Camry/Avalon Hybrids 12 volt battery problems and lifespan

That map isn’t even close to my personal experience over a lifetime of cars.
Must have been developed by a battery manufacturers marketing department

 

How about newer HiCam and HiAva still in trunk?
Bisco are you saying Prius Gen4 under hood is not working out as well?

 

there have been a lot of early failures, and replacements are just as odd sized and expensive as gen3.

but now that it is under the hood, i suppose if you're willing to mod a cheap, safety is no longer a concern.

 

I wouldn't expect Toyota to put in a larger battery just because it is now in the engine bay. Starting a hybrid simply doesn't require the cranking amps a traditional car needs. That doesn't rule out the battery being undersized for all the load put on it. Then AGM and gel batteries can be finicky about charging voltage. Either on of those scenarios could result in early battery death.

Then it is also possible Toyota got a bad batch of batteries. Father's HHR came with a defective 12 volt that was replaced within a year.

 

heard tesla was having trouble too

 

With 12 volts? Teslas, at least the S and X, will keep the starter charged by periodically bringing on the traction pack while the car is unplugged.

Wasn't there a warning about the 12 volt getting drained in the Prime if the car is left plugged in for extended periods?

 

do not know, but a grey prius was posting about the 12v in his s, then linked to tesla forum with complaints from 2015. z weighed in about the 12v being replaced at two years in his s.

 

The thing with Tesla is that a tech could have been sent out with a replacement battery before the owner knew there was a problem.

2015 was also awhile ago. Are issues still occuring?

 

grey prius said continual on his, z didn't know cause he traded the s for a 3 tat is fairly new. he didn't think the 3 had the same issue, but too soon to tell.

it was an odd conversation, cause grey prius was obviously unhappy with more than the 12v.

 

I was under the assumption that the stock battery in my Avalon was a flooded sealed lead acid battery (SLA). I don't know if they're any better or worse than an AGM or gel batteries since if any of those batteries get broken open in a wreck they all will let out the same kind of gasses. The disadvantage of the SLA is they can also leak battery fluid if damaged in a car wreck.

Anyhow, I had a Nissan Leaf once and the 12V battery apparently went bad. The car just started acting weird. Like it wouldn't charge the traction battery, or you'd try to start the car and it would go to accessories instead of start. It seemed more like the car got possessed by some wicked anti-EV virus or something than a bad battery. I would put a charger on the battery and it still acted weird. But it was the only way that sometimes it would start. I even took the battery in and had it checked. But it checked out fine. Well, after reading on the MNL forum that it still was probably the battery I changed the battery and the car started acting fine.

I am interested in suggestions of what battery to get next for my Avalon, especially for cold weather (e.g. down to -40°F/-40°C). I'm also wondering if it would be a good idea to replace the 12V battery before it goes bad instead of waiting to be stranded first seeing how the Avalon is our only car.

One of my dreams would be to take some used hybrid battery modules and make a NiMH 12V battery.

 

If you pay close attention to the sound of the starter running, you very often can get a clue that the battery is getting weak.
If the outside temperature is fairly stable and the starter starts sounding like it runs slower and a bit longer.......get thee to a battery shop.

There is a general consensus that AGM batteries are better but they are a bit more expensive.
That is usually made up for with longer useful life.

 

I say get a good Li-ion jump pack if you are concerned about getting stranded.

There are Li-ion 12 volts available today. Marketed for lowering weight, they aren't cost effective for a daily driver.

NiMH would be a poor choice for a starter battery. It has one of the fastest self-discharge rates among the common chemistries. You'll need that jump pack often. The other issue is that car's charge system is built for lead acid. You'll need to address that, or any NiMH battery you build will have a short life. The differences in charge requirements between flooded lead-acid and AGM/Gel could mean shorter life if the charger is meant for one type.

 

assuming it is a hybrid avalon, there is no starter motor (per say) and the 12v does not crank the engine. so waiting for the sound to change won't help.

that being said, under your operating conditions, i would carry a jump pack, and replace the battery every 4-5 years

 

There's just one problem. I do believe that most Li-ion technologies don't work or last well in the extreme cold. I live in about the third coldest city in the USA. Temps as cold as -40°F/-40°C are common.

Yes. It's a hybrid Avalon. I think I'll go ahead and change the battery every 5 years just for safety's sake. Which means I'm do for that change already.

 

Good point. Would be nice if he specified so we wouldn't have to assume.

(And it would be nice if people {me} would read ALL of the posts before commenting !!!! )

 

Well, I'll try to be more specific next time. I just assumed that if I'm talking about an Avalon in a thread that's dedicated to Avalon and Camry hybrids in a forum that's dedicated to hybrids that others would assume it must be an Avalon hybrid that I'm talking about.

 

Lead-acid options are still available. The Li-ion ones are just smaller, lighter, and cheaper.