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A trickle solar charger on the dashboard should do the trick.
The only caveat is how much would a frosted screen affect the performance of it, given that my windscreen on my car has been frosted over for the last 3 days, due to where it's parked.
Position it somewhere else in the car and make sure it's got a long lead.
Edited by corax on 17/12/2022 at 12:02
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I was aware of this problem only because I’m on the Toyota Owners Club Forum. A lot of people who aren’t car anoraks have been caught out by this. I suspect Toyota dealerships have had a lot of angry customers.
I’m intrigued as to how the recovery company mentioned above caused £500 of damage. Jump starting a hybrid doesn’t require any special procedures. The only thing I can think of is that they tried to move it with the transmission locked; it locks automatically when you switch off and can’t be unlocked if the battery is flat - you have to lift the front wheels.
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And this is supposed to be progress. What use is any car let alone one costing £30k if it won't work. As far as I am concerned 2 drive systems in any car is one two many and my reason not to consider buying one. Yes I do appreciate that most hybrids work fine but as they get older only seems like inviting trouble
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Interesting. I am considering one of the new Civics next year as I plan to downsize from an SUV so I'll bear this in mind.
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Not an issue as above if you drive the car regularly.But if you leave it six months and only do shot journeys,any car battery will struggles in winter..
300 miles only? When was it registered?
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Neighbour with less than 12 month old Toyota Hybrid.
Another said he'd had same with his, now departed. Lexus.
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A trickle solar charger on the dashboard should do the trick. The only caveat is how much would a frosted screen affect the performance of it,
If it's anything like my solar roof panels, a thin layer of snow (or presumably heavy frost) reduces the output to zero. You may be lucky if some of the car windows stay clear, but none of mine did when the temp dropped to -5°.
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A trickle solar charger on the dashboard should do the trick. The only caveat is how much would a frosted screen affect the performance of it,
If it's anything like my solar roof panels, a thin layer of snow (or presumably heavy frost) reduces the output to zero. You may be lucky if some of the car windows stay clear, but none of mine did when the temp dropped to -5°.
Whilst a layer of snow obscures a decent amount of the light, I suspect even a thinnish layer of ice/frost will make a bug difference to. Still, are those in-car PV panels compatible with most modern cars?
Are they directly connected to the 12V battery (necessitating the bonnet being adjar, or can they be safely tied into the electrical system (say) via the cigar lighter (the only other option my car might have)?
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The Toyota hybrids are prone to flat 12v batteries because the battery is smaller
Not only that, it's also an AGM and they're more prone to failing completely if allowed to run right down.
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The Toyota hybrids are prone to flat 12v batteries because the battery is smaller
Not only that, it's also an AGM and they're more prone to failing completely if allowed to run right down.
I wonder if this fits with my previous assertion of R&D testing being much less than it was say 10-20 years ago?
The 'small' battery also seems to fit, as my often low usage Mazda3 never seems to be able to get their own brand 12V batteries to last more than 5 years, often struggling in winter even when used daily adn for reasonable length trips.
I never found any system (other than the immobilizer) being on when it shouldn't, so I assumed it was the batteries just not being sufficient (or bad design). My last one, fitted in July 2020, but by the RAC man was a 20%+ higher spec (cranking output) Bosch unit, and has (touch wood) worked flawlessly since, including during the cold snap, despite being used sparingly.
Oddly enough, every service since getting this battery, the main dealer have said the battery is 'duff' that it cannot keep a charge, which seems at odds with it in use.
I wonder if some of those with these 'small' 12V batteries in their Honda and Toyota hybrids could do the same as me and replace them with higher output units that at least take longer to deplete?
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We have two Honda hybrids (a CR-V 2-3 years old; and a Jazz 15 months) - neither have displayed any problems with starting in this week's very cold weather.
The Jazz is used most days, but generally only driven a few miles, and the CR-V sits idle for a week or two at a time before being used on longer journeys. Neither pattern of usage has been problematic (so far!).
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Understand the problem is exacerbated when the car is left for one or two weeks whilst on holiday and in this cold weather .
But reading the stories about damage caused even by recovery firms when they attempt to jump start the auxiliary battery I’d be anxious to leave the process to anyone but the main dealer ?
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The only such problem I have had was during lockdown when the car was not used, as the car was in warranty their repair people came out and jumpstarted.
Because my vehile is connected to a smartphone app I had a warning that batery was low (when it happened later)
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I'm sure in his car reviews HJ himself used to warn about not attempting normal jump starts on (Toyota i'm sure) hybrids, as expensive damage possibly unseen at the time was very possible.
Following SWMBO picking up a speeding ticket (fortunately awareness course offered), i bought dashboard mounted digital GPS speedometers, those are very easy to read and just below eyeline, worth the money imo.
Within the several display modes you can have two readings, both the GPS speed and voltage displayed, this weather very handy top be able to keep an eye on how quickly your battery is replenishing, this applies to any non fully EV car not just hybrids.
If of any interest, the type we use is on ebay item 125470405020
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My Hyundai Kona hybrid has a button on the dashboard which when pressed will recharge the battery from the hybrid battery. Not had to use it, not really promoted on handover. -12 the other night and no starting issues, although mpg has deteriorated in this very cold weather, no surprise.
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‘ I wonder if this fits with my previous assertion of R&D testing being much less than it was say 10-20 years ago?’
Figures show that R&D budgets are increasing annually, at least the two I checked - VAG and Toyota, the two biggest spenders traditionally.
In 2021, VAG spent £37 million pounds a day, averaged over 365 days a year, on R&D.
Edited by mcb100 on 17/12/2022 at 22:37
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Figures show that R&D budgets are increasing annually, at least the two I checked - VAG and Toyota, the two biggest spenders traditionally.
It's an expensive business, coming up with new ideas for flash gizmos that no-one really needs. More should be spent on finding whether more established systems remain viable in unusual extreme conditions. Mind you, I would have thought that conditions can be much more extreme in parts of the US.
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‘ I wonder if this fits with my previous assertion of R&D testing being much less than it was say 10-20 years ago?’ Figures show that R&D budgets are increasing annually, at least the two I checked - VAG and Toyota, the two biggest spenders traditionally. In 2021, VAG spent £37 million pounds a day, averaged over 365 days a year, on R&D.
That's not quite the answer I was hoping for - note that cars have and need far more equipment than they used to, thus budgets would be going up anyway (did you take into account inflation?), especially to design new safety and environmenatl systems, many of what are now mandated by law.
The problem is how much testing they get, especially in real-world conditions and in concert with other systems, new and existing. That many cars often have to have software 'updates' which have nothing to do with providing more features and everything to do with correcting (or mitigating) design flaws is a major concern.
Even when we complained about some makes having multiple recalls prior to the software-driven age of motoring, they were minimal compared to the number of 'updates' cars now get every time they appear at a main dealer, where specifically to 'fix' a problem or for other reasons.
Some of thes problems' seem to be blindingly obvious design flaws, as if they rushed the component into service to meet a deadline or 'market demand' (beeting or matching the proverbial Joneses) rather than because it had been rigorously tested so that it worked as it was supposed to.
The VAG 1.5TSI 'kargarooing' and MB 'crabbing' problems were examples of this, where IMHO the manufacturers seemingly knew of the problems (well) before release but went ahead anyway, initially covered the problem up, then denied it existed and told customers it was a 'characteristic' of the car, all the while working behind the scenes to resolve the problem for both existing models and later generations, well, at least VAG did on the latter. Not sure about MB.
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This fault is not just confined to CIVICS
My New 22 plate Honda HRV advance has suffered numerous electrical failures(5+)
I have taken my complaint to Honda HQ as my car is now sitting on my drive unusable.
They,Quote say they have acknowledged this problem since October 2022
and have their factory seeking a solution.
3 main dealerships claim they have no knowledge of this?
I cannot believe that my car is the only one affected?
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""They,Quote say they have acknowledged this problem since October 2022
and have their factory seeking a solution."""
You have my sympathy! Obviously too late to reject it, Have they at least offered you a loan car? Consumers are paying very big money and the industry is leaving them high and dry. R & D on the hoof not only with new stuff but faults developing later
The consumer needs better protection by law
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What's sad in all this is that Honda's previous reputaion for bullet proof reliability has taken a big hit over the last 5 years due to (IMHO) numerous problems in their later cars. Even Toyota have had issues, though more on their diesels than petrol-hybrids.
This is why I mentioned about the industry-wide move to push greater amounts of new tech through too quickly, especially where they interract with other (including existing) tech, especially in real-world conditions.
In my view, the same thing happened with a lot of electronics-heavy equipment over the last 10-15 years, not just in the motor industry. They rush it out to be the first, to meet articifically short regulatory deadlines and, in my view, to save money on R&D by using product buyers as defacto beta testers.
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My policy on ANY new product which involves complexity is to NEVER buy in the first 2-3 years of production.
This applies to cars, PCs, TVs, satnavs, dashcams etc.
It has saved me much expense and hassle,
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My policy on ANY new product which involves complexity is to NEVER buy in the first 2-3 years of production.
This applies to cars, PCs, TVs, satnavs, dashcams etc.
It has saved me much expense and hassle,
Ditto - even with (say) cars that aren't that much of a change from the previous ones, like my own Mazda3, I still waited 2 years before thinking of buying one. Let others be the proverbial guinea pigs.
I also think many manufacturers (not just cars) have cut back on R&D to save money - probably a result of many firms having bean counters in charge rather than technical or just plain business people, which often results in them losing money or reducing profitability because they spend so much rectifying the problems caused by penny-pinching on the R&D and thus product quality.
I've seen this is home AV, where the quality of the kit is far lower than it was 10-15 years ago, both physically (flimsy) and poor quality cheapo electronics that don't work well or last, added to that the often poor software that riddles them with glitches, some of which cannot be fixed.
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Here is the list of the faults recorded with the new Civic.
Steering
43
Forward Collision Avoidance: Adaptive Cruise Control
26
Vehicle Speed Control
24
Lane Departure: Assist
14
Electrical System
9
Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking
8
Lane Departure: Warning
4
Service Brakes
4
Vehicle Speed Control:cruise Control
3
Unknown Or Other
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What is surprising that for a car built in Honda s head office and not relying on locally sourced components that there should be so many problems.
Perhaps the accountants have replaced the engineers at Honda like so many European manufacturers ? But such a disappointing outcome from such a groundbreaking company!
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My Karoq has the 1.5tsi. Because it's also a DSG (and has had a software update), the kangarooing is not very pronounced, but it's certainly still there. You get a slight wavering on the revs for a couple of minutes after starting. Very weird.
Just received a safety recall on the Corsa too (the 'body controller' is non-compliant). Looks like I chose a couple of peaches again!
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Sorry. Duplicate post
Edited by Adampr on 21/12/2022 at 12:56
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I agree - early adopters pay the price to fully complete product development.
It is nothing new - just issues unresolved on product launch. Think back 50 years to blue mink paint that wouldn't adhere to lacquer on Ford Cortinas, BLMC rotting subframes etc..
Even Japanese companies with their fabled attachment to quality are impacted by costs:
- fitting a larger battery increases weight and reduces mpg
- delaying a launch by 6-12 months with a larger test fleet costs a huge amount
- delay means innovative features if launched 6-12 months earlier are no longer innovative
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My policy on ANY new product which involves complexity is to NEVER buy in the first 2-3 years of production. This applies to cars, PCs, TVs, satnavs, dashcams etc.
Some people have taken this theory to its logical conclusion - always buy a 'run-out' model to take advantage of a special discount .....
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My policy on ANY new product which involves complexity is to NEVER buy in the first 2-3 years of production. This applies to cars, PCs, TVs, satnavs, dashcams etc.
Some people have taken this theory to its logical conclusion - always buy a 'run-out' model to take advantage of a special discount .....
Yes and no - it depends upon whether the run-out model is still the same spec and quality as it was the year before.
Some makes appear to significantly pare back the spec, often to a basic level, and others even swap out more expensive parts for cheaper ones and/or reduce the trim quality. I saw this in the run-out Nissan Micra K11 in the early 2000s, when it appeared they used flimsier plastics, poor quality paint etc on the run-out car, which was limited to the 1L version in low trim level.
Nothing wrong with low trim levels if that's what you want, but in those days that meant no A/C, no electric windows or sunroof, and, if you were lucky, perhaps a radio/cassette unit. Saw quite a few out and about where the (grey/silver only) paint started peeling after a couple of years.
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The Toyota hybrids are prone to flat 12v batteries because the battery is smaller
Yes, this is a common theme in Toyota forums. Having said that it was down to a faulty Data Control Module in RAV4 which was later fixed by software.
Kia hybrids lately had same problem. However, Kia includes a 12V Reset switch in dashboard which tops up 12V battery from traction battery.
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