Camry/Avalon Hybrids 12 volt battery problems and lifespan

The battery life span is dependent upon weather the battery is regularly allowed to discharge too deeply. Since hybrid 12v batteries aren’t like normal car batteries and they get charged at a lower rate. So if your battery is low, it could take upto 18 hours to fully charge.

My previous hybrid was probably on its original battery and 8 years later it wasn’t showing any signs of dying. The car was always used for commuting.



iPad ?

 

Is the battery under the hood, Orin the trunk?

Normally, I expect 8-10. Years on a daily driver. Warmer climes may be less. 5 years on a Prius battery isn’t uncommon, but they are tiny

 

In the trunk or under the rear seat.


iPhone ? Pro

 

Hycam in the trunk, you’d think there would be space under the hood of such large cars

 

Absolutely wrong.
They are exactly like "normal" car batteries only a bit smaller.

And 8-10 years for a battery that is actually used is higher than "normal".
Seems like most start getting weak around 5 to 7 years; the hotter the environment, the quicker they go.

 

I can’t understand why toyota would use smaller batteries, other than ‘they can’

 

Think about what you said for a minute.

Why put a bigger battery in anything than it really needs ?

Why did Kawasaki put a smaller battery in my motorcycle ??

 

Space

 

But hybrids have room enough for a battery that would withstand the draining from leaving a door ajar, and also for using a more common size, read: less expensive

 

Hybrid batteries are AGM and not flooded, chosen for safety and there is no 12v starter motor. Mg 1 starts the ice and that's driven from the hybrid system.
The 12v battery only powers the alarm, central locking and dash.



iPhone ? Pro

 

which means what?

can't be larger and more powerful?

can't use a more common cost effective model?

other?

 

Well then I guess you DO understand it.

 

on a motorcycle, definitely, not on an avalon, the thing is a boat

 

Companies are not usually required to design their products to protect the consumer from all possible forms of his own stupidity.
They also generally don't care what he has to pay for replacement parts.
That is pretty obvious to anybody who has gone to a dealer to get a $5 part and found that it is only available as a $500 "assembly".

AND.....in an era when gas mileage is paramount, every pound adds up against you.

 

Starter batteries and deep cycle ones, like hybrids use, are physically different before getting into whether they are liquid, gel, or AGM.

Lead is quite heavy.
Many probably wouldn't care about the extra weight of a bigger battery, but Toyota is working under tests in which deleting the rear wiper from the Two Eco helps.

A few years ago, a mother and child were killed when the wrong battery was used in their Porsche, and it flooded the cabin with hydrogen sulfide, which doesn't need a lot to reach lethal levels.

AGM and gel batteries might be less likely to produce the gas, but any type of lead acid one mounted in the cabin or trunk needs to be a vented type that can have any out gassing directed outside. Since most cars mount the battery in the engine bay, vented batteries simply aren't common no matter the size and type, and will cost more. That's why the gen4 moving the battery to the engine bay is a big deal.

 

Are the batteries in all models of Prius......and other hybrids......really of the "deep cycle" construction ?
First I've heard of that.
And I see no reason for that either.....since they are heavier AND the voltage drops pretty much just like a conventional battery as they discharge.

 

unfortunately, gen 4 battery in engine bay turned out to be a marketing ploy.

still highly unreliable, and expensive

 

Booting up the computer, and flipping the traction battery relays doesn't require the short burst power draw that a starter battery is required to deliver. Then there are the secondary systems, like the SKS, that need power while the car is off. Deep cycle would be a better choice for this. Considering the battery's size, I don't see the weight different being that big. A starter has thinner lead plates, but there are more of them, and a major car manufacturer isn't likely to source a deep discharge battery using pure lead plates.

But then people's experience with batteries here probably means Toyota cheaped out with the battery, like they did with the ATF, and just used a starter type.

It is likely a gel or AGM battery, those cost more, but should be better in terms of safety and life span. Of course, if the battery is too 'small' for powering all the secondary systems while the car is parked, deep discharging of any lead-acid battery type will shorten its life.

Don't know about GM's current start/stop systems, but the first one in the Malibu had a starter battery and a deep cycle one for powering things while the engine was off.