hybrids that sit around in storage too long
 

I have a 06 hilander hibrid and i want to let it sit for a couple months.Toyota said not to let it sit more than a couple weeks. does anyone know what will hapen if it sits to long. Will the small battery under the hood start the vehicles engine if the NIMH IS DEAD ? Help joe

Re: hybrids that sit around in storage too long
 

Generally what happens is the small battery will get drained from the electronics (security, etc) so if you want to store it for a while, I would suggest using a small battery charger that cuts off when the battery is full and comes back on when it needs to charge. The high voltage battery isn't connected to anything when the vehicle is off, so there's no parasitic losses, but there is a chance for some self-discharge, so you might want to run it down a big hill to charge it up before you park it so that it's got the best chance of holding enough charge.

The most critical thing is the 12v battery though, it will drain and that can kill it and / or greatly reduce it's lifespan and capacity. If you don't want to invest in a charger, you'll have to start it up every couple weeks. Another option might be to disconnect the 12v battery so that it can't drain it, but I haven't heard of people doing that.

Re: hybrids that sit around in storage too long
 

Thanks..... joe

Re: hybrids that sit around in storage too long
 

Joe,

As was mentioned, it is the small 12v battery that drains. The NiMh battery is disconnected by the computer when you shut down. It is the big battery that starts the vehicle, but you need a little 12v power to turn on the computer and get back into functioning mode (the little 12v battery is recharged from to main battery once the computer is on).

The problem here is the small capacity of the 12v battery. All modern cars pull some current from the 12v battery when off. (My Daughter's Jetta was dead after about 2 months of standing idle with a full-sized battery). If you want to avoid the problem, disconnect the 12v battery if you are leaving your HH (or any of the Toyota hybrids) idle for 3 weeks or more.

If this really bothers you there are high capacity batteries in the correct form factor to fit your vehicle, but they are costly. The highest capacity one I have seen is the Lithium Ion "u-charge" (46 amp hours) at about $1000 :(