Dead battery(s) iForceMAX

[franx]

I do have my Porsche Macan on a trickle charger regularly since thats not my daily driver. My motorcycle is always on a trickle charger because they get dont get ridden frequently either and saves me buying a new battery all the time. Your best friend is a trickle charger for anything not used much, saves you a ton of money on battery replacements.

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[Taco Ji]

yup. This my truck since Dec 1. Will be like this until spring to avoid the salt on the roads.

 

[gpburdell]

I’m hearing lots of incidents similar to this from other owners. Wonder what the issue is. Bad batches of batteries during production?

Likely one part of the issue, and I believe Ford even did a bad battery recall in the past couple of years for this reason.

Still doesn’t really explain the low SOC some here are seeing even on their daily driver.

I do have my Porsche Macan on a trickle charger regularly since thats not my daily driver. My motorcycle is always on a trickle charger because they get dont get ridden frequently either and saves me buying a new battery all the time. Your best friend is a trickle charger for anything not used much, saves you a ton of money on battery replacements.

I used to do the same with the motorcycles I had over the years. Especially when I was in central NYS, less so in GA. Now I do the same with a wave runner and a boat, though the latter has a battery switch which eliminates all parasitic drain.

It’s expected that with enuf time normal parasitic drain will impact starting a vehicle, but it ought to take weeks not days.

Oh and do please be careful on two wheels. I only mention due to the coincidence that my wife volunteers at hospice and today a 28 year old succumbed to a crash related traumatic brain injury. Cagers here in ATL area are idiots.

 

[Will721]

Possibly related, possibly not. For the guys who are reporting low charging voltage, are you guys driving in Eco Mode? I ask, because I've been paying closer attention to various changes and things my Tocoma does after observing the larger than typical drop in economy below freezing temperatures. I've also been playing with various settings to see how the onboard computer changes various things.

The reason I ask is that I noticed when switching from Eco Mode to Normal mode while the hvac was set to high auto, there was an audible and felt change in blower motor fan speed, it increased a good bit. I've played with it and have gotten the same result. Especially noticed on front defrost. The only reason I can think of they would program it to do that, is to reduce the load of the alternator while in eco mode, which made me think of this thread. I'd be curious what a voltmeter would say between eco and normal mode.

 

[shackley]

Check if you Toyota APP was open. I had similar issue and narrowed it to the Toyota App. Have to sign out or it pings the truck.

Is this the app on your phone or the truck?

 

[shackley]

Yes - the app does run down the battery if you stay logged in. The same thing happened to my wife's SUV. Since she stopped using the app her battery has not run completely down again. But I think the root cause is that anything can run down the battery when it is kept at such a low state of charge.

It is interesting that this happens with my wife's Lexus battery electric. It has a similar way of charging the 12 volt from the traction battery, and it does not work well either. Lexus just said it is a known problem and that they do not have a fix.

At least the Lexus techs are honest.

 

[shackley]

A trickle charger will definitely do the job. I find it easier to just carry a jump pack so I know the truck will always start. But if you don't charge the 12 volt in a hybrid or carry a jump pack it is just a matter of time until it leaves you stranded IMO.

On another list, someone has been charging through the jump point in the fuse box. That would be easier than getting under the seat every time.

 

[shackley]

You guys could always run generator mode every few days, charge your power stations, work batteries etc. I just idle my TH and make use of the high output inverter when I’m busy driving my work rig for the week/month. Tops of the 12V in the process & keeps the NiMH healthy, engine lubed. Gas is cheap af rn and it sips .20-.50 gal/hr of actual engine runtime

Wouldn't just attaching a trickle charge be easier? That's what we do with the RAV Prime and TH.

 

[Jt2024]

Is this the app on your phone or the truck?

IPHONE. I ha∂ battery (12V) replaced under warranty about 3 months ago and no further issues. Not sure if App. Contributed.

 

[evlfred]

Had this happen Monday, drove it like normal, parked for an hour came out and turned on accessory power for a minute to power a small camera. After the camera ran an update (2 minutes) Started the truck and all hell broke loose, screens went off, park brake warning came on, wouldn't start. Called Roadside and they said a tow would be by in a couple hours. In the mean time I noticed the tailgate opened really slowly, so I jumped it and the truck started with all kinds of error messages and warning lights. Drove it to toyota and dropped it off and they replaced the battery. Only issue was when I picked it up they didn't clear the DTC's and all the warnings and lights were still there. When they told me I'd need to leave it another day or two to get that addressed I whipped out the Carista and cleared them myself.

 

[Ron]

I just had my truck at the dealer for a different reason.

They said they had to replace the 12V battery because it didn't have enough charge for their diagnostic/update tools (i forgot the exact term he used).

He said he has not heard about a bad batch of batteries or hybrid not charging the 12V enough. But he said all these newer vehicle have smaller batteries. Seems like replacing batteries under warranty is normal for them. This is a first for me.

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