Yup - we do all of the 'Do's' and don't do any of the 'Don't's' in terms of 12v battery health but the clue is, as said above, the actual expectation of 12v battery life. It is notable that the standard guarantee for a 12v replacement was only 4 Years with an option for a more expensive make at 5 years guarantee (and that's the one we got 😉). So yes - they really aren't expecting them to last very long.

(And that makes you think...so why don't they warn you the dramatic things that might happen without warning after 4 years - or include a routine battery replacement at the 4-year service, remembering we get all our servicing through the Toyota main dealer??)

Edited August 18Aug 18 by AJZip2

14 minutes ago, AJZip2 said:

And that makes you think...so why don't they warn you the dramatic things that might happen without warning after 4 years

Showroom staff will never point out things like this. My old Civic had 2 or 3 batteries in 16 years so around 5-6 years seems about right.

1 hour ago, AJZip2 said:

And that makes you think...so why don't they warn you the dramatic things that might happen without warning after 4 years - or include a routine battery replacement at the 4-year service, remembering we get all our servicing through the Toyota main dealer??)

12V batteries are regarded as a consumable item because they have components that ware out due to chemical reactions. No different to brake pads, brake discs or tyres. So no, they don't warn you they will need replacing, like they don't warn you when you buy the car that the tyres will.

They don't routinely replace batteries at the service, but Toyota do check the state of the battery as part of the multi-point inspection.

The little device Ray has that links to an app on your phone and warns you of an impending battery issue is a good idea.

Edited August 18Aug 18 by martin-w

On 8/17/2026 at 4:21 AM, martin-w said:

And me a Toyota Aygo Cross hybrid.

That's a nice little car, Martin. I'm sure I'd get one, if only Toyota could offer it down here. We only get the Thailand spec/design vehicles 🥲

I've never been fond of big cars, it's too much for me. The biggest I've ever had is my current 2022 VW Polo.

1 hour ago, Luis Hernandez said:

That's a nice little car, Martin. I'm sure I'd get one, if only Toyota could offer it down here. We only get the Thailand spec/design vehicles 🥲

I've never been fond of big cars, it's too much for me. The biggest I've ever had is my current 2022 VW Polo.

I don't mind bigger cars but we have tiny lanes here, two way traffic but only just wide enough for one car. The majority of the wider roads are narrow, too, with granite walls on one side. We have some more modern wider roads in St Helier.

First time I drove a Toyota was my daughters Yaris, the same 1.5 hybrid as the Aygo. Very economical (trip meter is reading 65 mpg and that's around the lanes and town, which is astonishing) but still does 0 to 60 in 9 seconds. It's the Excel version with all the bells and whistles.

At this point I'm still messing with the settings to cut down on the "Safety Sense" bleeps. Modern cars like to bleep a lot, in fact the bleeps when you go a 2 mph over the speed limit are compulsory in Europe, now. Luckily in the Toyota's there's a short cut on the screen to silence them.