Car (or bike) Chat!

[Cyrus]

If it's a new car then it just may not crank at all below a certain voltage, the ECU will sense it and not allow it. A bulb discharging a battery that is not 100% already will do that.

You'll tell me its a 1998 Honda Legend now!

[dave2010]

A car battery is usually fairly quickly charged via the cars alternator - (it could be improved upon greatly by using large capacitors and inductors ) and should charge up in about 40 mins of driving, or
if unable to start at all then, by using a car battery charger - you need to disconnect the positive lead of the battery, normally connecting to the car whilst charging with a external charger ,
and leave charging for approximately 15 hrs. Ideally the car battery should be removed whilst externally charging .

Your boot may also have a lamp that is On as a result of the boot not shutting. Two such lamps left on for 10 hrs would begin to challenge ability to reliably start the next day,
being approximately 1.5 amps of current draw -per hour over 10 hrs duration

Thanks to everyone who has responded so far.

Such is the wonderful design of the car that although the generator will charge the battery, it will only do that if the car is actually driven! Normally that is what one wants, but under failure conditions one might want to simply rev the engine up for a while to get enough oomph to restart the car next time it is actually needed.

There is a jump start point which we now located under the RHS of the bonnet looking inwards. Alternatively the 12V battery is actually accessible from the rear if the covers and spare tyre are taken out. This is very hard to get at if the locks are stuffed because of the electric failure, and the alarm system is hard to get round. I don't actually know how we got the car unlocked. Initially there is a mechanical key, which opens the driver's door, but doing anything else sets off the alarm. I think we finally got into the other doors and the rear by repeated combinations of brute force and ignorance - a great deal of the latter.

I think the comment about stop start mode is not relevant, as my understanding is that this car uses complex electronics and a much larger batter pack once the initial kick start by the starter motor has taken place - but perhaps someone will correct me on this if I'm wrong.

The dealers I spoke to basically said the battery is underpowered with not enough capacity - you can substitute a less polite word if you wish - though normally should last 4-5 years. I checked with the garage that did the regular services, and there hasn't been a new battery since 2015 - and I'm not even sure if there was one then.

Although mostly I like the car, it's things like this that would deter me from buying another similar car from the same manufacturer - or if I do, I'll be doing so having weighed up the advantages versus the risks.

Currently completely electric cars seem to be on the ascendancy, though I still think they are overpriced. Car manufacturers always seem to have some way of trying to screw extra money out of punters - put in a few accessories (e.g. some form of stereo or surround sound system, perhaps costing a few £hundred, and then whack +£2k on the price.

Now it looks as though I really do need a new battery, and I've got to find a way to get the car to a suitable store or garage, and then hope that I can get the rear lock sorted ASAP. Hoping it doesn't die on me again in the process. Yuk!

[dave2010]

Terrrible! Managed to get a new battery, after managing to drive it to a tyre depot. Seemed OK, went to shops, then drove home.

Within an hour or so the fault has returned. The only way back in now is to use the mechanical key, and set the alarm off.

Now tearing hair out!

[JohnJo]

Is the battery getting charged?

[dave2010]

Haven't a clue - will look into it tomorrow. Every time I try to "break in" it sets the alarm off - so I can wait.
Real genius who designed this system.

[Ninanina]

Does an interior light left on in a car normally run the battery down overnight?

Today I had to break into my car, setting off the alarm, as the remote keys didn't work. The garage I spoke to suggested that an interior light had been left on, but I wouldn't expect that to run the battery down overnight.

The problem with the car seems to be due to a badly fitting rear boot lid in a Toyota Prius - the catch doesn't always work well. However, I still wouldn't have expected a problem within 12 hours - so is the 12V starter battery also now at end of life?

I do find that I have to shut my Prius boot lid quite 'positively' if that makes sense... I believe the 12v battery is a bit sensitive in the Prius, I've never had a problem though in over 3 years

[dave2010]

I do find that I have to shut my Prius boot lid quite 'positively' if that makes sense... I believe the 12v battery is a bit sensitive in the Prius, I've never had a problem though in over 3 years

Good luck with yours. Mine is now relatively old, and problems like this didn't start appearing for perhaps 4-5 years.

I would suggest that you do make sure the battery in the boot is changed after about 5 years. Garages and the people who work in them tend to use the word battery ambiguously - either because they know what they're talking about, or perhaps more often, because they don't (e.g. the sales people, the front desk service staff etc.). The Prius has a small conventional battery which is 12 Volts - and a very much larger battery pack which can generate high voltages, and which feeds into the engine power system and the electronic controls etc. Referring to "the battery" is thus ambiguous. The power battery pack is usually guaranteed for 8 years, and may cause problems after that and/or be expensive to replace.

Some of the people in breakdown services haven't a clue when trying to deal with cars like this - and one fears they might even try to open up panels which say things like DANGER - HIGH VOLTAGE on top of them.

Eventually all of the door catches may become problematic - but the boot lid one is very poor. Slamming it down hard usually works, but it is in itself a problem, and may cause other problems as a consequence.

One other quirk of the car is the "hand" brake - the foot pedal - and the way the car often rolls back a few inches when engaging/ disengaging it. If you ever park on even a slight hill make sure it's very firm - as the parking brake - the one on the dashboard - won't hold the car.

Despite some of the issues, I have mostly really liked this car, but if the problems persist, and are also present in newer models, I would think twice before buying another one, and would perhaps buy a fully electric car, or a plug-in hybrid car - but not necessarily a Toyota.

Now to recommence battle with the service garages and breakdown trucks .... Fun Day!

[struth]

Ive a Toyota C-HR Hybrid. Its similar drivetrain i think although much improved on the old Prius, as indeed is the new Prius.
Electronic brake which is hydraulically operated by sound of it.
Not had any issues yet although its new(well 6months now amazingly). Have to say the engine has broken in nicely now and has much more grunt than it had new. Got a nice growl to it lol.

If i get another car after this i will certainly consider another hybrid or even a plugin .
Im very impressed overall with all the tech, although im glad i dont have to pay for any ongoing repairs if there are any.
Leasing i think is the way to go in future.

[walpurgis]

Bought my little Suzuki new five years ago. Had no bother at all so far and it's ridiculously cheap to run. The perfect car for me really, shame it's boring!

[dave2010]

Ive a Toyota C-HR Hybrid. Its similar drivetrain i think although much improved on the old Prius, as indeed is the new Prius.
Electronic brake which is hydraulically operated by sound of it.
Not had any issues yet although its new(well 6months now amazingly). Have to say the engine has broken in nicely now and has much more grunt than it had new. Got a nice growl to it lol.

If i get another car after this i will certainly consider another hybrid or even a plugin .
Im very impressed overall with all the tech, although im glad i dont have to pay for any ongoing repairs if there are any.
Leasing i think is the way to go in future.

Have you tried it in EVR mode? If so, how far does it go?

Re growl - really! I thought the whole point was that these cars are quiet - if you want a car with "growl" either buy a very expensive one (though some of those don't) or a cheap banger and bash a hole in the exhaust! Anti-social!

The most I ever got my older Prius to go in EVR mode was probably about 1/8th of a mile. The other thing I tried was to see how far/long it would go before the petrol engine kicked in - and on one occasion I actually got it up to almost 30 mph - maybe 26mph.

Just had a phone call re these cars, and it seems that if water gets into the boot area it can blitz the wiring causing problems of the type mentioned. There was certainly water in the boot - which surprised me yesterday - I wondered how it got there. Draining it was quite easy - there are two holes in the floor with covers. I suspect the water may have come in that way too!

It's probably worth checking for water in the boot area of these cars once a year at least - take everything out - the spare wheel - the tool tray etc. until you can see the floor underneath and make sure everything is dry.