[JK Smith]

I bought a new Solterra Touring model yesterday. It had 15 miles on it with a full charge when I left the dealer. I took it home. It has 32 miles on it now. While sitting in it in the driveway, trying to program the second driver, power issues began to surface. First it was the parking brake. Then the rear hatch door wouldn't open electrically. The multimedia was next to go. Then the dash lights flickered and that quit. I got the AC charging cable out when things first started to go, but it wouldn't take a charge. Eventually, everything died completely. The driver's window is open and cannot be closed, door locks don't work, the charging cable cannot be removed. This vehicle was $60k out the door and in less than 5 hours, it's a brick on wheels. A tow truck is on its way. I have extreme buyer's remorse at the moment. But on the plus side, it is a good looking car.

 

[n6nl]

It’s just the 12V battery. I suspected that leaving them for six months was going to do that to every single one.

Subaru and Toyota should get ahead of this and replace all of them before delivery.

Look for the section, around page 91 of your Owner’s Manual titled: “■ If the AC charging connector cannot be unlocked” for the instructions on how to manually release the charging cable.

 

[md.]

It’s just the 12V battery. I suspected that leaving them for six months was going to do that to every single one.

Subaru and Toyota should get ahead of this and replace all of them before delivery.

I totally agree with this. I've been on the Chevy Bolt forums and 2022 Bolts have been sitting on dealer lots since spring or earlier awaiting replacement batteries and people who purchase them are having issues. If I were picking up a Solterra or bZ4X right now from the batch that sat in port, I would definitely make sure the 12V battery was replaced before taking delivery.

The traction battery (and probably the EVSE) should charge the 12V, but with a dead 12V, there's no power to close the relay that would start the charging. If you have jumper cables, a small jump box, or a battery charger, you should be able to get it going again if you need to get somewhere. But, at the very least, get it tested, and hopefully replaced.

@JK Smith Maybe the weak battery was causing the infotainment system issues at delivery. A low 12V battery causing "unusual" things to happen and engine codes is very common with all cars these days -- not just EVs.

 

[JPelletier]

It’s just the 12V battery. I suspected that leaving them for six months was going to do that to every single one.

Subaru and Toyota should get ahead of this and replace all of them before delivery.

Look for the section, around page 91 of your Owner’s Manual titled: “■ If the AC charging connector cannot be unlocked” for the instructions on how to manually release the charging cable.

This but also, you car doesn't have a lot of historical data to estimate range, so be careful for the first miles it might not be accurate

 

[Ducatista]

Just an FYI, 12V batteries are a common issue on multiple EVs. Its a very common topic if anyone has looked into tesla forums, Ioniq 5 and more. I suggest everyone gets themselves a NOCO Boost (or other brand lithium Jump Starter).

 

[JK Smith]

Great inputs. Yes, the 12v battery was probably super low after sitting at the dealer and being used extensively without driving it. I only drove it a short time and began more of the same in my driveway. I imagined that the auxiliary battery was recharged by the traction battery but that's only true when driving it. I am taking it back to the dealer to have the auxiliary battery checked out. So, big lesson for me is that when the auxiliary battery is too low to engage the car in drive, there is no aux. recharge capability. Dead in the water... A booster battery in the trunk is a great idea.

 

[n6nl]

The best part of this: a full charge (if good) or a new 12V aux battery and this problem should be gone! Have confidence in your new purchase. This is a common and easy one to fix. Take a breath and then enjoy your new car.

 

[JPelletier]

The best part of this: a full charge (if good) or a new 12V aux battery and this problem should be gone! Have confidence in your new purchase. This is a common and easy one to fix. Take a breath and then enjoy your new car.

It's one of the biggest issue with the VW ID4 too (2021 and 2022 models). There is a recall now to change the 12V battery and update infotainment system

 

[Soltrrfrm]

Very disappointing experience. Hopefully it’s just dead battery issue.

 

[PW703]

Does anyone know what size of battery Solterra uses?

 

[n6nl]

12V 47AH (20 hour rate) (some documents say 45AH) 286A CCA

Group LN1

 

[voxel]

Mach-E had the same problem when a bunch sat for months due to stop sale / recall. ToyoBaru should proactively replace the 12V batteries or had them on a battery tender once every week or two.

 

[n6nl]

Or load test them during PDI and replace ”on condition”.

 

[Jenovalente]

I bought a new Solterra Touring model yesterday. It had 15 miles on it with a full charge when I left the dealer. I took it home. It has 32 miles on it now. While sitting in it in the driveway, trying to program the second driver, power issues began to surface. First it was the parking brake. Then the rear hatch door wouldn't open electrically. The multimedia was next to go. Then the dash lights flickered and that quit. I got the AC charging cable out when things first started to go, but it wouldn't take a charge. Eventually, everything died completely. The driver's window is open and cannot be closed, door locks don't work, the charging cable cannot be removed. This vehicle was $60k out the door and in less than 5 hours, it's a brick on wheels. A tow truck is on its way. I have extreme buyer's remorse at the moment. But on the plus side, it is a good looking car.

I would be pissed that on a new $60k car, the dealer could not even ensure that the battery (12v) has been charged.

 

[n6nl]

I agree, but I will say that I don’t think the dealer deserves as much scorn as the distributor, who should have known better.

The dealers know next to nothing about BEVs and how the 12V battery works in them.

This should be changing.

 

[442]

I think it’s more about the cheap-ass batteries they have been sourcing for many years now. I had to replace my 2018 Outback and 2019 Forester batteries within a week of each other a couple winters ago. I chose Northstar (from Batteries Plus) AGM deep cycle units with a really long warranty at over $600 for the pair and haven’t had any issues since. The batteries they are using for the EVs are tiny since they only need to run electronics and they clearly suffer from the same issues as their other batteries but it’s exacerbated by the lack of battery capacity so they are likely failing much earlier.

 

[Soltrrfrm]

I think it’s Toyota sourced. Never had any issues with Toyota batteries. 12V batteries just aren’t going to last if they aren’t being charged. The main lithium pack is likely in transit mode and is not charging it.

 

[Ducatista]

Anyone know what is the reason for the 12V? I know the car has 12V needs like a traditional ICE vehicle for all the traditional components. But why not just have a 400V to 12V Step Down transformer/converter from the Traction Battery and avoid the additional 12V battery all together?

 

[R P]

12V battery issues have been common on EVs, with their higher parasitic draws when idle. On my Kona, with a software update they increased the frequency of charge from the traction battery while idle and that solved it. I didn't have the problem myself, because it never sat idle for long, but many others on the forum did until they fixed it.

 

[Ducatista]

Anyone know what is the reason for the 12V? I know the car has 12V needs like a traditional ICE vehicle for all the traditional components. But why not just have a 400V to 12V Step Down transformer/converter from the Traction Battery and avoid the additional 12V battery all together?

Found the answer to my own question. If anyone is interested:

https://jalopnik.com/why-electric-cars-still-use-ordinary-12-volt-batteries-1847209291