaris - they are fantastic cars". We had a brief conversation about some of the tech in the car and fuel consumption and I said "... but have you had the 12V battery problem". His reply was "Yes - twice but I just keep a NOCO Jump starter in the car - its not a problem".
I am not quite as relaxed as this owner is ... but I do think the Yaris is a great car with a very badly flawed 12V system. But I would only buy another one if Toyota make some significant changes to the 12V system like...
- upgrade the factory fit battery from 35Ah to 45Ah or bigger
- 12V battery has a voltmeter on the dash and in the MyToyota app with warnings/notifications if battery is getting low
- 12V reset button as in Kia & Hyundai Hybrids that constantly monitors the 12V battery and switches the 12V system off if the voltage gets too low czcams.com/video/3k7SSJecDUg/video.html
But please do not interpret my videos as I am happy with the situation ... I am not !!!
I used a cheap solar panel to keep the battery on my diesel generator charged. Although the use of the generator was very infrequent, it never failed to start - summer or winter.
Yep I agree @bobbailey7024 the solar trickle charger does work and keeps a Yaris' 12V battery charged when the car is not used for several days.
The salesman from my dealer phoned me a couple of days ago. I told him that I had experienced the "12V battery problem". He said that as a dealership they have solved most customers problems with the solar panel trickle charger. I guess the customers where it does not work have a garage so the car is parked out of the sunlight.
I told the salesman that the dealership's Service Department have already fitted the cable from the ODB socket so that I can easily plug the solar trickle charge in above the dashboard ... rather than struggling to plug into the ODB port below the steering wheel.
czcams.com/video/o8MkFUPfdvQ/video.html
I use my solar trickle charger whenever the car is not going to be driven for 1 or more days. I also wash my car every 7 to 10 days and while I wash it I put the car in READY MODE so that for 60minutes my Yaris' traction battery gives the 12V battery a good charge. In this video I give some tips on how to wash the car and keep the petrol consumption to a minimum.
czcams.com/video/Ch-L0JbbQUg/video.html
This really isn’t good enough. Toyota should replace the battery. My last car was a Honda Jazz hybrid. I never used a solar panel, I only drove 1800 in 2 years and never had a failed battery. Six weeks after on a 11 month old YC and had to call the AA for a dead battery. Come on Toyota, you’re better than this
My story is similar ... 2018 Yaris Mark3 Hybrid started reliably for 5 years even during COVID lockdown when I was only driving once per week to the supermarket. Bought a Yaris Mark4 Hybrid in December 2022 ... 10 months later it will not start because of a flat 12V battery.
My Yaris Mark 4 shows that it is possible for Toyota to design a 12V system for a Hybrid that will start reliably once per week. All Hybrids from all manufacturers have a small 12V battery and if left for several weeks the batteries will go flat. The problem with the Yaris Mark4 is that the battery, in my case, was flat after ONE day without use.
Personally I don't think my 12V battery needs replacing. I think Toyota have made a serious mistake with the design of the 12V system in the Yaris Mark4. I have had a few comments under my videos and also read in other forums that some people are going to Halfords because they will fit a 45Ah 12V battery to replace the 35Ah battery fitted by Toyota. This extra capacity in the 12V battery will allow the car to last a bit longer before the battery goes flat.
The problem is that the 12V battery is not a safety related issue so Toyota do not want to do an expensive recall to change the 12V battery in all Yaris Mark4s. This would be expensive but the Yaris Mark 4 is ruining Toyota's reputation for reliable cars .... and that could be VERY costly for Toyota in the long run.
Treating customers like idiots and telling us that it is our fault for not driving the car often enough or far enough is corporate arrogance. I think in the long term Toyota will regret the approach they are taking with the Yaris Mark4's 12V battery because it is going to cost Toyota more in terms of lost reliability reputation than the cost of replacing the 12V batteries.
I would test the battery, in my opinion the battery is dead.
Charging system on a Hybrid is different than a normal ICE Car, the 12 Volt Battery gets charged by the Hybrid Battery via a DC - DC Converter.
12 Volt Battery will always get maximum charge at 80A constant and up to 100 Amps peak, doesn't depend on Engine RPM or something else.
20 Miles Countryside (i guess a half an hour) is plenty enough.
I own a 2012 Prius with first factory battery, my daily commute is 1.8 Miles one way.
Never had a Problem.
My brother in law had a CHR Hybrid and one way 2.5 miles commute, now a Corolla Hybrid and also never a problem on both cars.
The dealer has given me print outs of the battery test that they did immediately the car was returned to them and also the battery test that they did after it had been on charge all night and left for 3 hours.
- The first test result was "Good-Recharge" with cold cranking amps of 188A when the battery is rated at 295A.
- After charging overnight and being left for 3 hours the result was "Good Battery" with cold cranking amps of 275A so almost back to the rating of 295A.
With these results its difficult to argue that the battery needs to be replaced.
I am currently editing a video showing my mileage since I bought the car and during the last few weeks before it would not start. You will see in this video that I totally agree that my mileage should be sufficient to keep the battery charged.
My previous 2018 Yaris (Mk3) Hybrid started every time for almost 5 years - even during COVID lockdown. And you have experience with other Toyota models that do not experience the problem.
My own conclusion is that there is a specific problem with the design of 12V battery recharging in the Yaris Mk4 that makes it more liable to the 12V battery problem. I also guess that Toyota will not fix the problem because it is not a safety or regulation/legal related fault so they will not do a very expensive recall and fix.
@@Helpful-Stuff thanks for your detailed answer.
Yes, there is a possibility that the DC-DC Converter has a fault, but I doubt it.
Do you have any other aftermarket stuff installed?
Maybe this is draw a lot of current when the car is switched of?
First i would check the Voltage, do you know how to enter the service Menu in the Infotainment?
I'm not familiar with Yaris, i found a Video - you have to search for "HIDDEN SERVICE MENU, HOW TO ACTIVATE, TOYOTA #CarGuruDIY"
Yes, its a RAV4 but i guess the same on Yaris.
There is a readout for the Voltage, enter the Menu and it will read 12.something Volts without "Ready" Mode.
After you "started" the car this Voltage has immediately go to 14.something Volts.
I dont know how familiar you are with a Multimeter, i would test in- and outgoing amps of the Battery with a Clamp Amperemeter.
Especially standby current
I have 3 years old hybrid Yaris (newest model xp210), it has an orginal 12v battery, i charge battery 2x month and i live in Finland so we have some very cold winters, like -20c, never have start problem with this car, my work trip is like 5miles one way...
@markusmathis1811 Sorry for the delay ... I don't think CZcams emailed me that you had left another comment.
All the videos I found show the Toyota Touch multimedia system. My car has got the new Smart Connect multimedia system and does not have the buttons mentioned in the videos.
I have bought a voltmeter that plugs into the accessory socket. Turning the car on to the accessory position ... the highest I have seen is 12.4V and lowest 11.9V. When the car is fully on it shows around 14.5V. The car has started every time during the recent cold spell. I have come to the conclusion the battery is not faulty.
My own conclusion is that Toyota did an OTA for the DCM module to fix a safety problem with the e-Call system and that this did not go smoothly and ended up making my 12V battery go flat. This video has more info ....
czcams.com/video/XwY7m3xkybM/video.html
A few days ago I had another OTA update on my Smart Connect multimedia system and one of the changes listed was
"Update of the connectivity module (DCM) to fix connection issues"
My best guess is that something like this happened ... I think Toyota tried to do the e-Call update on my car but they had DCM connection issues which somehow lead to my 12V battery going flat - possibly the connection issues meant a computer or other system in my car was left on for too long (possibly overnight) and drained my 12V battery.
The e-Call fix may have been the first time Toyota have tried to do an OTA update to the DCM module. A month to investigate the connection issues, fix the problem, test the fix and then finally do an OTA seems realistic to me.
Its all too much of a coincidence that the letter about the OTA update arrived a few days before my car would not start and now a month later they are fixing the DCM connection issues. My flat 12V battery has got to be related to all these OTAs.
I want Toyota to tell me when they did the OTA update to fix the e-Call system ... it's not that they wont tell me ... its that nobody knows which department has the information!!!
@Humppa800 I am glad that you have not had the 12V battery problem. I wonder if cars that are being sold in Finland have a slightly different spec battery or something to cope with -20C ... I can only remember one winter in the UK that has been that cold!!!
The only thing I know is that I have had a flat 12V battery. The AA (car recovery) man told me that he has been called out to lots of Toyota Hybrids with flat 12V batteries. The Toyota Owners Club forum has a 71 page discussion of the issue. toyota.co.uk has a 560 comment discussion of the issue.
My dealer was very helpful and while they did not give me any numbers it was very clear from my conversations with them that they regularly deal with cars with flat 12V batteries and even do a free cable fit service for a solar charger.
So the 12V battery issue is a problem at least in the UK.
I think the fact that you charge the 12V battery twice per month is what has saved you from experiencing the problem.
After lots of investigation I have come to the conclusion that my 12V battery went flat because of a incorrect OTA update to the DCM module to fix a safety problem with the e-Call system. More details in this video
czcams.com/video/XwY7m3xkybM/video.html
After making the above video I had another OTA update on my Smart Connect multimedia system and one of the changes listed was
"Update of the connectivity module (DCM) to fix connection issues"
There are clearly issues with DCM module and I suspect that somehow that resulted in my 12V battery going flat.
Our 2022 Yaris hybrid with 25000 miles with plenty of long trips had flat battery one morning. The AA said that it was not holding a charge in the 12 volt battery. Not impressed with this after only 2 years of normal regular use. The car has full dealership history. Apparently this is becoming a well known fault - surely Toyota should be recalling these cars and fitting a more substantial battery under warranty? Legendary reliability reputation is under threat...
Agree with everything you say ... imagine how I felt when my 2022 Yaris was only 10months old and failed to start. It had 6,000miles on the clock and had been parked for one day and not used and then would not start.
Toyota GB is telling dealers to blame customers for not driving their cars enough. This is an absolute disgrace. I do about 8,000 miles per year which is UK average. Its a bad 12V battery that needs to be recharged by driving the car every day!!!
Toyota Poland has admitted there is a fault with the battery and they have got new 12V battery test equipment and procedures and they will replace any battery that fails the new tests under warranty.
czcams.com/video/EHtg81kM-FU/video.html
I have been told about a UK dealer who is charging £140 to recharge and test the battery. This is disgraceful and an absolute rip off because as far as I know they are not using the new 12V test equipment & procedures that are available in Poland so the tests will not find a defective 12V battery - so a wasted £140.
After months of emails with Toyota GB I did eventually get a new 12V battery. I monitor the 12V battery voltage every time I start the car. I know that the old battery voltages were about 0.5V less then the new 12V battery. So I know that my old battery was degraded by just one failure to start. My battery was recharged overnight by my dealer (for free) and tested and handed back to me as "healthy". I now know that my battery was not 100% healthy and that the UK dealers 12V test equipment is not finding defective batteries.
If my car fails to start again I will jump start it with the NOCO GB20 I have purchased and keep under the passenger seat. I will then get my local garage to fit a Yuasa 12V battery to replace the Mutlu 12V battery that Toyota specify. I have generally read good reports about the Yuasa 12V battery although somebody did leave a comment the other day that they had experienced a failure to start with the Yuasa battery. Cross fingers the Yuasa battery will work for me 🤞
For your information my 12V battery maintenance procedures are:
(1) Every 7 to 10 days I wash the car with the car in READY mode for about 60minutes which gives the 12V battery a good charge
czcams.com/video/Ch-L0JbbQUg/video.html
(2) If I do not use the car for 1 or more days I always connect the solar trickle charger (as shown in this video)
(3) I check the 12V battery voltage every time I start the car
czcams.com/video/0nYdnNVgvJI/video.html (video made with old battery)
I have not had any more failures to start ... but if I do I have got the NOCO GB20 so I should not need to call out the AA.
Although you have only had one failure to start I think it is possible that this is indicating that your battery is degraded. If it is degraded the chances of another failure to start increase. For peace of mind I would recommend that you get a new 12V battery asap.
Personally I would get a Yuasa from a local garage but as mentioned above while generally I have read good things about the Yuasa battery I have had one comment about a failure to start with a Yuasa battery.
@@Helpful-Stuff thank you for all the comprehensive information much appreciated - the car is going to the dealership for a battery check - I expect to be fobbed off with nonsense judging by what I have read. Funny thing is that we had the previous model for 3 years with no problems so it looks like Toyota have indeed stopped making boring cars but have replaced them with unreliable cars! Incidentally our car has also developed a water leak in the boot well - has already been back to the dealership once with this problem....
I also owned a Yaris Mark 3 from 2018 to 2022 and it started reliably even during COVID lockdowns when I only used the car once per week to go to the supermarket. Although overall I prefer the Mark 4 ... I trusted my Mark 3 to start every morning even when it was almost 5 years old ... the Mark 4 I am always a bit nervous about whether or not it will start and it is still well under 2 years old.
Unless Toyota GB have supplied new 12V test equipment and procedures to all UK dealers (the same as Toyota Poland) then based on my experience the 12V battery tests that UK dealers perform is meaningless.
In the dealers defence I think that Toyota GB that is putting them in an extremely difficult position. It is EXTREMELY hard to contact Toyota GB ... Toyota GB do NOT want to talk to customers about this problem. I phoned up Toyota GB Customer Services. I explained that I had a 12V battery problems and they told me they were transferring me to another team .... and I realised I had been transferred to the Service Manager at my local dealer!!!
I had more success talking to Toyota GB by email. They did try to fob me off with some incorrect information initially but in the end I did get a new battery - I think 4 or 5 months after my car failed to start.
@@Helpful-Stuff ok thanks for this - and yes I prefer the driving dynamics and the looks of the current model but not much good if you are stuck at an airport car park etc. etc. with a flat 12v battery! The previous model we had for 3 years and 35000 miles and not one problem...I would definitely not buy the mark 4 if only doing low miles/ short distances - we will probably move to another manufacturer next year when the PCP is up
@@Helpful-Stuff Update: 12v `Yaris battery replaced by Toyota dealership - apparently there has been a bulletin sent out to all uk dealers detailing the Yaris models to be fitted with new replacement 12v batteries. They will inspect your battery and if it corresponds to the details of the bulletin they will replace it. This was relayed to us by dealership technician. They are aware of 12v battery issues with the Yaris. However this doesn't appear to be a recall - it is down to you to report that your battery is flat or not holding a charge. Once again thanks for your info concerning this problem - they sound like they are listening at long last! Incidentally the leak in the boot was caused by incorrectly fitted grommets under the boot spoiler which have been replaced - but they left a puddle of water in the boot floor under the spare wheel...
Surely Toyota ought to be footing the bill for a more powerful battery. There is nothing about this defect in their sales promotion. I just got my Mazda 2 hybrid yesterday which is the same car. If this happens to mine I'll be on them like a ton of bricks.
Somebody left a comment under one of my videos last week that they owned a 2 year old Yaris (22 plate) with 25,000 miles on the clock that does loads of long drives but it had failed to start for the first time because the 12V battery would not hold its charge according to the AA. He took the car to his local Toyota dealer and they checked the details of his car against a bulletin from Toyota GB and because it matched the details in the bulletin they changed the battery ... without testing the old battery.
This no questions asked approach is totally new and maybe this Toyota GB bulletin will mark the end of the Yaris' 12V battery problem 🤞 However, it seems that Toyota GB are waiting for customers to complain before they replace the battery. So you have to suffer the inconvenience of a failure to start before Toyota GB will change the 12V battery. What they really need to do is automatically replace duff batteries for free at a service or recall all affected cars.
When my 10 month old car failed to start my dealer recharged the battery and tested it the following morning and handed the car back to me and said the battery was healthy so they would not change it. I was told to drive my car more even though I do around 8,000 miles a year - which is about the UK average. This means that a Yaris cannot maintain the 12V battery charge if you "only" drive UK average mileage ... no salesman will mention this!!!
The dealers are just doing what Toyota GB are telling them to do so I complained to Toyota GB. This turned out to be a LOT harder than I was expecting. I phoned up Toyota GB Customer Services and when they realised I was complaining about the 12V battery they transferred my call to the local dealer - I thought I was being transferred to another department at Toyota GB. Toyota GB do NOT want to talk to customers especially ones with a complaint. I had more success with my email complaint but it was a LONG process. 5 months after my car failed to start my battery was replaced but with the same battery that was factory fitted.
In another comment I was told that Toyota Poland have worked with Toyota HQ to investigate the problem and as a result of this work all Polish dealers have got new 12V battery test equipment and procedures and any 12V battery that fails the new tests will be replaced under warranty.
czcams.com/video/EHtg81kM-FU/video.html
I am still trying to find out if Toyota's UK dealers have got the new test equipment and procedures that Polish dealer have got.
I have absolutely no idea if the Mazda 2 suffers from the same problem. Nobody has mentioned the Mazda 2 in any other comments. If you are happy to look under the rear seat and check the 12V battery you could check if it is a Mutlu battery. If you have a Mutlu battery then it is possible that the Mazda 2 will suffer from the same problem because from everything I have read the battery seems to be the cause of the problem.
I hope Mazda UK customer services are better than Toyota GB customer services. Toyota GB have been absolutely appallingly bad at handling this situation. Although I have nothing but praise for my local dealer and the service manager who I think are doing a very good job in difficult circumstances and getting absolutely no support from Toyota GB.
@@Helpful-Stuff Thanks for the information. I am actually in Sweden and its the first I have heard of the problem over here. I will have a look at mine tomorrow. Nice car , but there is no way I am going to put up with the anxiety of starting issues after the money I've paid.
There is something very wrong with the design of the car for batteries to be discharging that fast. I was thinking of buying this car but won't now unless Toyota fix it.
I think my Yaris Excel with the Tech pack is both the BEST car I have ever bought but unfortunately it is also the WORST car I have ever bought. I do not buy a new car expecting it to fail to start when it is only 10 months old ... especially a Toyota!!! Unfortunately, the way Toyota are handling this problem means that Toyota's reputation for building reliable cars is taking a severe battering.
Just for balance the things I like about the car are the amazing fuel consumption, the intelligent cruise control with lane centering, wireless Android Auto, the head up display and all the other tech and safety features of the car.
However, since it failed to start I have lost confidence that it will always start. So to be sure that it will start I ...
- regularly plug in a solar trickle charger with a cable that my dealer fitted free of charge czcams.com/video/o8MkFUPfdvQ/video.html
- I charge the 12V battery for 1 hour per week in READY and I wash the car while it is charging czcams.com/video/Ch-L0JbbQUg/video.html
- I carry a NOCO Jump starter in the car ... just in case ....
I am currently in discussion with Toyota Customer Services about my car. I am totally unimpressed by the way they are handling the situation. I have asked if the new 2024 Yaris (130bhp) has a redesigned 12V system. They have not answered this question.
My personal opinion is that Toyota are sticking their head in the sand and blaming customers for the problem rather than accepting that Toyota have designed a duff 12V system in the Yaris Mark 4.
Surely Toyota knew this would be a problem. Plus it will become more of a problem when we are only allowed to drive a few miles in our allotted “zone”, but I guess that is just another way of stopping/restricting our driving/freedom anyway. IMO toyota should install something to over come this problem. What happens if someone is ill and cannot drive their car for a week, or leaves their car in a car park for 2 weeks while they go on holiday?? What a farce. I certainly would not have bought this car if I had been aware of this.
Can you explain what you mean when you typed... "when we are only allowed to drive a few miles in our allotted zone". What "zone"? Who restricts the amount of miles you can drive?
While I am not very happy with Toyota at the moment I think I need partly defend them...
Hybrids and EVs from all manufacturers have a small 12V battery because to start the car all that the battery has to do is power the computers. (Unlike a petrol/diesel engine which requires a lot of power from the battery for the starter motor to turn the petrol/diesel engine over to get it started.)
I have Googled and found complaints for loads of different manufacturers of Hybrids and EVs that the 12V battery gets discharged if the car is left parked for a week or two without being used. Unfortunately, this is a characteristic of having a small 12V battery. It's a characteristic that I understand and accept. However, I do agree that this is not explained to buyers by sales staff.
The problem with my Toyota Yaris Mark 4 is that it was left parked for just ONE day and then would not start. I am not alone - there are lots of people who have experienced a similar problem with the Yaris Mark 4.
I owned a Yaris Hybrid Mark 3 for 5 years (2018 to 2022) and it started reliably even during COVID lockdown when it was only used once per week to go to the supermarket. So from experience I know that Toyota can design a Hybrid that starts reliably when only used once per week.
The reason I am very annoyed with Toyota GB at the moment is that a LOT of people are experiencing problems with the Yaris Mark 4 not starting. However, instead of admitting the problem and fixing it Toyota GB is telling customers that it is their fault and they must drive the car more to keep the 12V battery charged.
However, there may be light at the end of the tunnel because a viewer in Poland sent me a link to an article on a Polish website where Toyota Poland admit the problem and that it will be fixed under warranty. I assume that if Toyota Poland are doing this then Toyota GB will do the same.
I am going to upload a video with details about this Polish article in the next few days. I will paste a link to the video in this thread ....
This is the new video with more information about the 12V battery solution that has (hopefully) rolled out to all European Toyota dealers.
czcams.com/video/EHtg81kM-FU/video.html
thanks for your videos on this matter, i too have just suffered this battery issue so all your options have been helpful
I am sorry that you have had the 12V problem. If you are like me you will now be nervous each morning about whether the car will start or not. I am slowly regaining confidence that with my car ... the 12V battery management routines that I am doing seem to be working 🤞
I owned a Yaris Mark 3 and it started reliably for 5 years even during COVID lockdowns when it was only being used once per week. The 12V system in the Mark 4 is much more fragile and in my case the car would not start after just one day without use. I have owned Toyota's since 2005 and one of the reasons I keep buying them is because they are reliable.
I think Toyota's approach of blaming customers for not driving enough mileage is corporate arrogance. The 12V system in the Yaris Mark 4 is seriously flawed and I think that the only reason Toyota will not accept the blame for the problem is that it will cost a LOT of money to fix all Yaris Mark 4s that have been sold.
I have learnt a lot about the 12V problem since my car would not start ... if you have any questions ... just leave a comment under any of my videos.
I have produced 9 videos about the 12V problem - this is a link to a playlist with all the videos
czcams.com/play/PLmbzH12hWCbHJVFcxyarQosiy_rLxnIAn.html
And just to show that despite its flawed 12V system I do still like my Yaris ... this a link to a load of videos about the features that I like and general stuff about Toyota...
czcams.com/play/PLmbzH12hWCbFNn9eNILQTdbWotbhU9eIO.html
am fixing the issue with a booster that i keep in the car...would be so simple to have the main hybrid battery able to maintain the auxiliary battery charged with some connectics and a control board...not sure why they did not thinknof it
Toyota Hybrids charge the 12V battery from the main hybrid battery via a DC-DC converter. (Hybrids do not have an alternator or starter motor.)
Toyota recommend that Hybrids are put into READY mode for 60minutes every week to give the 12V battery a good charge. The car does not need to be driven ... it can be stationary in READY mode because the high voltage battery will charge the 12V battery even when the car is stationary. The petrol engine in a hybrid does not need to be on to charge the 12V battery.
I wash my car weekly and while it is being washed I put the car in READY mode. So my weekly wash & charge keeps the battery fully charged and keeps my car nice and clean!!! Video includes advice to ensure the petrol engine only comes on for a few minutes While it is being washed .... czcams.com/video/Ch-L0JbbQUg/video.html
Having said all that I think there is something wrong with the design of the 12V system in the Yaris Mark 4 because my 10 month old car doing UK average mileage failed to start after a single day without use. That's not right!!! But Toyota insist on blaming customers rather than accepting that there is a design issue. I think this is to avoid the cost of doing a recall for all Yaris Mark 4s which would cost a lot of money.
Really interesting, thank you. How is the charger working for you? I have a 2 year old hybrid Corolla, only had it 6 days, and it's as dead as a dodo. Don't even get instructions/status on the dash. Literally nothing. Can't lock the car, can't open the boot. We are trying to reject the car, but if we meet strong resistance, we may have to find a workable solution, so am keen to see how you are getting on. Many thanks.
Apologies, have just seen comments further down regarding your 'maintenance regime'! All very helpful. Thank you and subscribed.
I am sorry that you are having problems with your Corolla when it is only 6 days old. In my view the 12V battery must have been "damaged" by multiple jump starts by the previous owner and possibly also by the dealer while it was on their forecourt awaiting to be sold and only doing an occasional test drive.
I can understand why you are investigating rejecting the car. Another alternative is to demand a new 12V battery under the used car warranty. I have had comments left under some of my videos from several buyers of used Toyota Hybrids who have successfully managed to get a new 12V battery for their car under the used car warranty.
I have made this video about buying a used Yaris Mark 4 which you may find interesting. My videos are always about a Yaris Mark 4 because that's the car that I own but I think a lot of them are relevant to other Hybrids as well....
czcams.com/video/RY5VZRhhwto/video.html
Now that I follow my maintenance routine I have not had any further problems with my 12V battery and my car has started reliably for almost 6 months - even during the cold winter weather - so my battery maintenance routing seems to be working successfully.
@@Helpful-Stuff Thank you. Yes, we may accept a new, higher powered battery if it's offered, but the more we think about it, the more we think they've tried to pull a fast one. One potential buyer pulled out before us, but the dealer wouldn't say why. When we turned up to test drive the car, it was already running on the forecourt, which i thought was odd, so asked why that was. They said it was so we had a warm car to get into. I'd rather start it from cold! Other issues also arose, but not enough to allow us to pull out of the purchase without losing our deposit.
Normally we would drive our car once a week into town which is about a 4-6 mile round trip, maybe twice. Plus the occasional longer trip, doing 4-6000 miles a year. We thought a hybrid would be good because everyone says how efficient they are in on short journeys. At no point were we asked how we drive, or how far, or warned that the battery would need charging once a week for an hour by leaving the car in 'Ready' mode. I've only found this stuff out since we've had our problem. Surely the battery is covered by Toyota's minimum 3 year warranty. Mind you, if they know this is an issue, which clearly they do, it probably isn't covered! Watch this space...
You said "...pull out of the purchase without losing our deposit". I have just Googled and apparently some used car dealers are asking for a deposit to go for a test drive. I am absolutely amazed ... I have never heard of that before.
The deposit and the fact that the dealer didn't allow you to start the car from cold and would not tell you why the previous buyer had pulled out makes me tend to agree with you when you say "... they've tried to pull a fast one".
I hope you manage to sort the problem either by rejecting the car or by getting a new 12V battery.
You are not the only person to leave a comment about the 12V battery maintenance not being mentioned by the salesman even when the customer clearly stated that they only do a few thousand miles per year.
I think its easier to claim for a new 12V battery when buying a used car ... I think the used car warranty is a type of insurance that the dealer buys for the used cars that they sell. So its a warranty claim on the insurance rather than a manufacturer's warranty claim. I have had several comments from used car buyers who bought a car where the 12V battery failed to start the car and they have successfully got a new 12V battery.
Solves the problem....but seriously shouldn't have to be doing this....
I totally agree ... I am absolutely furious I have bought a top of the range Yaris and the battery didn't have enough charge after a single day when I didn't drive it. This will (hopefully) solve the problem but it is fiddly and time consuming. I am going to have to unplug and move the solar panel at the start of every day I drive the car and then move it back to the dashboard and plug it into the OBD socket at the end of the day. It's a temporary work around its not a long term solution.
I put the solar charger on this morning and I have not used the car today. I need to use the car at 9am tomorrow morning ... so tomorrow morning I will know if it works. 🤞
@Helpful-Stuff I had same issue with my daughters...dealer reply not using enough....wtf....the idea of a hybrid is to save on fuel...but this really defeats the object if u have to drive more to keep battery alive..... at no point in point of sale was this mentioned to me or my daughter....we both have top of the range (supposedly) yaris hybrid
I know ... I have been told to use a longer route and to give the car a motorway run so that the battery is charged. It's absolutely crazy. The car has fantastic fuel economy ruined by a poor design for the 12V battery that means you have to drive more miles at a faster speed to keep the 12V battery fully charged ... it is ridiculous.
I actually feel sorry for the dealers - I think they are trying to find pragmatic solutions to a poor design by Toyota. Its Toyota that need to fix the problem not the dealers.
I have just been looking on the Toyota website for how I can make a formal complaint to Toyota GB but they hide behind the dealers. I am considering my next move but one things for certain I am not going to drop this.
@Helpful-Stuff apparently they have sorted this issue on the new model due out next year......that's nice of them not !!!
How have you found out that the problem has been fixed on next year's new model?
I have a 4-month-old Yaris Cross. For the last few days, the EV mode does not turn on for the first 15 minutes of driving, and the weather is warm and the heating is turned off. Could the cause of the problem be a low voltage in the 12 V battery. What do you think?
If your 4 month old Yaris Cross is very low mileage and/or has regular days without use then it could be the battery. My own car was 10 months old before a single day off resulted in my car not starting ... but I had done 6,000 miles. 4 months is a very young car to have a degraded 12V battery but if you have only done a 1 or 2 thousand miles in 4 months and the car regularly has 3 or 4 or more consecutive days without use then this could have degraded the battery.
For information ... this afternoon I washed my car with the car in READY mode to charge the 12V battery. Earlier in the day I had done two 10mile drives and at the end of the second drive I turned the heating off completely with the button on the far right of heater controls (I don't just turn the temperature down - I turn the heating off). I then turned the car on when I was ready to wash it and the car stayed in EV mode for about 20minutes then turned the petrol engine on for just over a minute and then back to EV mode.
So I think it is not normal for your Yaris Cross to not go into EV mode for 15minutes. My car is the other way around ... 20minutes in EV mode before petrol engine is turned on when it is parked.
You left another comment on one of my other videos yesterday where I recommended that you get a voltmeter.
If you haven't got a voltmeter then I think it would be worth leaving your car in READY mode for 60minutes to allow the car to charge the 12V battery from the main traction battery. You could do what I do and wash the car in READY mode so that it is not a wasted hour just sat in the car.
After 60 minutes in READY mode your 12V battery should be charged so you could then go for a drive and see if the car goes into EV mode more often.
Just in case you are wondering ... the source of the 60 minutes in READY mode advice is Toyota
mag.toyota.co.uk/coronavirus-toyota-hybrid-car-maintenance/
I used a solar trickle charger on mine, using that plug underneath the steering wheel, and it did the square root of F*** all to cure the problem, I love my Yaris , but this battery issue is completely unacceptable..
The aim of the solar trickle charger is to provide a very small amount of current to maintain the charge of the 12V battery. I only use my solar charger when my car will be parked and not used for a day or more so that the battery does not discharge while parked.
A solar trickle charger cannot recharge a flat 12V battery. If your car has failed to start because of a flat 12V battery then I think the best way to recharge the 12V battery is to use a car battery charger or if you don't have one leave the car in READY mode for several hours.
I put my car in READY mode for 60 minutes every week to keep the 12V battery charged. I wash my car so that it is not a wasted 60 minutes sat in the car doing nothing.
czcams.com/video/Ch-L0JbbQUg/video.html
For information I do this as per Toyota's recommendation.
mag.toyota.co.uk/coronavirus-toyota-hybrid-car-maintenance/
This 60 minutes in READY mode is to ensure that the 12V battery is charge is maintained ... but I am not sure how long it will take the car to fully recharge a flat battery which was was why I was vague and said "leave the car in READY mode for several hours".... I am sure it will need to be more than 1 hour but not sure how many hours.
I totally agree with you ... I think my Yaris is both the best car I have ever bought but it is also the worst car I have ever bought.
I should not have to be doing all this stuff to keep the 12V battery fully charged. I didn't have to do any of this with my Yaris Mark 3 which I owned from 2018 to 2022. It started reliably all the way through the COVID lockdowns when I only used it once a week to go to the supermarket.
The hybrid car has a screen showing the power from the motor you must use it is highlighted in red the arrow is pointing back to the big battery you have to drive, or you will never use the gas and it will go stale. that's one how will the battery get power the 12 volt when you try to ultra conserve power. I have 3 years of auto mechanic training the first thing I learned was how to get the best out of my hybrid car from another mechanic a master mechanic (the car care nut guy). I found two solar trickle chargers for $35 and $40 on amazon, people who have boats and motorcycle use these gadgets to maintain their batteries. The dealerships found during the pandemic cars that wasn't driven the batteries died with customer complaints. my car gets over 550 miles on a fill up this happened to my car, and I needed a jumpstart I will get one of these chargers with the obd 2 adapter modern cars can't use the cigarette lighter that is for older cars. That green ev logo means your batter the 12 volt one in the trunk will no be charged this is also a problem for the gas to go stale in the r4 prime plug in referred to " the car care nut guy". If I didn't elaborate fully the red arrow pointing back where it will be in reverse highlighted in green.
A Toyota Hybrid recharges the 12V battery from the main traction battery via a DC-DC converter. The petrol engine does NOT need to be running to recharge the 12V battery and there is absolutely no need to get the power meter on the dashboard in the red to charge the 12V battery.
The 12V battery is always being charged whenever the car is in READY mode ... it does not matter if the petrol engine is on or off ... or if the car is parked or driven.
To confirm this please read this Toyota web page that recommends that owners of low mileage cars sit in their car for 60 minutes per week with the car in READY mode - the web page states "Ensure the handbrake is on; there’s no need to go for a drive, ...."
mag.toyota.co.uk/coronavirus-toyota-hybrid-car-maintenance/
I follow Toyota's advice but I wash my car for 60 minutes with the car in READY mode so I don't have to sit in the car doing nothing for an hour. My video includes some tips on how to reduce the amount of time that the petrol engine comes on during the car wash:
czcams.com/video/Ch-L0JbbQUg/video.html
I agree that the cigarette lighter socket cannot be used for a solar trickle charger because the cigarette lighter socket is off when the car is switched off and parked. You have to use the OBD socket. There is more information about the trickle charger that my dealer recommended in this video
czcams.com/video/cSfik4yyXfo/video.html
@@Helpful-Stuff you must have mis read my meaning about the red arrow pointing back to the battery. not the gauge for the odometer you don't have to run your car for an hour to achieve this charge. I don't have this problem with my 2021 hybrid the A25 A 2.5 4 cylinder provides charging only last week I had that problem with the battery because it was parked more than 9 days. wintertime after a heavy snow fall, I turn on the remote start while removing the snow in ten minutes it cuts off. the mechanic I know went to school with my sister and brother he has over 20 years working for Toyota and the car care nut guy is also a master tech. the nice thing about these cars is you don't have an alternator to charge the battery or a starter the power control unit is why hybrid car should only jump hybrids because a regular car will damage the PCU that is $5,000 to replace. I can fix anything on these cars thanks, the solar panel is for a long vacation
Sorry for misunderstanding your post.
I owned a Yaris Mark 3 Hybrid from 2018 to 2022 and it started reliably even during COVID lockdowns when it was only used once per week to go to the supermarket.
In 2022 I bought a Yaris Mark 4 Hybrid and when it was only 10 months old it failed to start after 1 day without use - just to stress that is one day parked ... not 1 or 2 weeks ... just a single day.
There are LOTS of people experiencing similar problems with the Yaris Mark 4 because Toyota are using a very bad 12V battery from a Turkish manufacturer.
Hybrid's from all manufacturers use a small 12V battery and if a Hybrid car is parked for 1 or 2 weeks and not used then the 12V battery will probably be flat and unable to start the car. This is NOT the problem that me and lots of other Yaris Mark 4 owners are experiencing. The 12V battery in a Yaris Mark 4 will go flat after just 1 or 2 days without use.
Toyota Poland have accepted that there is a problem and have worked with Toyota HQ to define new 12V battery test procedures and any 12V batteries that fail the new tests will be replaced under warranty.
czcams.com/video/EHtg81kM-FU/video.html
As far as I am aware Toyota GB still do not accept that it is a Toyota problem. Toyota GB are still blaming customers for not driving their cars enough.
Toyota GB eventually changed my 12V battery but for the same bad battery from a Turkish supplier .... so it will probably fail again in another 10months. I am trying to avoid this by charging the 12V battery for 60minutes weekly when I wash my car.
I have owned Toyota's since 2005. One of the reasons I buy them is because they are reliable. My Toyota Yaris Mark 4 is NOT reliable. Toyota could fix the problem by replacing with a better 12V battery from another manufacturer but they will not do this.
Toyota have lost me as a future customer.
Hi "Helpful Stuff''. Your video re 12V Battery Issue is very informative and the solar panel 'fix' very well explained...thank you.I'm considering changing from 17 year old trouble-free Toyota Corolla Petrol to buy a new Toyota Corolla Hybrid. (My annual mileage is about 7,500 miles but majority of longer journeys done in summertime) Does this 12v battery 'flat-battery-issue' occur on Toyota Corolla Hybrid also? If so, I'd be tempted to opt for petrol only model but I understand that the engine of the Hybrid may be a superior engine. Thank you.
All Hybrid and all EVs from all manufacturers use small 12V batteries because all they need to do is turn the computers on. Petrol/diesel cars need a big 12V battery that provides a lot of power to the starter motor.
Its possible to find discussion about flat 12V batteries that fail to start a Hybrid from most manufacturers. The conclusion that I have come to is that it is a characteristic of the new generation of cars that we need to get used to.
Some manufacturers help their customers manage the 12V battery better than other manufacturers. For example, Kia and Hyundai have a 12V reset button which monitors the 12V battery all the time and if the 12V battery voltage drops dangerously low the 12V system is shut down completely to protect the 12V battery.
czcams.com/video/3k7SSJecDUg/video.html
Unfortunately Toyota don't have a 12V reset button ... they don't even put the 12V battery voltage on the dashboard or in the app ... Toyota just blame their customers for not driving the car enough!!! Although I have been a loyal Toyota owner since 2005 I am not at all impressed by the way that Toyota are handling the 12V battery problem.
Although the 12V battery problem happens with all hybrids there is a LOT more discussion about the Mark 4 Yaris failing to start than there is about other Hybrids or EVs.
I owned a Mark 3 Yaris for 5 years and had no problems starting it even during COVID lockdown when it was only used once per week. I then bought a Mark 4 Yaris and 10 months later it failed to start after one day without use.
The conclusion that I have come to is that Toyota have made a mistake in the design of the 12V system in the Yaris Mark 4 that means that the 12V battery is a lot more likely to fail to start the car than other Hybrids - from Toyota or other manufacturers. Unfortunately, I don't think that Toyota will admit it because it would be very expensive to fix every Yaris that has been sold!!!
I have not really been looking for the Corolla Hybrid when I have been researching the Yaris 12V problem so it's hard for me to be certain. I don't think the Corolla was mentioned in the discussions but I suggest that you have a scan through a couple of online discussions that are very interesting:
(1) Toyota's website has an interesting discussion below the article on this page that is 28 pages long
mag.toyota.co.uk/coronavirus-toyota-hybrid-car-maintenance/
(2) Toyota Owners Club has a 97!!! page discussion
www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/topic/217673-12v-battery-maintenance-issues-etc/
I cannot claim to have read all of these long discussion but just pick a few pages at random to get a feel for the situation and see if you can spot Corolla in the discussion.
My personal thoughts are ... go for the Corolla Hybrid but buy a NOCO GB20 Jump starter and keep it in your car ... just in case!
I think that a NOCO will be a good long term investment because whatever EV or Hybrid you buy in the future, after your Corolla, will probably have a small 12V battery so the NOCO jump starter will be a useful backup for all your future cars.
Thanks ever so much for taking such time and trouble to give such a detailed answer to my query.....a lot more than I would have expected. I'm a lot more knowledgeable now and will find it much easier to make my final decision....probably Corolla Hybrid with the Jump starter. Does the NOCO GB20 charge the car faster than the CTEXK XS 0.8 charger? Thanks again.
A jump starter and a charger are two slightly different things.
A jump starter, like a NOCO GB20, will allow you to start your car immediately even if you do not have a 240V electricity supply nearby but it does not charge the battery. If you switch the car off 2 minutes after you have jump started it then the 12V battery will still be flat and you will need to use the jump starter again. You will probably have to keep a Toyota hybrid switched on in "READY" mode for around 1hour - either driving or parked - to allow the car to recharge the 12V battery from the big traction battery. It may be longer than an hour if your 12V battery is very flat. But the key point is that the jump starter enables you to start the car immediately without a 240V socket nearby and the 12V battery is recharged by the car in the normal way when the car is in READY mode.
A charger, like a CTEK, generally plugs into a 240V socket and it slowly charges the battery back to fully charged. Some CTEK chargers have the ability to get the battery back to a working voltage fairly quickly - around 15minutes. But the key thing is that most chargers need a 240V socket near the car and they do not work immediately.
I decided to go for a jump starter because if a car fails to start it will always be when I am in a rush ... that's just life !!! So I will want my car to start immediately. I have an allocated car parking space at home but I do not have a 240V socket near my car parking space. So, in my situation a Jump Starter seemed a much better solution than a charger.
I have had a quick look at the CTEK XS 0.8 charger. I have never seen it mentioned in any of the discussion forums about the Yaris. I had a quick scan of the manual and the biggest capacity battery that is mentioned is a 32Ah battery which takes 32hours to get to 80% charged. The factory fitted battery in the Yaris is 35Ah and in the discussions many people think that this is too small and possibly the cause of the Yaris 12V failures to start - Halfords will fit a 45Ah battery. I therefore think the Corolla is likely to have a bigger capacity battery than the 35Ah battery in a Yaris. I think the CTEK XS 0.8 charger is too small to charge the battery in a hybrid car so I would recommend getting a bigger CTEK charger.
I did seriously consider buying the "CTEK CS Free" because this has an internal rechargeable battery and therefore does not require a 240V socket but it takes about 15minutes to recharge a flat battery so that the car will start. However, it will "condition" a 12V battery ... no exactly sure what this means but it apparently extends the life of the 12V battery.
In the discussion forums about the 12V problem some people connect their Yaris to a CTEK charger every few weeks to charge & condition the 12V battery. A complexity to this is that you have to connect the charger directly to the 12V battery under the rear seat. I have never tried this but from what I have read there is not much space under the rear seat so you need to be quite confident with car maintenance to get at the battery and then to connect the charger. Some people have written about how they have installed some additional wiring so that they have connectors near the rear seats so that they do not need to take the rear seat off to connect a CTEK charger.
When you jump start the car you connect the NOCO jump starter to connectors under the bonnet which is much more convenient than dismantling the rear seat ... but you cannot use the under bonnet connectors to charge the 12V battery with a CTEK charger.
So in the end I came to the conclusion that the NOCO GB20 jump starter is the best solution for me .... I do not have a 240V socket near my car parking space and I am not really into car maintenance so I do not want to start taking my rear seat off to connect a CTEK charger.
I’m extremely grateful to you for all this information and the time it took to write it up. Very much appreciated.
Since you mentioned that you are thinking of buying a Corolla I thought I would just let you know that @rad1sh480 has just left a comment about a Corolla that has got the 12V battery problem ... if you scroll up and down you should find the comment.
You were asking if the 12V battery problem occurs with the Corolla as well as the Yaris and I wasn't sure ... obviously this comment shows the 12V battery problem can happen to the Corolla ... but what I would say is that one comment does not mean that the 12V battery problem happens to a lot of Corollas.
In summary ... @rad1sh480 has purchased a 2 year old Corolla which experienced the problem 6 days after purchase. I think that the 12V battery must have been damaged by the previous owner and suggested getting a new 12V battery under the used car warranty.
How can you believe a 5W solar panel can really charge your car battery (not mentioning this is advertised peak power you only get with full direct sun exposure at the right angle...) ? A car battery typically needs 4 or 5 amps at around 14V to charge and it requires many hours of charge... In other terms, you need a minium of 50W power... You could do with half the power at 2 amps (25W minimum) but it would take at least double the time, so more than 10 hours for a half charge...
I agree with everything that you say. However, the aim of a solar trickle charger is NOT to charge a 12V battery ... the aim of a trickle charger is to MAINTAIN the charge of the battery.
The Service Manager at my dealers explained to me that when parked modern cars draw 50-60mA whereas older cars only draw about half of that. He also told me that the Toyota's Yaris' computers are on for about 20 minutes after I switch the car off so for 20minutes it will be drawing even more than 50-60mA but the 12V battery is not being charged from the main traction battery because the car is off.
The aim of the solar charger is therefore to provide just enough current to maintain the charge of the 12V battery.
I was reading a forum yesterday about the Toyota Yaris 12V issue and somebody left a comment to say that they went on holiday and could not start their car when they came back. So, he bought a solar trickle charger and also a gadget to monitor the health of the 12V battery and when they returned from their next holiday the car started and the 12V battery monitor said the battery was at 98%.
I have read other comments that confirm that the solar trickle charger does work.
The problem for me is that my Yaris failed to start after a single day without use so I connect the solar trickle charger whenever the car will be parked for several hours in daylight. My local Toyota dealer fitted the cable so that it is a lot easier to connect and disconnect the solar charger.
czcams.com/video/o8MkFUPfdvQ/video.html
Because my car would not start after a single day without use I suspect that my battery was drained by a totally different issue ... Toyota sent a "silent" update to my car for a "safety recall". I think this update went wrong and drained my battery:
czcams.com/video/XwY7m3xkybM/video.html
After I made this video my car received an update that included a fix for "connectivity issues" for the DCM module. The DCM module was updated for the "safety recall" so to my mind this confirms that Toyota bodged an attempt to update my car for the "safety recall" and this drained my 12V battery so that I could not start my car.
Toyota have so far been totally uncooperative in giving me the date when they sent the "safety recall" update to my car so I cannot confirm this.... yet.
Could you advise if the solar trickle charger has been a success. I have the same car too and a low mileage driver. Does the trickle charger have protection to prevent it from over- charging? I love my car too, but this is the 3rd time its happened to me.
I am doing several things which combined have prevented the 12V battery from going flat:
(1) Solar trickle charger is used regularly but not every single day. It depends how sunny it is and if the car will be parked for several hours with good sunlight. There is no point plugging the solar charger in if it is only a couple of hours before dusk and the weather is overcast. I think there is very little chance of the trickle charger over charging the battery ... it produces so little current. My dealer told me that all modern cars including the Yaris use 100mA or so when parked and "off" - if the trickle charger can replace this current so that the 12V battery just stays at the same level of charge then that is a result.
(2) Toyota recommend charging the 12V battery once per week by putting the car in READY mode for an hour without driving. I combine this with a car wash so that I don't sit in the car for hour doing nothing. This video shows you how to do the wash + charge without using much fuel. I do this every 7 to 10 days.
czcams.com/video/Ch-L0JbbQUg/video.html
(3) I have bought a voltmeter to plug into the accessory socket. This video shows the voltages that I am seeing. If I start to see the voltage drop then this is a warning that I may get another failure to start.
czcams.com/video/0nYdnNVgvJI/video.html
(4) I have bought a NOCO GB20 Jump Starter that I keep behind the passenger seat just in case the above fails.
(5) For cars under 3 years old I normally buy AA cover but without Home start. For this car I have decided to add Home Start to my AA cover now that my one year "free" AA cover has ended.
So I am working quite hard to try to ensure that I do not get another 12V battery failure. Its a good job I like everything else about the car ... it is both the best car I have ever owned and the worst car I have ever owned!!! ... but very possibly the last Toyota that I will buy. I have owned Toyota's since 2005.
If this all fails I will probably go to Halfords because they will change the factory fitted 35Ah battery for a 45Ah battery. This will not solve the problem but it will mean that it takes longer for the 12V battery to go flat when it is not being driven. The only thing that makes me cautious about doing this is that I am not sure if the smart charger built into the Yaris has been designed for a 45Ah battery.
I know that each jump start damages the 12V battery which means that it can hold less charge which means that you are more likely to have to jump start it again. What I do not know is how many jump starts before the 12V battery has been seriously degraded and needs replacing. If you have had 3 jump starts you may want to think about replacing the 12V battery ... possibly with a 45Ah battery???
I have to be honest I am disappointed and angry with Toyota ... my dealer has been fantastic but Toyota GB are showing corporate arrogance by effectively telling customers ... "it's a hybrid with a small 12V battery - drive more miles". I owned a Yaris Hybrid Mark 3 for 5 years and it started reliably even during COVID lockdowns. In my view Toyota have made a design mistake with Mark 4 that they should pay to correct ... but they will not because to fix every Yaris that has been sold would cost a LOT!!! ... so us customers are left trying to figure out how to ensure our cars will start reliably. Its very poor ... Toyota's reliability reputation has gone.
Can I ask if your solar fix is a success as I am thinking of buying the same car. Many thanks David.
Yes 😀 My car has had a day without use twice since I have been using the solar panel and has started both times.
My dealer has also fitted the solar panel's OBD cable (free of charge) so that it is permanently plugged into the OBD port and the other end of the cable appears at the bottom of the driver's side A pillar which makes it a lot easier to plug the solar panel in.
The only down side to this is that the solar panel's OBD plug is very large and there is the risk that the driver will kick it getting into or out of the car when plugged into the OBD socket. So my dealer has unscrewed the OBD socket and pushed it together with the solar panel plug plugged into it back into the dash so it does not stick out into the driver's footwell. I will make a video to show this in the next couple of weeks.
Fitting the ODB cable is not a big job ... apparently its just 2 screws and takes well under 15 minutes ... so if another mechanic needs access to the OBD port at some stage its not a big job to get the OBD port and plug a laptop or whatever into the OBD port.
It might be worth me saying that I think my Yaris Excel with Tech pack is an absolutely fantastic car with the exception of this problem. The fuel economy is amazing 😀 I have got loads of gadgets and safety features 😁 I would still recommend the car ... but you need to be aware of and manage the 12V battery if you are a low mileage driver or when you go on holiday and leave you car unused for more than a few days.
Thank you very much for your full explanation. I look forward to your future postings and have fully subscribed to your channel. Kind regards. David.@@Helpful-Stuff
The starter battery on my 2023 Toyota Yaris Cross Hybrid loses 4 volts in 2 days while sitting in the garage. Either the battery is defective or the car has a ground fault. Even if the 12V starting batteries of the hybrid are not fat batteries, can they discharge so quickly from doing nothing? This is beyond my understanding. Up to this point it's a great car.
Wow ... losing 4volts in 2 days is a serious problem. The AA man showed me that my battery dropped to 9.45V after a single day without use. However, I have not seen a repeat of that - it only happened on that one occasion. I have left the car for a day without use and my car has started OK.
Have you seen a drop of 4volts over 2 days on multiple occasions?
If you have then I think you have a defective 12V battery. What does your Toyota dealer say?
You say your car is "doing nothing" ... unfortunately modern cars are actually still use quite a lot of electricity from the 12V battery even when parked. The service manager at my dealer explained to me that for about 20minutes after you switch your car off it is still drawing a lot of current from the 12V battery doing all sorts of stuff (not quite sure what !!!). And even after 20minutes a modern car still uses a lot more current than an older car.
This is why the dealer recommended the solar trickle charger to me because it will just keep the 12V battery topped up. I have read comments in Toyota forums from people who have used the trickle charger successfully when they go awa on holiday and leave a Yaris in an airport car park. The frustrating thing is that I now use it regularly ... not just when I go away on holiday. This wasn't really what I was expecting when I bought a top of the range Yaris Excel with the Tech pack.
However, I agree with you when you say "up to this point it's a great car". I think my Yaris is both the best car I have ever bought ... and at the same time the worst car I have ever bought !!!!
@@Helpful-Stuff
1 Day standing still, my car has the same drop to 9,45V as your car. After 2 days 8V. Unfortunately, this means that when I travel and park for a few days, I still have to buy and carry a jump starter with me. I won't get a solar panel. That's too much effort for me.
From what you are saying it sounds like you are getting these voltage drops regularly whereas I have only seen a voltage drop to 9.45V on one occasion - 3 months ago. If you are seeing these voltage drops regularly and having to do a lot of jump starts then I think you need to buy a new 12V battery because the battery is damaged and it will only get worse as the battery degrades further.
@@Helpful-Stuff
Yes, I get the Voltdrops regularly. My car is in the garage when I don't need it and it's dark there. That's why the solar panel doesn't make sense for me. After 36 hours of standstill there is no longer enough power to start. If my dealer wasn't 35 miles away, I would have visited them already. But I don't want to drive 70 miles round trip at the moment. But I will contact him again by phone in the next few days. If he gives me a free replacement car, I'll bring my car there. Then he can measure the voltage loss over 1 - 2 days. If he thinks I don't drive enough, I'll ask him if he recharges or jumpstarts all hybrid vehicles every Monday morning so that he can let prospective buyers drive them ;) I bought the car new in May 2023. It has only traveled 1180 miles. Thanks for the communication. Was very interesting.
You are getting a voltage drop because when you are parked, the 12V battery is continuously supporting components in your car, such as the computer, door locks and other features which require current after you have locked your car and walked away from it. The 12V battery is ALWAYS draining more; or less; current continuously.
So, if you plan on leaving your Yaris at the airport car park when you go on holiday; have a jump starter, or a spare 12V battery in the boot to get the car started when you arrive back. It could spoil your holiday.
Are you absolutely serious? Toyota is selling a vehicle which is not fit for use. It's 2024 not the dark ages. It's outrageous that Toyota do not advise of this problem either during the sales pitch or in the handbook. My wife's car's battery, together with countless others mentioned on the internet, cannot hold its charge resulting in her being stranded on numerous occasions. And Toyota's answer is to use a solar charger which requires plugging-in and then disconnecting after each drive and which presents a safety hazard to whoever uses it. Would you have bought your Toyota if someone had told you that it was a good idea to fit a clumsy, solar panel to your car everytime you parked it? It's a lunatic solution to a problem that Toyota can solve by fitting a more appropriate battery.
I agree - I would not have purchased a Yaris Mark 4 if I had known that it would not start 10 months after I had bought it and after just ONE day without use.
However, since the 12V battery is a problem and I do NOT want the car to fail to start again ... I accept that I must:
(a) regularly connect the solar panel. My dealer has fitted the cable so that it is easier to connect the solar panel czcams.com/video/o8MkFUPfdvQ/video.html
(b) I also wash the car weekly with the car in READY mode for 60minutes to charge the 12V battery czcams.com/video/Ch-L0JbbQUg/video.html
(c) I have also purchased a NOCO jump starter just in case it still will not start.
Am I happy with the situation ... NO absolutely not. The alternative is that my car regularly fails to start causing me stress and inconvenience. Each failure to start degrades the 12V battery a bit more so that that chance of another failure to start increases because the battery just keeps getting progressively worse causing me even more stress.
My personal preference is to manage the 12V battery as described above so that I do not have the stress and inconvenience of failures to start when I am in a rush to go somewhere.
My Yaris Excel with Tech pack is the best and the worst car I have ever owned.
The only bit of good news is that Toyota Poland appear to have got Toyota HQ to investigate the problem and it does seem that there is a solution rolling out across Europe to test and replace faulty 12V batteries...
czcams.com/video/EHtg81kM-FU/video.html
ODB plug doesn’t work, you need to attach clamps directly to the battery terminal under the bonnet, in my experience
You are wrong ... the solar trickle charger connected to the ODB plug does work and allows the trickle charger to maintain the 12V battery charge.
The jump starter terminal under the bonnet must *not* be used for charging the 12V battery. I believe this is because the under bonnet terminal connects to the DC-DC converter. The owners manual calls the under bonnet terminal the "exclusive jump starting terminal" ... i.e. it must only be used for jump starting not for charging.
If you want to charge the 12V battery you must connect the charger directly to the battery terminals on the 12V battery. The 12V battery is located under the rear seat.
I am not sure if the confusion is because you are expecting the solar trickle charger to charge your 12V battery after it has gone flat. The solar trickle charger is not able to recharge a flat battery ... whether you connect to the ODB port, the accessory socket, under the bonnet or even directly to the 12V battery.
The aim of a solar trickle charger is to provide a small amount of current that will maintain the charge of a healthy charged 12V battery. I use my solar trickle charger if I am not going to use my Yaris for one or more days. Modern cars use a small amount of current even when parked ... the solar trickle charger is able to provide enough current to keep the 12V battery fully charged when parked for one or more days.
Seems ridiculous. Would rather jump it as needed
Today I have received a NOCO jump starter. It has just finished its first charge. My car has not been used today but it has had the solar charger connected all day ... just in case it does not start tomorrow morning I have got the NOCO.
I am really pleased with my car ... all the technology and gadgets on it are fantastic and it is so economical with fuel ... but I have totally lost trust in my car starting in the morning ... so I want both belt and braces !!!
I cannot believe that Toyota believe that this is acceptable to their loyal customers who almost certainly put reliability as one of their top 3 reasons for buying a Toyota. I want my car fixed ... its only 10 months old and still under guarantee .. it should start every morning!!!
Toyota risk losing their reliability reputation because of the Yaris' 12 volt battery.
May I ask which NOCO model you went for and if it works properly ?
I have bought the NOCO GB20. A hybrid's 12V battery only needs to start the computers to allow the car to start which uses a lot less current than the starter motor in a petrol or diesel car so I believe the GB20 should be more than capable of jump starting a Yaris Hybrid.
I haven't had any problems starting my car since I bought the NOCO so I have not been able to test it. However, I have read comments in some other forums that a NOCO GB20 has successfully jump started a Yaris Hybrid.
Have you tried turning off the keyless entery that drained the battery aswell
I agree that the keyless entry system is a drain on the 12V battery. However, it is a consistent drain on my 12V battery and it hasn't drained my 12V battery in the 10 months up to the point where my battery was flat so I don't think it is the cause of an excessive current drain the day before my car would not start.
What I am trying to find is an electrical drain that happened the day before my car would not start that does not happen normally. I strongly suspect that Toyota tried to do an OTA to fix a regulatory issue with the car's e-Call system
czcams.com/video/XwY7m3xkybM/video.html
In the video I said that the dealer suspects that my normal mileage is not enough to keep the 12V battery charged. However, this analysis of my mileage shows that I am doing UK average mileage which should be enough to keep the 12V battery charged.
czcams.com/video/ctXDnI9uuYI/video.html
In this video I show a voltmeter plugged into my accessory socket and towards the end of the video I show the voltage on my normal daily drive which seems to confirm that my 12V battery has been charged on the return drive of my normal daily drive.
czcams.com/video/0nYdnNVgvJI/video.html
So, I have discounted the theory that I am not doing enough mileage to keep my 12V battery charged and what I am trying to find is one-off electrical drain on my 12V battery that occurred the day before my car would not start ... with my favourite theory being Toyota's OTA to fix the e-Call system.
@@Helpful-Stuff try turning it off anyway you could risk it getting stolen
Good point! ... I live in a flat that is not on the ground floor and it is behind a locked shared door and then my own locked front door. Even if thieves got through shared door they would struggle to know which flat owns which car. I think (or maybe hope) that my Yaris is safe from "relay theft". 🤞
That must be a joke! I can't believe Toyota told you to do that! I don't know ANY car that requires additional charging of the battery when driving on short distances. BTW 20 miles is NOT a short distance! Jesus!
I have since found out that there is a problem with the 12V battery that is factory fitted in the Yaris. Toyota Poland have got new battery test equipment and procedures and will change any 12V battery that fails the new tests under warranty.
czcams.com/video/EHtg81kM-FU/video.html
However, what I have been unable to find out is whether Toyota GB have got the new test equipment and procedures and if they will replace a 12V battery under warranty.
Personally I think that Toyota HQ and Toyota GB have handled this situation appallingly.
Some UK Toyota dealers are handling this situation as best they can for example my dealer ... I have heard of others that are profiteering by charging customers £144 to recharge and test the 12V battery overnight. That's an absolute rip off that Toyota GB should stop.
I have had a new 12V battery fitted. I now recharge the battery for 1 hour once per week when I wash the car
czcams.com/video/Ch-L0JbbQUg/video.html
If I do not use the car for 1 or more days I fit the solar trickle charger to maintain the 12V battery charge.
I am not happy with doing this but I do not want the car to fail to start again so this is how I ensure that the 12V battery has a healthy charge.
Its a good thing that in all other respects the Yaris is a very good car. I often say that my Yaris Excel with the Tech pack is the best car I have ever owned but unfortunately it is also the worst car I have ever owned.
I have owned Toyota's from 2005 but unfortunately this Yaris is possibly the last Toyota I will ever buy. In my mind Toyota's can no longer be considered reliable.
Easy fix buy a noco genius 5 & recharge your battery once a month. Or buy a GB40 jump pack.
All modern hybrid or EV have this issue as the batteries are low capacity if left unused they drain quickly. Speaking from experience.
I owned a 2018 Yaris Hybrid Mk3 that never failed to start even during COVID lockdown when it was only used once a week to go to the supermarket. I replaced it with a 2022 Yaris Mk4 so based on my previous experience I was shocked, disappointed and angry when a 10 month old Yaris failed to start after a single day without use. I do about 8K miles per year which should be enough to keep the 12V battery charged. czcams.com/video/ctXDnI9uuYI/video.html
I have bought an AA trickle charger (recommended by my dealer), a NOCO GB20 jump starter and I wash my car weekly with the car switched on and the READY light illuminated on the dashboard to charge the 12V battery. czcams.com/video/Ch-L0JbbQUg/video.html
While I accept and agree that Hybrid's from any manufacturer have a small 12V battery that you need to look after to ensure that you can always start the car, my experience seems to show that Yaris Mk4 is more likely to suffer from a flat 12V battery than the Yaris Mk3. Some people are changing the factory fitted 12V battery for a higher capacity battery. They realise that this will not completely prevent the problem but it will hopefully make it less likely to happen because the battery can last longer before it goes flat.
I think my car should be doing enough mileage to keep the battery charged so I did some further investigating ....I received a recall notice from Toyota by letter to fix a problem with the e-Call system. The e-Call system was fixed with an OTA update to my car's DCM module. This update was done "silently" without my involvement sometime after 12-Oct-23. My car failed to start at the end of October. czcams.com/video/XwY7m3xkybM/video.html
In Dec-23 my Smart Connect system received an update that included amongst other things a fix for connection issues with the DCM. This update was *not* silent - it took about 10minutes and the car had to be left switched on in the READY mode. czcams.com/video/GNiSj0FxTqo/video.html
I suspect that when Toyota tried to do the "silent" OTA update to fix the e-Call problem the OTA went wrong because of the DCM's connection issues and this resulted in my 12V battery going flat. I have spoken to my dealer about this but they do not have access to the date when my car's e-Call OTA update was done. I tried to phone Toyota GB but they just transferred me back to my dealer. Frustrating!
I think that there are a lot of Toyota customers who bought a Toyota because of its legendary reliability - the last thing they want to do is lift a car's bonnet and do anything more complicated than top up the screen washer fluid.
Kia and Hyundai have a 12V Reset switch that is a much more customer focussed way of dealing with the small 12V battery. Although I am happy to jump start a car I would much rather press a button than have to jump start my car.
Toyota need to learn from Kia and Hyundai and stop blaming their customers for a flat 12V battery and do something to help their customers manage the 12V battery better that does not require the bonnet to be lifted.
I totally agree a Toyota (and any modern car) "should just start every day". The Yaris Mk4 is seriously flawed because it cannot be relied on to start every day.
However, I don't agree that the car is crap. If I didn't like the car I would have sold it already. I really like the ....
- fantastic petrol consumption czcams.com/video/Tvy1g-GbLCw/video.html
- Dynamic radar cruise control with lane centering
- head up display
- wireless Android Auto czcams.com/video/F3PcTmEOKv8/video.html
etc
@bessie2275 I hope you read my reply to your other message because I think you need to get your 12V battery replaced at no cost to you.
wth?
I am as surprised as you. I have owned Toyota's since 2005 and one of the main reasons for buying a Toyota is that they are reliable. I am therefore extremely disappointed and angry that Toyota GB are telling dealers to explain to customers that they are not driving their cars enough and that is why the 12V battery has gone flat.
There is a design "problem" with Hybrids from any manufacturer because they use a small 12V battery because there is no starter motor in a hybrid. A starter motor in a normal ICE car requires a lot of current to start the car hence the big 12V battery. A hybrid only requires a little bit of current to turn the computers on but the computers do need a good steady voltage. Hybrid's therefore only need a small 12V battery.
This does create a known problem where if you leave a Hybrid in an airport car park for 2 weeks while on holiday there is a good chance it will not start because the small 12V battery will have gone flat.
However, this is NOT what is happening with the Yaris Mark 4. I use mine regularly and had done about 6,000miles in 10 months and I had not used it for ONE day and it would not start. There is clearly something wrong with the car.
Toyota GB are telling dealers to blame customers for not driving their cars enough because they automatically assume it is the known problem with Hybrid's small 12V battery. But quite clearly in a case like mine I do more than enough mileage to keep the 12V battery charged.
There is a problem with the 12V battery. Toyota Poland's dealers have new 12V battery test equipment and procedures and will change any battery that fails the tests under warranty.
czcams.com/video/EHtg81kM-FU/video.html
Toyota GB do not appear to be adopting the same policy. I have even had comments from people who have told me about UK dealers who will charge £144 to recharge and test your battery.
The problem is that the old tests that I believe UK dealers are using will almost certainly report that the battery is healthy. When my car failed to start I was given a print out which showed that the battery was healthy. My battery was eventually replaced and by comparing voltages with the old and new battery I know that my old battery was degraded ... it was not totally damaged but it certainly was not 100% healthy.
I owned a Yaris Mark 3 Hybrid from 2018 to 2022. It always started reliably even during COVID lockdown when it was only used once per week. So I know that Toyota can design a Hybrid that starts reliably when used infrequently. Unfortunately the Toyota Mark 4 cannot be relied on to start but Toyota GB do not want to accept there is a problem they just want to blame customers.
My Toyota Yaris Mark 4 Excel with Tech pack is a fantastic car with loads of really good features and gadgets and it is the best car I have ever bought ... unfortunately it is also the worst car I have ever bought because it will not start reliably unless I ensure the 12V battery charge is maintained !!!
Just buy a noco gb40 1000a and jump start it anytime
I have got a NOCO GB20 which is all you need to start a Hybrid.
You are right that as car problems go its easily fixed but I didn't spend a lot of ££££ on a brand new top of the range Yaris and expect to have to jump start when it was only 10 months old and had not been used for 1 day.
You can also guarantee that the car will refuse to start on a day that I am in a rush and haven't got time to jump start the car.
One of the reasons that I have been buy Toyota's since 2005 is that Toyota's are reliable. My Yaris Mark 4 is not reliable.
So while I have got a GB20 that will fix the problem I do not think that it is acceptable that I should have to jump start my new Yaris.
Your right it needs a bigger battery I drive mine everyday I've had no problems but if you leave it for 2 weeks you have to jump start it
This was my usage in the build up to my car failing to start....
- 48 days used every day average mileage 24 miles per day
- 1 day parked
- 7 days used every day average mileage 20 miles per day
- 1 day parked
- Failed to start
Hybrids from all manufacturers use a small 12V battery and if left parked in an airport car park while on holiday for 2 weeks will probably not start. I know this and if I go on holiday I use a solar trickle charger.
The problem with the Yaris Mark 4, as you can see from my daily use listed above, is that my car had just ONE day parked and then would not start.
I really hope that it does not happen to you ... and if you use your car every single day then I think you are right it is unlikely to happen to you. But if you go away on holiday or are sick for a few days it could still happen to you.
I was aware of the Yaris Mark 4's reputation for failing to start but I didn't think it would happen to me because I drive too much ... but it did!!!
One of the reasons that I did not think it would happen to me is that I had a Yaris Mark 3 from 2018 to 2022 ... it started reliably even during COVID lockdown when it was only used to go to the supermarket once per week.
I don't think the Yaris Mark 4 needs a bigger battery ... it needs a better quality 12V battery. If my Yaris fails to start again I will go to a local garage (not a Toyota dealer) and get them to fit a Yuasa 12V battery which from what I have read is a much better battery and has solved the problem for other Yaris owners.
@Helpful-Stuff yeah a better battery will do it for free to all toyota
@@Helpful-Stuff I notice all European yaris have heated seats ?
What a heap of junk
While I understand why you would say the car is a heap of junk - its not quite as simple as that. I think the car is both the best car and worst car I have ever bought.
Its the best because I achieve 75mpg and as the weather gets warmer this will improve to over 80mpg. The Tech in the car is fantastic ... all the drivers aids (intelligent cruise control, head up display, blind spot detection, parking sensors with auto braking etc) the infotainment system with wireless Android Auto is fantastic ... the app is pretty good offering remote locking & status, mileage & fuel consumption for every trip & total car mileage, remote start to warm/cool the car.
However, I totally agree that all of these fantastic features are trumped by the fact that the 12V battery goes flat after just one day without use - even if like me you drive average annual mileage. When the car will not start any car is a better car.
I think the key question is would I recommend the car to family or friends?
- I would *not* recommend the car to my 80+year old dad who only does a few thousand miles per year
- however I would recommend the car to a friend who uses their car every single day and does over 10,000miles per year since this mileage will almost certainly keep the battery charged and they are unlikely to experience a flat battery ... unless they go on holiday and leave the car in an airport car park!
Dealer fix - buy this garbage to rememdy our poor engineering..
I agree with your comment about "poor engineering" but you may be directing your comment at the wrong organisation. Toyota designed the Yaris and is the company responsible for the "poor engineering" of the 12V system that is causing all the problems.
Toyota dealers are independent companies that sell and maintain Toyota cars. Dealers have absolutely nothing to do with the design or engineering of the cars they sell and maintain. They cannot change the specification of any of the components. This is why some people are going to Halfords to get a 45Ah 12V battery fitted because Toyota dealers have to fit the 35Ah battery specified by Toyota.
My local dealer is, I think, handling a difficult situation very well and has taken the decision to fit the cable for the solar trickle charger free of charge. It does not take long to fit the OBD cable but they do it for free to try and keep their customers happy. I have read about other dealers are not so helpful.
@@Helpful-Stuffwhich country shall provide free solar please？
I am afraid that I had to buy the AA Solar Panel. I bought it from eBay for just under £40.
My dealer installed the cable free of charge as shown in this video
czcams.com/video/o8MkFUPfdvQ/video.html
@@Helpful-Stuff thanks. Use this Solar can solved the problem recently ?
To ensure that my 12V battery always starts my car I do the following:
(1) Plug the solar trickle charger in regularly especially if the car is not going to be used for most of the day. I will ALWAYS plug it in if I am not using the car for a day or more.
(2) I wash the car with the car in READY mode for 1 hour every 7 days. Toyota recommend 1 hour in READY mode once per week to keep the 12V battery charged.
czcams.com/video/Ch-L0JbbQUg/video.html
(3) I use a voltmeter plugged into the accessory socket to keep an eye on the 12V battery voltage
czcams.com/video/0nYdnNVgvJI/video.html
(4) I bought a NOCO GB20 Jump Starter which I keep behind the passenger seat ... which I have never used and I hope I will never use!!!
I have NOT had any 12V battery problems since I started doing the above. Cross fingers that my car continues to start reliably 🤞
No problems on a Nissan Juke hybrid after 2 weeks at an airport
I believe all hybrids and EVs use a small 12V battery. Modern cars also use a lot more current when parked than a 15 or 20 year old car. Any hybrid or EV will at some stage drain the 12V battery if parked for long enough. Obviously how long it takes before the battery has drained so much that the 12V battery cannot start the car will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer and model to model.
I have owned a Hybrid since 2018 and I am aware of this "characteristic" of hybrids and personally I would use a solar trickle charger if I was leaving a hybrid for two weeks in an airport car park. Many hybrids like your Nissan Juke will start OK but after 2 weeks some Hybrids won't start ... I think the solar trickle charger is a cheap solution that is quick and easy to fit to avoid the inconvenience of a flat battery.
My Toyota Yaris Mark 4 has a completely different problem though .... it had only been parked for ONE day when it would not start. My car was only 10 months old and had about 6,000 miles on the clock. I believe this problem is caused by a very poor quality battery that is factory fitted to the Mark 4 Yaris. My Mark 3 Yaris never failed to start even during COVID when it was only used once per week. Toyota Poland has admitted the problem with the Mark 4 Yaris and has new test equipment and procedures.
czcams.com/video/EHtg81kM-FU/video.html
Questa soluzione mi sembra una cazzata mostruosa la Toyota deve risolvere il problema perché è un difetto di fabbricazione.
Ho fatto molte indagini da quando ho realizzato questo video.
Gli ibridi di tutte le case automobilistiche utilizzano una piccola batteria da 12 V. Se lasci l'auto nel parcheggio di un aeroporto per 2 settimane mentre sei in vacanza, c'è una buona probabilità che la batteria da 12 V dell'auto ibrida sia scarica e l'auto non si avvii. Anche se questo non è l'ideale, lo capisco e se lo faccio utilizzerò un caricabatterie solare per mantenere carica la batteria da 12 V mentre sono in vacanza.
Il problema con la Toyota Mark 4 Yaris è che la mia auto non si avviava dopo solo un giorno senza utilizzo. Questa è un'esperienza comune per i proprietari di Yaris Mark 4.
Toyota Polonia ha ammesso che c'è un guasto e dispone di nuove apparecchiature di prova e procedure di prova e le batterie da 12 V che non superano il test vengono sostituite in garanzia.
czcams.com/video/EHtg81kM-FU/video.html
Sembra che il problema sia la batteria Mutlu da 12 V montata in fabbrica. Toyota ha sostituito la mia batteria in garanzia ma con la stessa batteria. Sfortunatamente, poiché la batteria da 12 V montata in fabbrica non è riuscita ad avviare l'auto dopo 10 mesi, mi aspetto che la stessa cosa accada di nuovo tra 10 mesi. Quando la mia auto non si avvia, andrò in un garage locale e farò montare una batteria Yuasa, perché da quello che ho letto sono batterie molto migliori e hanno risolto il problema per altri proprietari di Yaris.
Toyota UK consiglia di mettere un'auto ibrida in modalità READY per 1 ora a settimana per mantenere carica la batteria da 12 V. Quindi, per cercare di evitare che la mia auto non si riavvii, mantengo la batteria da 12 V completamente carica lavando l'auto una volta alla settimana con l'auto in modalità PRONTO.
czcams.com/video/Ch-L0JbbQUg/video.html
Ho sottolineato che si tratta di un problema della Yaris Mark 4 perché ho posseduto una Yaris Mark 3 Hybrid dal 2018 al 2022. La mia Yaris Mark 3 si è avviata in modo affidabile anche durante il blocco COVID quando usavo l'auto solo una volta alla settimana per andare al supermercato. Quindi Toyota può progettare un ibrido che viene utilizzato solo una volta alla settimana... sfortunatamente la Yaris Mark 4 necessita di un uso quotidiano per evitare che la batteria da 12 V si scarichi. (Google Traduttore)