Start pulling fuses one by one you will find where the juice is going lol

TCH-43mpg
VW TDI--48
08 LS 600 HL-20
08 LX 470-16

Yes, but it could prevent the 12V battery from running down and requiring a jumpstart until a permanent solution is found.

Stan,
You are right, the battery icon should remain "on" if the 12 volt battery is not being charged. The dealer has measured a maximum of a 22 milliamp steady drain after checking it multiple times over the 2 weeks they had it. I don't think they checked it continuously but just intermittent checks. They brought it to my home and to measure drain in my garage and still came up with just 22 m amps. You may be right re the battery control electronics. That seems the only logical reason that the first two batteries were “defective”. Maybe they were overcharged. They are supposed to be especially sensitive to over charging.

Hi - Okay, I didn't want to comment until I tried it but - After sitting parked in my backyard covered in snow for almost 4 weeks, I went out and started the TCH and moved it around to put my truck in it's place.. A little concerned at first and this thread crossed my mind when the Proximity sensor did not detect the FOB and I had to push the button on the FOB to unlock the door (but that happens from time to time on this car anyway). Sat down, hit the brake and pressed the start button. Everything lit-up like Vegas and I was off and running as though it were parked there just yesterday.
Just driving it around the block it went into EV mode almost instantly (it's 61f here in Minneapolis today- YEAH!!)...
There you have it from another satisfied TCH owner who's glad he didn't have to jump-start his once dormant car..

Regards - Randy




If there's one thing I've learned in online forums its this:
Never argue with an idiot, they'll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience!

Hi Randy,

Thanks for the comments and I'm glad to hear your positive experience. I'm from the Twin Cities too and that's what is really bugging me about this car. In Minnesota one has to have a car that starts. This is my 7th Toyota over the past 12 years and I've never had a hint of a problem with any of them until now. I got rid of 2 year old Acura TL to do the right thing...
(It was a great day today - snow is going, going gone!)

obrienklm

Yup - I figure we're in for one more good dumping of snow and then it should start to warm up.. 6 weeks of pleasant weather and then you know what happens?

FALL!

Just jesting...

BTW - My TCH sits outside all the time. When we had those 2 weeks of sub-zero in February it popped right off all the time and was not plugged in. I bought the block heater but have not had the chance / lift to install it yet..

If you ever need a good salesman in the area for Toyota - let me know..

Regards - Randy




If there's one thing I've learned in online forums its this:
Never argue with an idiot, they'll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience!

Maybe it's the crushed alluminum foil you use to line the inside of the battery cover?

Just read through all 27 posts on this problem, sorry about your experiance but it is interesting. I noticed you mentioned a couple of times that you always make sure everything is "off" and you always lock the car at all times when you leave it. It seemed to imply even at home in the garage, you lock your car. This is probably silly but........has the dealership checked the car with the doors locked? It may be possible that when you lock the car the electronic parts that perform that chore are sticking in the on possition, and after several days could cause a dead battery. Just a thought...........but maybe???????

Update on the dead battery saga… I was away last week and my TCH starting battery was stone cold dead again this morning. I think that is the 6th time it has been dead when left more than a couple days. As always it started immediately with a jump and my dealer again promised to figure out what’s causing the drain. And… they think they have it!!!

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 plan to install a new computer tomorrow and hopefully the problem will be solved.

I’ll let you know and again, thank you for the many constructive ideas and all the great information provided on this issue.

Regards, Keith

obrienklm — Aha! I didn't know you had remote start! This is something we hadn't considered, I guess, but this is some more electronics that must remain powered all the time to receive remote-start commands. Based on your experience, it would have to be programmed to power itself down after only a single day of non use of the TCH. [The Smart Key progressively powers itself down over a 2-week period of non-use to save the 12-V battery.] But then it wouldn't be very useful! So, how's it going to work in the future?

Stan