I'm in Boston and headed South for the Winter. Unfortunately I will be leaving my 2017 450h outside covered. My concern are the multiple batteries and the possibility of them being damaged from freezing temps.

I've thought of removing engine battery and putting it inside the house. Or, even placing an old electric heating blanket on it in the car or how about having a trickle charger connected the could be turned on once a month?

Any ideas?

 

Use remote start if you have it.

 

According to Toyota, a hybrid needs to be driven for 30 min once every two months to recharge hybrid battery.
That's official position.
We had this discussed at toyotanation many times. Some left hybrids unattended for a year and it started just fine. Some had issues. Usually, those who have summer houses in FL.
I can only suggest this:
1. have hybrid battery fully charged before parking
2. yes, put trickle charger onto the 12V. Solar should be OK
3. if you can blanket 12V, it won't hurt. If you have ability to run power to it from house outlet, sure, some warming electric blanket might be a good idea, as far as it's safe and won't cause fire on you.
4. there's nothing you can do for hybrid battery. About the only way is to have someone come over and drive car ever so often.
DO NOT remove batteries or disconnect them. Hybrids don't like that. I spoke.

 

Not gonna do much. Hybrid starts, warms up "critical components" and shuts down ICE. Done. That accomplishes nothing to charge main battery. ICE charges it only to two bars or about 25% and is done. Needs to be driven

 

If the traction battery needs charging, then it will run longer. The traction battery does not need to go to 100%. Remote starting will keep both batteries where they need to be. Putting a trickle charger on the 12v does nothing for the traction battery.

 

If it was me i would run her to charge the HV battery to max . then disconnect the safety plug /isolator by the base of the back seat and then disconnect the 12 v battery and put it on a trickle charge inside .................but thats me maybe you could put a duvet on the back seat /floor after disconnect

 

Not really.
12V is charged off traction battery and only when vehicle is in motion. It is not charged, when vehicle is parked.
Traction battery is charged by ICE only to a minimum level. About the only way I can see this really work is to run heater full bl;ast as then, as ICE is the only source of heat, ICE is running pretty much non stop, to produce hot coolant. While, same time charging battery.
It's not that easy. And how exactly do you time when to remote start anyway? And over a distance?

 

No, the 12v is charged when the car is parked. Have you not ever played the radio, and when the 12 begins to get low, the car will start and run for a while and then shut down , and then repeat as time goes by. The car will always start to keep the batteries charged.
Lexus has a remote start feature and there are other after market kits.

 

All of these are good ideas. Thank you all.

I ordered a solar trickle charger to keep the 12 Volt battery topped off and will use the Lexus remote start I have to keep the hybrid batteries at 2 bars of charge. I'm thinking this may be the best solution for me as the car will be unattended and no one will be able to drive it. It will be covered with a fabric cover and somehow I will rig the solar panel to hopefully get enough sun light through the cover to top off the 12 v battery. I only hope the remote start will work all the way from Cabo San Lucas Mexico to Boston Mass. Will see.

 

Last year I left my 2017 RX 450h with the starter battery connected to a small solar panel for several winter months in Boston. It apparently wasn't able to stay charged by the small solar panel, so it lost it's charge and probably froze. Upon my return it was dead. This year I have contemplated removing the battery and placing it in the house so it will not freeze. However, I worry this could be problematic with the electronics or some other issue I'm not aware of. I recognize I will have to open the car door and the rear hatch manually. Besides that inconvenience would there be any other issues of concern?

 

Why not get a regular trickle charger and be safe and done with it? You would be able to keep the traction battery charged with a remote starter and avoid the chance of the the main battery running down and having to mess with resetting everything when you reconnect the 12 volt battery.

 

What’s the going rate for climate-controlled car storage in Boston? Do they offer options beyond space rental such as periodic starting?

 

Using a charger is not possible due to the distance from an electrical plug to the car. The going rate for climate controlled storage is off the chart. Think $500 monthly. I have remote start, but that service is going off later this year.

 

It is much less trouble to simply drive it to Florida. Not sure why you are making this so difficult on yourself.

 

LOL. Florida? That's a long way from Boston and not possible. The battery that froze last year was old. I've got a new battery now and I may try the solar panel hook up again.