Check Hybrid Warning

[Cumfigali]

Hi All, have had this warning come on a couple of times now after about 40 minutes driving. The electric drive cuts out then and it runs on engnie only. Go back to it the next morning and both hybrid and engine run, with the warning still there. I scanned with with eBay scanner (which found an oxygen sensor fault a few years ago) and no codes show. It resets the warning though. My normal run to work is less than 30 minutes so have only had this a few times. 12v Battery is the orginal Panasonic one, 2010 RX450h, have read a few threads saying that could be a cause. Any other checks or pointers greatly appreciated. Thanks

[Zotto]

 A 10 years old Battery could be the problem. Have you left your RX unused for many days ? My suggestion is to verify the Battery voltage and trying with a charge.

[Cumfigali]

Thanks for the reply, car is in regular use. I'm going to check voltage at lunch. The bit that is puzzling me is the only doing it around the 40 minute mark. And those being weeks apart.

[Jayw13702]

Ideally you need to get the car onto a techstream diagnostic, it will give you a clear picture of your issues.

 Zotto is correct the 12v Battery would be a good place to start, you need to see if it is losing voltage, if you have a multimeter test the voltage whist the ignition is on and things like the lights and heater fans are running, you're looking to see how far the Battery drops in voltage in a short space of time.

 

 

[Cumfigali]

Many thanks, I'm looking at Techstream cables and software on eBay but not sure if they are worth the gamble. Off to do some volatage checks. Maybe that will flag something up. But as I said the warning only appears on a run 40 minutes plus the rest of the time its fine. Battery is 11 years old with 125k on the clock so may be as well biting the bullet for £100 rather than chasing.

[Herbie]

Almost certainly the 12V Battery given its age. The chart below should help in your decision - values given are the Battery 'standing' voltage. If you check with the car in READY mode you should see approx 14.5V at the Battery terminals.

As for Techstream, what's to gamble? It works perfectly on my Windows 10 laptop, just as it did with all previous versions back to XP, so for £20 to £30 you get a superb diagnostic tool - it's the very same software as their own techs use in their workshops.

[Zotto]

18 minutes ago, Jayw13702 said:

if you have a multimeter test the voltage whist the ignition is on and things like the lights and heater fans are running

Really it is not the proper procedure, as with ignition ON you will read the charge tension coming from charging system (around 14 V), to read Battery V you have to let ignition OFF.

[Cumfigali]

Superb, I'll get one ordered from Fleabay, was being a bit overcautious on the Techstream, the fact my OB2 scanner got the codes on the oxygen sensor was making me think the fault only flags up as its happening and not storing the code, it resets the system and clears the fault though. I'll get the voltages swung through. 

[Cumfigali]

Just a quick update. 12.2v ignition off, so Battery is only at 60%. New Battery ordered from Tayna. Am tempted to leave the fault on to see if techstream actually picks any codes up. Everything is running as it should be so not harming anything.

Many thanks for all the assistance, only issue is once its fitted taking the car for a long enough drive in the current restrictions 😄

[Herbie]

21 minutes ago, Cumfigali said:

only issue is once its fitted taking the car for a long enough drive in the current restrictions

I know what you mean. I'm in Preston and just itching to get a good run to see family around the country.

If you really don't use the car much then even a brand new, fully charged Battery will be completely flat in about 41 days (5.94 weeks) but for the purposes of starting the car it'll be useless way before that, maybe in about three weeks. During the first lockdown when we really couldn't travel anywhere the advice given on Toyota's website was to run the car in READY mode with selector in 'P' for 60 minutes per week, just to keep the 12V Battery topped up. However, don't leave the car unattended as someone could drive off in it!

[flookyk]

When I had my 2010 RX450h during lockdowns, I used to sit it it for an hour each week with it in P to charge up the 12V Battery then take it for a run around the block on a 4 mile route that one long section was downhill which was then enough to recharge the traction Battery back up to the top again.

When sat with it in P charging up the 12v Battery the traction Battery used to go down to two bars then the engine kicked in to take it up two or three bars.

With this 2017 RX450h it seems more keen to keep the traction Battery over half way when sat in P charging the 12v Battery and starts the engine up sooner but when on the road it also seems more keen for the EV to kick in at around 40mph then the Gen3 did, maybe one reason the mpg is slightly better in the Gen4.

[Cumfigali]

Thanks for all the replies. Just to clarify the car is used daily. And does a 15 mile round trip commute every week day and I've worked all the way through covid so its never been sat. I "HOPE" as seems likley the 12v Battery is just at the end of its life and throwing up the warning. The check hybrid warning has only ever came on when I've been driving for approx 40 minutes and over and never on my half hour commutes to work and the occrances were weeks apart when it has.

[Prince Bob]

On 1/4/2021 at 3:39 PM, Cumfigali said:

Thanks for all the replies. Just to clarify the car is used daily. And does a 15 mile round trip commute every week day and I've worked all the way through covid so its never been sat. I "HOPE" as seems likley the 12v battery is just at the end of its life and throwing up the warning. The check hybrid warning has only ever came on when I've been driving for approx 40 minutes and over and never on my half hour commutes to work and the occrances were weeks apart when it has.

I had the same issue when the Battery was the same age as yours. New genuine Battery from main dealer solved the issue no 'check hybrid light since'.

[Cumfigali]

Hi Just an update I'm afraid.

Newv12v Battery is here sat waiting to be fitted. The Techstream ordered from fleabay was meant to be despatched last Monday, I have post office tracking but post office have still to recieve it. Have sent message to seller asking why its still not been sent, flaming things only in Manchester, I couldve walked there and got it.

I wanted to scan to see if any fault codes were stored before I changed the Battery as they will dispear as soon as I do that.

[GS300h2014]

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that the fault codes won't be lost if you disconnect the 12v Battery in order to change it.

[Cumfigali]

Not sure but I'd like to now that as well, but the warning definitely disappears as the first time this happened I disconnected the Battery and it disappeared for weeks till I went on a long enough drive to trigger it again. The second time it happened my OBD reader could not find a fault code but reset the warning. Hence why I wanted to look with Techstream.

[Omer]

Hi. New to this forum.

Lexus RX-400h 2007 101000 miles.

Issue: Starter 12v Battery drain, every winter the issue comes. This time when replaced it with new Bosch Battery and after 2 min of driving the Check Hybrid, Check VSC message started showing and the caution lights of car slipping and power check comes on as well. I thought it maybe the new Battery isnt the correct one so replaced it with another new Battery but same thing is happening. The car wouldn't start and only way to get it start is to remove the 12V Battery terminal and plug again but all lights would come back again after 1 min.

Have ordered the techstream and now waiting. But any suggestions are welcomed. 

[Greisingel]

Any techstream results Omer and Cumfigali?

[Cumfigali]

Unfortunately the Techstream and lead I bought was useless, the software for the lead would not install, and Techstream didnt seem to want to work without registering. I think I could have found a way to get round the register, but without the lead software its pointless. I have asked for a refund. Due to the length of time this dragged on I fitted the Battery and as before the warning to check hybrid system disappeared. Due to current restrictions I am unable to go on a long enough drive to see of the warning actiavtes again and shuts the hybrid down.

[Herbie]

2 hours ago, Cumfigali said:

Unfortunately the Techstream and lead I bought was useless, the software for the lead would not install, and Techstream didnt seem to want to work without registering.

As you rightly say, there are two sides to this - the Techstream software and the cable drivers.

Because Techstream is pirated when obtained in this way the admin/mods don't allow any discussion of that so you'll just have to persevere by using Google if your conscience allows it.

Again, Google is also your friend when it comes to installing the cable drivers but it is very worthwhile because once done, you could then legitimately buy a block of time to use Techstream from Lexus, eg, €5 + VAT for one day if you wanted to.

Which version of Windows are you trying to install it on?

[Cumfigali]

I tried both Windows 7 on an old work laptop, and Windows 10 on my PC for comparison but result was the same both times.

[Herbie]

2 minutes ago, Cumfigali said:

I tried both Windows 7 on an old work laptop, and Windows 10 on my PC for comparison but result was the same both times.

Then with the greatest of respect, you must be doing something wrong my friend. Thousands of people, including myself, have got it working perfectly but admittedly it isn't always plain sailing.

It would be highly unlikely to be faulty hardware but there are many different versions of the cable driver software out there, as well as the other thing, so I'd suggest that you spend an afternoon on Google to see what you can find.

Although I did finally get it working on Win 10 64-bit it did take two or three hours of faffing about; so much so that when it finally worked I can't remember which step or thing it was that made the difference. Given that, if I was doing it from scratch again I'd probably use VMWare or Oracle's VirtualBox on Win 10 and run Win 7 or even XP in the virtual machine.

Stick with it, it does work.

[Cumfigali]

No offence taken, I'll persevere but it'll be when I can get the time. Now the new Battery is in and he warning gone there is no rush.

Its more curiosity I want to scan for than anything.

[Herbie]

26 minutes ago, Cumfigali said:

Its more curiosity I want to scan for than anything.

Curiosity is good 😊

[Boosh.]

It sounds like that fault has been sorted. But, if the original problem does come back, then in the 'Toyota hybrid world' these symptoms (as well as pointing at the 12v battery) would suggest a possible traction Battery cooling fan problem, usually a build up of dust or dog hair in the fan blades. 

This problem gets more apparent on warmer days, or hilly terrain, or stop/start traffic.  But this is rather a lot of conjecture on my part - I don't know much about the RX450h!