Why does my Telegraph-recommended Toyota keep getting a flat battery?
I have twice experienced problems with a flat battery on my new Toyota Yaris Hybrid. The dealer said it was because I did not drive it enough. I live in central London, so I rarely reach even 20mph, yet now I find myself having to 'exercise' my car along the M4 to keep the battery charged. Another woman in the dealer waiting room had the same issue, while Toyota has admitted many similar complaints. You have always sung the praises of the Yaris – what has gone wrong? How can I make my car reliable without having to carry out unnecessary journeys?
– SR
You're absolutely right – the Yaris is a favourite at Telegraph Cars. However, in our defence, we also point out regularly that hybrid cars don't take well to exclusively low-mileage, low-speed use.
Indeed, Toyota makes no secret of the fact; it even has a web page dedicated to the best techniques for keeping a hybrid's battery topped up.
To be clear, the issue is with the 12-volt battery, rather than the larger traction battery which powers the car. It's usually quite small, because it doesn't have to turn a starter motor, but the upshot of this is that it runs out of charge more quickly.
If you drive for less than an hour or so per week, the motor-generator simply doesn't have enough time to pump sufficient charge into the 12-volt battery to top it up fully – especially if the heater, wipers and lights are in frequent use – so over time the battery simply runs flat.
The good news is that there are ways to solve the problem that don't involve runs along the nearest motorway. Firstly, try fitting a more powerful battery. Officially, Toyota doesn't recommend this, but I've heard of several owners who upgraded from the standard battery to a more powerful model and found it has helped.
You can also buy a trickle charger, which you can plug into a wall socket – or use a solar-powered trickle charger, which sits on the dashboard and plugs into the cigarette lighter to keep the battery topped up at all times.
I appreciate that neither solution is ideal, but both are more convenient than a late-night drive to Slough and back.
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