11 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Its certainly not a good idea to leave cars undriven, but unfortunately in life stuff happens. At one point I couldn't drive for well over 12 months due to serious injury, not through choice. Fortunately it was possible to easily open the car and access the battery, unlike Teslas effort, it seems.

It is still a choice not to sell or not to ask someone else to run it now & then.

Manufacturers have enough requirements to meet already, I really don't believe they should be designing cars to cope with lack of use as well.

1 minute ago, TomsFocus said:

I really don't believe they should be designing cars to cope with lack of use as well.

I agree, but I don't think that was really the main point being made by James May, which (at least as I saw it) was why is it so hard to get into the damn thing with a flat battery!

14 minutes ago, StephenFord said:

Of course it's a 2003 Toyota Yaris, so I would have been surprised if it hadn't... 😁

Looking at the ever lengthening thread about 12v battery issues on the Toyota forums, I suspect you might not have the same experience with a current (no pun intended) Yaris!

 

7 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

I agree, but I don't think that was really the main point being made by James May, which (at least as I saw it) was why is it so hard to get into the damn thing with a flat battery!

That video is from 4 years ago.  Would be interested to know whether Tesla change it for the next new model...

3 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Would be interested to know whether Tesla change it for the next new model...

It was a Model S I think? That's been running a long time (since 2012?) and I see quite a few older ones around (one has a personal plate with my (real) name so I always notice it!)

It seemed to retain the odd physical control but as recent Teslas seem determined to eliminate every last button or stalk it'll probably go the same way!

14 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Looking at the ever lengthening thread about 12v battery issues on the Toyota forums, I suspect you might not have the same experience with a current (no pun intended) Yaris!

 

I'll concede it's a very basic car without 100 different modules that need to go to seep in sequence. However, that makes it supremely reliable, which is a quality I value much above the latest gizmo that flatten a car battery...

2 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

It was a Model S I think? That's been running a long time (since 2012?) and I see quite a few older ones around (one has a personal plate with my (real) name so I always notice it!)

It seemed to retain the odd physical control but as recent Teslas seem determined to eliminate every last button or stalk it'll probably go the same way!

There are a couple of newish ones near me but they still look the same externally.    I assume battery location and connections are probably part of type approval so would need to be a whole new model/Mk before any changes are made.  Not sure when they last bought out a new Mk, if they have at all so far.

Hello, i dont have a mhev model, but for my work i use an mk3 1.6 flexifuel. Stupidly Ford wired the ground to a painted bolt, which reduces the load capacity and causes some elements to heat up. since the contact point of the ground cable of the alternator and that of the battery were modified by removing the paint, the car can go more than a month without being used and it restarts like a charm.

Moreover the fan turns on much less often without any overheating of the engine, even in this summer period with the air conditioning set at 22°c which even surprised us: initially we thought there was a malfunction, but no, everything is correct.

3 hours ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Fortunately it was possible to easily open the car and access the battery, unlike Teslas effort, it seems.

You don't need a Tesla to have battery access problems, just a simple RHD Focus Mk4 🤣

On 8/12/2025 at 12:15 PM, TomsFocus said:

12v batteries shouldn't need easy access if the car is driven properly and the charging software is correct.

That's my point. James' car was on a charger and there's no excuse for the 12V battery not to also be charging under those conditions. Just cr@p design IMHO. If an owner knows they won't be using the car for an extended period and makes arrangements for the battery to be periodically charged they shouldn't expect to then find the battery flat and have to dismantle the car to get to it.

Battery access was never a problem until the recent generation of cars, as @StephenFord will attest.

35 minutes ago, mjt said:

Battery access was never a problem until the recent generation of cars, as @StephenFord will attest.

Battery access on ancient Yaris! 🤣

Battery access on a 2019 Vitara!