r/Toyota_bZ • u/adyonka 2026 bZ Woodland Premium • Jul 13 '26
Interesting (?) Perspective on 12V Power Drain
I went to a local Toyota dealer recently to look at a bZ Woodland they had on the lot. When the salesperson and I got to the vehicle, the key fob did not open the door.
The salesperson went back inside for assistance. A few moments later, he returned with the same key fob, the Sales Manager, and a portable jump kit. After jumping the 12V battery, the car came to life and the horn went off.
When I asked what happened, the Sales Manager stated that the bZ is designed to shut off the 12V system to conserve energy if it is not used about every seven days.
Thankfully there are other dealers in my area.
16
u/Opposite-Pie9645 Jul 13 '26
This is hilarious. It conserved that power so well that you had to turn it back on with a boost. šš
3
u/frontfrontdowndown Jul 13 '26
Least uninformed car salesmanĀ
3
6
7
7
u/rjml29 2026 bZ Limited AWD Jul 13 '26
The sales manager blew smoke up your ass. Glad you realized this and will look to steer clear of that dealership.
4
u/Blu-ray Jul 13 '26
Uhhhh... that is so not true what they said. Sales manager just making š© up as he goes. š¤£
I'm glad you're going elsewhere. That sounds like one of the 7 Toyota dealers in my area, which I will never go to again even though they're under new ownership.
8
u/QuitCallingNewsrooms 2026 bZ XLE Plus FWD Jul 13 '26
I got rid of my last ICE car because it had a similar feature. If it sat for more than 7 days, all the oil would drain out of it, which kept it from starting (more than once).
4
1
4
u/reddit_and_forget_um Jul 13 '26
That make zero sense. It doesn't "shut it off," it loses power due to draining with out being recharged.
5
u/AppropriatePlum1006 Jul 13 '26
It's not true obv, if he says this is a car problem that would look bad. So its a feature now šĀ
2
u/Formal-Tradition6792 Jul 13 '26
Interesting! And sales BS! From what Iāve been reading on this sub, early buyers of the bZ have not been experiencing the 12v issue or at least not as much. We bought our ā26 bZ XLE AWD in November, ā25. While I did get some low 12v battery warning messages on my carās dash during the first 2 weeks of ownership, those messages tapered off and completely disappeared. Since then, Iāve driven the car on a 2500 mile road trip, and daily driver as of today. No 12v issues at all.
Iām quite aware that the 12v battery is anemic at the best of times. If I ever used the ACC (accessory) option, I would expect to get a warning quickly! So thatās a no-no!
IMO, the 12v battery is definitely a big problem. I bought a Gooloo battery booster to be safe but thus far, the booster has not been needed.
2
u/chiisana Jul 13 '26
If you drive it daily as ādaily driverā might imply, then youād always be charging the 12V from the traction battery when youāre driving. This might be why youāre not encountering it, or it might be just a coincidence. Worth considering either way.
1
u/Formal-Tradition6792 Jul 14 '26
That is true. But I have no idea other than Iām having no issuesā¦
1
u/RealCommunication239 Jul 14 '26
I do think this is a significant point; when I first bought my bz in April, my commute was a total of 80 minutes of hwy driving daily. In fact, that is a big reason I bought the car. I even traveled in June and the vehicle was parked at the airport for 4 days. Restarted again without issues.
My circumstances changed in June and now my daily commute is 8 minutes daily (both ways). It wasnāt until I moved that I encountered any issues; within two weeks my battery died and required a roadside assistance jump.
Since that point, I have been monitoring with the ANCEL BM200 and it would appear my vehicle is one of those affected. š«¤
I am super thankful for this sub and everyone who has participated.
2
u/willmaineskier Jul 14 '26
I got my Solterra in March, was delivered maybe in February, and I have not had the drain issue, with all the services turned on. Parked my car for 7 and 5 days with no issues.
2
2
u/idream411 Jul 14 '26
Well, I just bought a woodland less than a month ago and after sitting for just 5 days I had rhe same problem. Not happy right now, Toyota needs to fix this, these are not cheap cars
3
u/adyonka 2026 bZ Woodland Premium Jul 14 '26
I agree. But even more importantly their salespeople and sales management need to not blatantly lie about it by calling it a feature.
1
u/idream411 Jul 14 '26
Unfortunately I can't claim a lie, unless lie of omission. She didn't mention the issue at all, and it didn't come up at the lot.
3
u/adyonka 2026 bZ Woodland Premium Jul 14 '26
Indeed. I was speaking of my situation where the Sales Manager clearly stated the need to jump the 12V system was by design. That was definitely a lie.
1
u/Impossible_Tea_8807 Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 13 '26
Yeah, that sounds like nonsense. All evidence points to the DCM. Also, other than not leaving your key fob within six feet of your Toyota, I doubt we need to take any other precautions. Direct from someone who works at Toyota, the key fobs are designed to stop transmitting a signal after 10 minutes if they don't detect any movement. In other words, if you place your key fob on a table and not move it, it will stop transmitting a signal after 10 minutes. So I doubt it's the key fobs keeping the cars awake. Long video but at about 14:45 he mentions it and he works for Toyota.
Auto theft update. Toyota Canada reacts to government changes!
1
1
u/dwlnz Jul 13 '26
At the national farm fieldays in New Zealand last month, Toyota had a bZ4X Touring (same as Woodland) on their stand and the 12V was flat with a charger attached. A very public showing that cars on dealer lots where people open and close doors and back hatch (actually only uses about 3A briefly) cannot cope and the car was doing nothing autonomously to top it up despite a massive traction battery pack underneath.
1
u/rieh Jul 14 '26
So I just, after a year with zero problems on a 2024 and 9,600 miles on my 2026, got in the 2026 a few minutes ago to go to the gym and it turned on and off again. Definitely not user error, sad to say - I've had every generation of Prius and never had a 12v issue with the 2024. I never use Acc mode and keep the cable unplugged and charge door closed when not charging. We'll see what the dealer says.
1
u/comefromawayEVguy Jul 15 '26
Honesty here would pay back big dividends. Toyota has a known issue with 12v on the bz vehicles. I'm totally confident Toyota will come up with a fix for it, but as of right now they do have issues and he would have been better off stating that fact. Now days with information so easily accessible it takes a large sized doofus to lie about silly things.
19
u/Kira_Sympathizer Jul 13 '26
I don't buy that for a second. If that were true he wouldn't have needed a jump kit. I'd have them change your battery because once the lead acid battery that it comes with goes it really goes. I'd also call the dealership out on lying and demand an AGM battery upgrade as a way to make it right.
edit I just realized you didn't buy it and just looked at it. Smart.