Long Term Storage?

[coglonator]

This will be our first hybrid vehicle. We leave our vehicle for extended periods in the winter... and up to now, simply used a NOCO smart battery maintainer to keep the vehicle battery charged when we're away... and this has worked well for us. Are there any special considerations for the hybrid battery? Can it be left in a fully charged state for 5-6 months with no issues?

 

[Nuke]

Welcome coglonator! My question also, as it will not see much winter use...

 

[Don]

No, this is covered in manual. It should be driven every two months IIRC.

Buying the V6 GX550 may be a better choice.

 

[ultane]

This will be our first hybrid vehicle. We leave our vehicle for extended periods in the winter... and up to now, simply used a NOCO smart battery maintainer to keep the vehicle battery charged when we're away... and this has worked well for us. Are there any special considerations for the hybrid battery? Can it be left in a fully charged state for 5-6 months with no issues?

Welcome to the asylum coglonator.

 

[coglonator]

Here’s what I found in the manual. Also, there is a service plug for the traction battery - but not sure it can be used by other than a Toyota technician. I did ask this same question at the dealership - and they said there is a mod that is done either by dealer or at a 3rd party where they set up a plug that can be used with a battery minder? Not quite sure how that would work?

 

[coglonator]

Forgot to mention the mod is around $1,000.

 

[Don]

Another data point: A Prius battery is $2000 to replace by companies specializing in that service. Dealer replacement is probably about twice that amount. The LC is about 30% bigger, so $5K would be my guess at the cost.

I believe we have the same ancient NiMh battery chemistry as the Prius.

 

[Lineman]

The “service plug” is a safety item to block the high voltage so that a tech can service the system. I don’t believe it could be modified for external power delivery.

 

[EOD Guy]

I couldn't find anything about charging the Traction Battery except for letting the engine run. That may be the reason for the stories about the LCs running for hours at the port facilities.

 

[francorossobianco]

This will be our first hybrid vehicle. We leave our vehicle for extended periods in the winter... and up to now, simply used a NOCO smart battery maintainer to keep the vehicle battery charged when we're away... and this has worked well for us. Are there any special considerations for the hybrid battery? Can it be left in a fully charged state for 5-6 months with no issues?

Just drop it off at my place. I'll let my kids keep it charged for you while you're gone. BTW, no charge for this valuable service

 

[Nuke]

I couldn't find anything about charging the Traction Battery except for letting the engine run. That may be the reason for the stories about the LCs running for hours at the port facilities.

Sure hope this is bogus info, i.e. they run for hours idling at the port facility. Possibly I am old school, but conventional wisdom has maintained this is NOT the proper method to break in an engine. The owner's manual does not address this specific scenario, but it does indicate not to operate at steady speeds during break in.

 

[EOD Guy]

Sure hope this is bogus info, i.e. they run for hours idling at the port facility. Possibly I am old school, but conventional wisdom has maintained this is NOT the proper method to break in an engine. The owner's manual does not address this specific scenario, but it does indicate not to operate at steady speeds during break in.

I really have no idea if the stories are true or not...... I hope not.

It doesn't make sense to be the only way to charge the traction battery, but there are a lot of things on this truck that don't align with conventional wisdom.