Dead battery problems? - Page 2 - GreenHybrid

PPanariello · #11 (**permalink**) 03-05-2008, 05:39 AM

In the past year, the battery has drained dead four times after sitting idle (in some cases in 48 hours). Did you ever resolve the issue? Was there a drain occurring or was it just the original battery. I have a 07 HiHy.

obrienklm · #12 (**permalink**) 03-05-2008, 06:12 AM

Sorry to hear of your problems,

I had exactly the same situation in my Camry Hybrid... battery was completely dead every time the car was not used for more than about 48 hours. You can read the entire saga at this post:
http://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/f...harging-12585/

After this happened about 6 times and the dealer had the car for a total of about 3 weeks checking battery drain in every circumstance (including at home in my garage) they found the problem. It seems that Toyota has notice several similar problems with the THC, all in the northern states, and they have tracked it down to a problem with the computer that controls the remote start. Apparently there is a malfunction between the smart key and the remote start program that is draining the battery over time. They installed new remote start controller/computer and that solved the problem. It’s never happened again.

If you dealer needs help, have them call the service manager at Maplewood Toyota, Maplewood Minnesota.

Hope this helps!

super10s · #13 (**permalink**) 03-05-2008, 04:34 PM

PineywoodsPete · #14 (**permalink**) 03-05-2008, 05:40 PM

[quote=super10s;163860]Man, its a real pain to own a brand new Toyota hybrid vehicle and have to jump-start it because the 12v battery went dead ,....AGAIN! This is particularly frustrating when you know there's 1.21 gigawatts in the NiCad array just sitting there untappable.

An interesting fact is that if you leave the car in "Ready" mode, the NiMH traction battery will charge the little twit of a 12V battery if the voltage falls beyond a set point. And when the big guy drops, of course, the engine starts and recharges it with MG1. I've used this to power a 700 watt inverter with outages here - the inverter directly connected to the battery with heavy cables - don't have to constantly check on the battery state as I had to with the Volvo, and run it every hour or so to charge.

Hopefully your problem was just a defective battery, and not a tricky problem like the Camry with the defective remote starting switch.

Pete

super10s · #15 (**permalink**) 03-06-2008, 12:57 PM

PineywoodsPete · #16 (**permalink**) 03-06-2008, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by super10s

I neglected to mention the specific circumstances that the battery failed under. The 12v battery that I replaced in my '06 Highlander was not defective, just undersized (read previous post on replacement). Every time the 12v battery went dead the car had not been driven for ~2 weeks in winter. Each of the last two winters out here in Denver we have had some huge snow accumulations that have required me use my Tahoe 4wd until the snow receded. The Highlander 4wd-i system isn't the greatest in real deep snow, even when fitted with winter tires. My guess is that the mechanical (dumb) rear differential is happily sending all the torque to the fastest spinning wheel, argh. It would be fabulous if they would ditch the rear differential and just put a smaller electric motor on each rear wheel, since the rear drive is completely electric and separate from the front anyway. With a setup like that I could finally justify getting rid of the gas-guzzling Tahoe. Cheers.

Toyota should really have used a larger 12V battery. I'll bet some motorcycle batteries are larger!

The HiHy's winter problem is due mainly to lower ground clearance and smaller diameter tires than most truck frame based SUV's and pickups.

It does indeed have an intelligent 4WD in that it will not allow any wheel to spin without traction. If bogged down in deep snow, where no progress is being made, power simply is not sent to the wheels. This disconcerting behavior has been reported by several on this forum. I've had no problems in winter driving in less challenging conditions, including handling steep grades on snow where you can feel the i4WD at work and see the dash icon light - never any uncontrolled wheelspin. I've never tried flooring it on snow, but seriously doubt that it would do anything scary - just accelerate as fast as traction would allow - as it had (in '06) the most advanced traction and stability control system on the market.

Pete

super10s · #17 (**permalink**) 03-06-2008, 05:23 PM

PineywoodsPete · #18 (**permalink**) 03-07-2008, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by super10s

Here's another example where experience beats quoting manufacturer's biased info hands-down. Intelligent is an presumptive adjective that should be reserved for consumer use, not by the manufacturer. Any system that purports to be 4wd, yet shuts down when it can't handle the conditions is not intelligent, it's ridiculous. Toyota is on the verge of greatness with this design and deserves accolades for combining an all-electric rear drive with an electric-gas front drive and keep the combination going straight down the highway. However, that's about where the intelligence ends. Incorporating a design for a rear differential that never should have been copied from the dust bin of American design is a horrendous mistake and the leading cause of this design's failures. Furthermore, I pay no attention to idiot lights on my dash when I'm spinning in snow, but since you've never tried it yet maybe you should go on pontificating about the way it is supposed to work. I was going to tell you how my Highlander doesn't obey the "rules" about tire spin but I guess that's just real life information that is not relevant to the theory of how it works.

Wow! A might touchy, aren't we! You might refer to the thread below that discusses the snow/mud/offroad response of the HiHy:

http://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/f...15/index2.html

NOBODY - I repeat NOBODY - complained of uncontrolled wheelspin - just the opposite - as I mentioned in my accurate previous post. If the car won't move with all wheels on the point of spinning (maximum traction) then no power to the wheels. Just the facts, however unpleasant they may be to you. If yoiu do indeed have uncontrolled wheelspin, then you have a defective vehicle.

This is probably helpful in most situations, where spinning just digs you deeper, which I have certainly experienced with other vehicles in sand and muck.

Volkov · #19 (**permalink**) 03-07-2008, 11:28 AM

Just read that link. I love how a post on snow/ice driving degrades to an "Off-road worthy" debate in 3 posts. BTW, wasn't this a post about dead batteries?
If the HHY gets stuck in snow, it has nothing to do with the "little" electric motor. That motor has 96 ft-lbs at "idle" available to the rear alone. Anyone who says that can't turn a rear axle in snow doesn't know what they are talking about. The issue here is Toyota's traction control system cutting power. I've heard the complaint from people I know and read it numerous times and not just related to the Highlander Hybrid even though the drive systems are different. Toyota just seems to want an overly aggressive setting for some reason. Part of the problem is that one can't turn of TC if you like. I am sure that due to the "Intelligent" system, the new-era fix of pulling the TC fuse in case of emergency isn't an option here either.

bear15 · #20 (**permalink**) 03-28-2008, 07:02 PM

We have the same problem in our 08 Prius. We suggest that Toyota use a bigger starter battery, and/or somehow use the hybrid battery as a backup if the 12v goes dead. We have had times when the hybrid battery was fully charged, yet the 12v was dead cold and we had to jump start the car.

In fact, we purched a small battery pack to jump start the car, as it sits long periods of time.