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Comments
Seems like the battery charge was low based upon what I saw.
Is it typical though for gas engine to kick in while idling?
Final q, 2007 was year one for TCH---any strong arguements to go find a 2008?
The ICE will kick in while stopped if the state of charge on the traction battery gets low.
I have an '09 so am not familiar with the differences between earlier years. The drivetrain is the same for all the current gen TCH.
This is in sharp contrast with Honda's IMA hybrid. I owned a '09 Civic hybrid for 28k miles. After the last tune-up, the car was so sluggish and mpg was so poor I could no longer drive it. Honda was no help. I traded the car in. The Honda IMA system is a POS compared to Toyota's system.
Thanks..
As for driving the TCH as a gas only car; not possible as the traction battery in conjunction with one of the electric motors is your 'starter'.
Since the TCH was only introduced as a 2007 car, there is no long term data on the TCH. But based on the Prius, you should not worry about getting a hybrid.
As to battery cost, I've heard $3K mentioned. Never $10K.
Thanks
Is this serious?? The car hasn't been used much.
Thank you,m
Barbara
I read you have a 2009 TCH. Mine went totally dead in the garage. They jump started it and I took it to Toyota service to slowly charge the 12v. They told me it is charging very slow and I might need a new 12V. The car has been driven quite a bit but was in the garge for a month and I think that's how it went dead. Even if the 12V doesn't charge up to 100%, is it really necessary to get a new 12V. I am in Europe and he told me they would order if from the us and would cost 700E. We don't have a guarantee, because they don't have that car here, just the Lexus Hybrid and Prius. Any advice???
Thanks you
Thanks!
I also can tell you that a Hybrid is not the car to have if you are going to leave it for a long time, because of the battery situation. I have a older RX300 which I leave at a vacation home for 6 months and it will start within 2 or 3 seconds, BUT I DO DISCONNECT THE NEGATIVE WIRE OFF THE BATTERY. With the TCH I think I would leave a small charger on the 12v if I were to leave it for anything over one month. Also before shutting it down I would make sure the Hybrid battery is charged, you can see this on your display.
If you know the current drain on the 12 Volt battery it should be easy to put a "Float Charger" on it while it is not in use. Then you should be able to leave it for as long as you want. A lead acid battery does not like to be left discharged over time. It also does not like to be overcharged. If overcharged too much the battery has to get rid of the excess energy. It does this by generating heat. The heat vaporizes the water in the battery. So to match the float charge with the drain is important. I have a Yamaha that sits for weeks at a time. I made a 12 volt float charger that puts out about 0.100 amps or 100 Miliamps (mA). Seems to work fine.
As far as adding capacity to the battery it would be tricky ... From what I have read the battery packs are built with "D" size Nickel Metal Hydride cells. When the batteries do go bad might look into high capacity cells and someone that can rebuild it. By then it might be an option.
Joe
A lead acid battery does heat up, while draining it to start your car. The Internal impedance causes the battery to warm very slightly while supplying the amps to start your car. Volts = current( amps) times resistance.
This is Ohm's law.
I don't think the 250V battery died as it powered the AC compressor just fine and I had cold AC. The dealer has it now. If I do not get a satisfactory explanation I plan to trade it in and pressure dealer to give back what I paid for it. Will definitely get a gas-only engine.
Does anyone have a similar experience? Searching the Internet, the solution may be a loose connection or failed inverter. But I am wondering if it is a thermal problem.
You most likley just have a faulty component, and when replaced, the car will be good to go.
It ABSOLUTELY did NOT run for 4 days. If it had, the gas engine would have started dozens if not hundreds of times while idling, to recharge the battery. You would have come back to a fully charged battery with a lot less gas in the engine.
Having a 2007 TCH which just ran out of warranty on 5-31-2012, I have confidence that your battery is just fine.
Happy Hybriding !!!
:shades:
Width and depth are the same as the Panasonic, but height is a little shorter. You will need to use the optional spacer that comes with the battery. Measure your battery size before you go in to buy one and check for yourself.
The Panasonic 12 V battery that came in my 2012 Camry hybrid is rated 57 Amp Hours at 20 amp discharge rate. Unfortunately, the Optima is only rated 50 Amp Hours at 20amps, so that is probably why it is not listed as a direct replacement. However, It would certainly work, but with 12% less capacity. See yellow top below for Prius.
I have read several places the TCH has an 12V AGM battery, but nothing from Toyota directly. Many people blame the cost of the battery on it being an AGM type.
I looked up the Optima Prius battery. It is a yellow top deep cycle battery. http://www.optimabatteries.com/battery_selector/
Looks like it will fit Camry and has a 66 amp hour capacity, so it is big enough.
http://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/f49/12-volt-battery-replacement-upgrade-2007-- toyota-camry-hybrid-photos-23466/
Hybrid Synergy Drive Component Locations & Descriptions
-5-
Component
Location
Description
12 Volt Auxiliary Battery
Trunk Passenger Side
A lead-acid battery that supplies power to the low voltage devices. ©
Hybrid Vehicle (HV) Battery Pack
Trunk Area, Mounted to Cross Member and Behind Rear Seat
244.8 Volt Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) battery
Notice it says that the 12v is a "lead-acid" battery. Recognizing that "lead acid" is pretty generic, I looked it up. Below is a "how to tell" statement from a battery article
Read the battery label. Liquid--or flooded--lead acid batteries will say "lead acid," "wet cell," "flooded lead acid" or "liquid lead acid" on the label. Gel-filled lead acid batteries will say "Gel-Filled" on the label. AGM lead acid batteries will say "AGM" or "Absorbed Glass Mat," "sealed regulated valve," "dry cell," "non-spillable," or "valve regulated" on the label.
So, why is this such a mystery? Further, I checked with one of Fort Worth's prominant dealer sales & service and they didn't know what an AGM battery was! Their considered sales authority went out to look and said that it appears to be a standard lead-acid & recited: Gp 26, Pansonic 240412, 20HR57AHCCA450B26JIS. He didn't designate spaces, but trying to read through this, from what looks familiar to me, it probably is a standard lead-acid.
Opinions?
I am just doing a bit of research to see what other TCH owners did.
I replaced my original 2007 Hybrid Camry 12volt (computer & system) car battery a year ago with an Exide -
AGM 24 series. Performed well until 2 weeks ago when car sat for 8 days. Started OK for short trip but battery was too weak to power up computer next day. Charged battery for approx 2 days to 13.0 volt - held 12.8 when installed. Battery down to 12.0 after a week.Display shows charge voltage of 12.3-13.3 while running. I have not seen any voltage above 13.3v. No codes thrown.