This is a question for the techies!

As there is no dead battery protection on the TCH I am paranoid that one morning I will come down and find one or more of the interior lights have been left on and the battery is dead.

If this does happen is it the 12 V battery that dies? And if so can the car be jumpstarted the same way you would jumpstart a nonhybrid car?

Yes. Jumping the TCH from another car isn't anything special.

But I would be real careful if you wanted to give someone else a jump.

I would do the following:

1 - Physically collect the key from the donor vehicle. Put it in your pocket. You absolutely don't want the other car to be started at this point.

2 - connect the jumper cables to the other car

3 - make sure your car is on and wait perhaps 10-15 minutes. This will charge the dead battery.

4 - disconnect the jumper cables

5 - now try and start the other car. If it doesn't start, you probably won't get it to work. Call AAA or get a "standard" car to do the jump.


If you try starting the dead car with your car and the cables are hooked up, you could blowing a fuse or possibly damage something on your car. The Toyota hybrids don't have a low tech alternator or a big starting battery that can handle the large current draws from a starter motor.

My TCH died a few months ago. It was enough to hook the jumpers up to my Odyssey van, and then to the 12V battery on the TCH. The TCH started right away, without even starting the van.

I didn't do anything special when it came to hooking it up though. Treat it as you would a normal jump procedure.

Really? I don't remember the details, but I came away from reading the manual when I first received the car thinking that pretty much everything that would drain the battery would automatically shut down, in settings where running down the battery would be likely to happen. Was that my imagination?

I have a truck that I only drive a few times a year and have to jump every time. I have used the TCH to jump it at least 3 times, and I did not wait 15 minutes for the truck battery to charge. I usually just wait about 2 minutes.

I haven't checked the manual, but it appears to me (an others with dead batteries) that there IS NO rundown protection.

Another Toyota non-feature that was standard on a $10,000 Chevy Caviler...

Are you removing the jumper cables before you start the truck?

Thanks for all the input. If I understand you correctly I have to find a good samariton who is willing to hang around for 10 to 15 minutes to charge up my battery and risk finding that his battery is then dead!! Seems that jump starting a TCH is very special!

Sorry if I wasn't too clear. Jumping the TCH isn't special and not much to worry about.

In fact it is easier to jump. The TCH does not have a starter motor that draws 100s of amps. It only needs a few perhaps tens of amps to "boot" the computers.

It is the other way around (jumping another dead car WITH your TCH) that could damage your car.

I think you got it the other way around. Re-read his post.