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Low 12v Battery, won't start, then self resolves

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Chickenlords

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
23 hybrid XLE Premium that is 14 months old with 13,000 miles on it. The car sat in the garage for about 24 hours, my wife went to start it and it would not show ready. The drivers display was flashing "Voltage Abnormality, Steering Power Low" followed by "Blind Spot Unavailable," "Rear Cross Traffic Unavailable" and "Pre Collision Unavailable."

Pulled codes to find: P1014, B2312 and B1312 (Lost Communication with DMV.)

Ended up checking the 12v battery voltage at the hood terminal to find 7 volts. Called ToyotaCare for a jump. Left it alone for an hour and came back and it started right up. I have a theory that me opening the back hatch to try to access the 12v battery and then closing manually may have given the battery a little bump?

Trying to figure out any sort of root cause so it doesn't happen again when we are out. Fortunately we were home during this.

I know there is a TSB for prior models, but those don't apply here. I've thought about buying a portable jump kit, it just seems extreme to me on a one year old car. It hasn't been to Toyota yet. Don't really want to waste my time given the issue self resolved.

Thoughts?
 
#2 ·
Chickenlords said:
23 hybrid XLE Premium that is 14 months old with 13,000 miles on it. The car sat in the garage for about 24 hours, my wife went to start it and it would not show ready. The drivers display was flashing "Voltage Abnormality, Steering Power Low" followed by "Blind Spot Unavailable," "Rear Cross Traffic Unavailable" and "Pre Collision Unavailable."

Pulled codes to find: P1014, B2312 and B1312 (Lost Communication with DMV.)

Ended up checking the 12v battery voltage at the hood terminal to find 7 volts. Called ToyotaCare for a jump. Left it alone for an hour and came back and it started right up. I have a theory that me opening the back hatch to try to access the 12v battery and then closing manually may have given the battery a little bump?

Trying to figure out any sort of root cause so it doesn't happen again when we are out. Fortunately we were home during this.

I know there is a TSB for prior models, but those don't apply here. I've thought about buying a portable jump kit, it just seems extreme to me on a one year old car. It hasn't been to Toyota yet. Don't really want to waste my time given the issue self resolved.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
What does the car read while in ready mode? I don't remember exactly but should read about 14 volts or so.

Do you have any aftermarket electronics such as a dash cam, aftermarket stereo?

Is there a dealer installed Karr alarm? Do a search for Karr alarm to see what I am talking about.

If you or anyone jumps the car from the jump points under the hood, make sure the U ground point is used on the passenger side of engine for negative. Some have fried their ECU from using a ground point on drivers side.
 
#4 ·
Had something similar and it turned out to be one of the wiring harnesses was faulty and it was messing with the battery and the computer. It took my dealership almost a year to spot it because it was intermittent and all the the parts were testing fine. They said that I was the first one in almost three years with that problem.
 
#5 ·
Welcome to my world. I have to carry around a jump battery in my car, in case the 12V dies. If I leave it for more than a few days, it just might. Had the TSB done. When the weather cools off a bit, I am going to rewire my VioFo dash cam to eliminate the low voltage cut-off box, in case that is causing it.
 
Discussion starter · #6 ·
Appreciate the quick responses.

Nothing aftermarket installed.

Battery terminals are secure. Am reading 12.5x-14.xx when ready.

@Variman, what do you mean passenger side post? I'm only aware of the positive post in the fuse box in front, and use the strut tower bolts for ground.

The P1014 code from Bluedriver says LT Ground Short, wiper sensor. Safelite recently replaced the windshield wipe sensor after I got a new windshield. All of the wiring near that harness seem intact. Google says it's an engine code however.
 
#7 ·
If this were a normal ICE car without all the extra electronics then I would say you have a parasitic drain on the battery. But, this is not an ICE car. And it does have a whole bunch of electronics in it. So, do not know if this is normal behavior. But, as someone mentioned, better to have a jump pack in the car in case of this. Otherwise, I wouldn't be looking for a solution. Could call the dealership up and ask about it. See if this is normal. However, I would caution against their upselling if you do take it in to them. Diagnosis does cost money. If there isn't a real problem then what? IDK.
 
#8 ·
Chickenlords said:
Appreciate the quick responses.

Nothing aftermarket installed.

Battery terminals are secure. Am reading 12.5x-14.xx when ready.

@Variman, what do you mean passenger side post? I'm only aware of the positive post in the fuse box in front, and use the strut tower bolts for ground.

The P1014 code from Bluedriver says LT Ground Short, wiper sensor. Safelite recently replaced the windshield wipe sensor after I got a new windshield. All of the wiring near that harness seem intact. Google says it's an engine code however.
Click to expand...
Check out this TSB on where to jump under the hood
 

Attachments

#10 ·
Hitekguy said:
most jump boxes like a NOCO don’t have cables long enough to spread that distance.
Click to expand...
Which is why you have to shop carefully for a jump box that does have longer cables. Costs less than having to replace the ECU.
 
#11 ·
Hitekguy said:
most jump boxes like a NOCO don’t have cables long enough to spread that distance.
Click to expand...
I purchased a small alligator battery clamp from and crimped on a #8 piece of green wire. The Leight is about 3', enough to get to the U Ground on the passenger side of the engine. Clamp to the U Ground, bare wire the negative charging clamp on the jump pack.

Sites-WestMarine-Site

West Marine
www.westmarine.com www.westmarine.com

I do prefer to crawl inside the car, release the hatch manually, and clamp right on to the 12 volt battery if possible. But if I needed to jump quickly, I would use the port under the hood.
 
#12 ·
Chickenlords said:
I have a theory that me opening the back hatch to try to access the 12v battery and then closing manually may have given the battery a little bump?
Click to expand...
Chickenlords said:
Battery terminals are secure.
Click to expand...
It seems obvious you had a loose electrical contact or ground somewheres that was shaken and fixed when you opened and closed the hatch. These sorts of things are difficult to diagnose, find and repair. The problem may never happen again...or it might do it again tomorrow.
 
#13 ·
#14 ·
I agree that it’s most likely a loose connection somewhere, and probably a ground. I would suspect that the wiring from the 12v battery goes right up to the engine compartment in one run. It may split off to the hybrid battery along the way, but I suspect it goes all the way up front. I would definitely check the battery though. Do a load test on it. Sometimes battery plates will open up, and then close again, but they are still defective. Putting a load on the battery is the only way to check it. A battery at rest, just checking with a volt meter could check ok, but when a load comes on it and it warms up, it could open. A loose connection or a bad battery will show up again. I keep a Weego jump start in both my Tundra and my RAV4 hybrid. It’s well worth the $60 I paid for each. Interestingly, I’ve only had to use it on other folks/ cars, not either of mine yet. The Weego’s take up very little room, and will start a large engine. I had the Pre TSB issue with my 2020 once. It was before the issue with the cellular system was known. That’s when I bought the wego, as the dealership had no idea, and of course the vehicle and battery checked out ok.
 
Discussion starter · #15 ·
Wanted to provide a bit of a closeout update for you all.

The battery tested as dead.

Before getting it fixed at the dealer (under warranty, no charge) the battery died a handful of times with the same symptoms. I used the modified jumper (under hood, grounding on the front right strut) method to resolve it each time.

Painless process and I now own a portable booster pack just in case.
 
#18 ·
Chickenlords said:
Battery voltage under the hood is consistently 12v+ with the new battery.
Click to expand...
In your first post, you said you have a hybrid. The RAV4 hybrid 12 volt battery is not "under the hood", but rather in the back under the cargo floor.
 
#19 ·
Chickenlords said:
23 hybrid XLE Premium that is 14 months old with 13,000 miles on it. The car sat in the garage for about 24 hours, my wife went to start it and it would not show ready. The drivers display was flashing "Voltage Abnormality, Steering Power Low" followed by "Blind Spot Unavailable," "Rear Cross Traffic Unavailable" and "Pre Collision Unavailable."

Pulled codes to find: P1014, B2312 and B1312 (Lost Communication with DMV.)

Ended up checking the 12v battery voltage at the hood terminal to find 7 volts. Called ToyotaCare for a jump. Left it alone for an hour and came back and it started right up. I have a theory that me opening the back hatch to try to access the 12v battery and then closing manually may have given the battery a little bump?

Trying to figure out any sort of root cause so it doesn't happen again when we are out. Fortunately we were home during this.

I know there is a TSB for prior models, but those don't apply here. I've thought about buying a portable jump kit, it just seems extreme to me on a one year old car. It hasn't been to Toyota yet. Don't really want to waste my time given the issue self resolved.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Sounds like a Power Draw of some sort. Anything plugged into rear outlet in cargo area? Try manually shutting off all lights / Front lights at next drive and see how it goes. Take a measurement just after you power down the car, and the next morning. If the draw happens regularly, try using a trickle charger overnight. If this relieves the issue, probably a 12 volt batter issue. If under warranty see if you can get a replacement.
 
Discussion starter · #20 ·
FKHeath said:
In your first post, you said you have a hybrid. The RAV4 hybrid 12 volt battery is not "under the hood", but rather in the back under the cargo floor.
Click to expand...
Correct. But there is 12v terminals inside the fuse pack under the hood, which is where I measured. I initially theorized that there was some type of relay regulator at the battery that may have dropped the voltage down for an unknown reason, but that is not the case.

Prior to battery swap, the post was reading 7.xx volts vs the 12xx+ it should have been.
 
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