We purchased our TCH about a month ago. It is being used about once a week. I am finding that the battery is dead, or at least does not have enough power to start the vehicle after 4-5 days. It will start if jumped. I took the car to the dealer, after jump starting it and driving 2 hrs. Dealer said that the battery was 70% charged after a 2 hr. drive and said that the battery is smaller than a normal car battery, and that the charging system does not charge as fast as a normal vehicle. The owner's manual recommends running the vehicle every two weeks. I am getting a dead battery after 4-5 days of non-use, and see that others can leave it sit for a week or more and have it start. Could the battery be defective, or that the vehicle is drawing too much current when sitting? It is garaged and currently in a warm environment. Thanks.

 

The battery should be fully charged LONG before 2 hours worth of driving was over... Have them do a load test on the 12 volt in the trunk and check the cables to make sure they are tight and clean.

I have left mine for as long as a week and a half at the airport and never have had any issues. If yours continues to discharge and the dealer can not find anything wrong, make sure that you do not have either of the keys near the car. Also check to make sure that nothing is left on (rear reading light for example) that will allow the battery to drain.

 

Dennis,

You didn't say how long the car is running when it does run every 4-5 days; if it's only a few minutes (very short drive), I guess it's possible that the battery is not sufficiently charged.

But barring that, I would suspect a problem. (I should caution that I'm no expert, so hope that others will add to this.) Keep in mind that the 12V battery does not start the car; the "starter" (one of the electric motors) is powered by the traction battery. The 12V battery needs to have only enough power to run the electronics (computers, etc.) in order for the car to start.

Frankly, the dealer's line about small battery and slow charging sounds pretty bogus. A more plausible concern is that something is draining the battery, e.g., an accessory left on. Note that you may not be leaving anything on; there may be a drain caused by a faulty switch, relay, or whatever. Of course, a defective battery is possible as well.

I should add that our TCH frequently sits for several days without being driven; our record for consecutive days without starting it is about 33 days. We've never had any problem at all. Of course, our average use is more than once every 4 - 5 days, but even so....

Sorry I can't provide more specific information, but if I were in your situation I would be investigating further before accepting the small battery/slow charging line right now.

 

Thanks for the replies. I doubled checked after the first episode of not starting. Nothing has been left on, and the keys are both in the house, not anywhere near the car. I will have the dealer look at this again, since it seems that this is not the usual case. The car is driven a minimum of 14 miles after starting, so I would think that the battery has enough of a charge to replace what was used in starting.

 

I've left my TCH for over two weeks without driving it, with no problem starting when returning.

 

Did you accidentally shut it off while in Drive??? We've done that once or twice. Didn't run the battery down but it sure as hell won't start until you get all the controls right. Also, the start sequence is kind of twitchy.... forget to put the brake on and you get things into a different mode and you have to start all over again.

 

Two guesses:

1) Do you have ANY non Toyota accessories? LoJack, alarms, etc? If so you've probably found your problem.

2) You mentioned you just bought the TCH. Check on the door jam or some other labels. See if you can find a manufacture date. Your TCH might have set on a dealer lot (without being run) for over a long time. Or maybe someone left a dome light on after a test drive.

Either could have run the battery down. If so, your battery has been damaged. It will have less capacity than a healthy battery. This would explain the diminished capacity. You probably need a new battery.

 

I just returned home from a trip. My TCH sat for 2 weeks with no one driving it and started up without difficulty. I second the comments of others, you either have a defective battery or something is discharging it.

 

Make double sure your clock is off (black) when you shut off the engine with the lever in park. This is a small deep cycle battery to hold a charge for a long time. The toyota dealer should have a current drain meter to see if anything in the car is pulling the battery down. I would ask for a new battery that should be under warranty, now that you know others are not having this problem.

Your main concern is the battery supplying 12 volts to your ecu (computer) to boot up so as to start the car. The car starts from the large traction battery. I once read the charging circuit charges the 12 volt battery from part of the traction battery. You can see your traction battery at any time by pressing the display button on the steering wheel a few times. If it shows to be about 40% at any time the car should start right up.

You can always try another dealer.

 

Thanks for all the helpful replies.

The manufacture date was October of 2008, so it probably sat for a while. I will have them check the battery for sure. I believe the starting sequence and the shut-down procedures are per the owner's manual. Hopefully I can get it to the dealer ths or next week. I will let everyone know what they find.