[charlieh]

This is a weird one. My '04 just exhibited very weird behavior. I have noticed the last few days that the hybrid battery seems to be losing charge over night and that was not happening when I first got the car (I have 2200 miles on it), nor does that seem to happen in my '03. Now, today I come back from a 40 mile freeway/city drive (and I did take note that the hybrid battery was about 2/3 charged when I pulled into the driveway) power the car off and go inside. I come out 3 hours later and find the power is on, the ICE is running and the hybrid batter is near zero. Hmmm... Weird enough that I wanted to know if anyone has seen/heard of such a thing.

 

[mrv]

If the batttery was on the line from
one icon state to another, it would
make sense for the battery charge
icon to read less when you go and
restart your car later - the hybrid
battery had to start your car later!

As for it running later, that's a
new one. are you *certain* that
you turned off the car when you
left it? if you have smart entry
& smart start, you can leave the
car (on) and exit with the fob.
however, it will beep at you, and
if you try locking the doors it
will also beep at you and not let
you lock it...

 

[charlieh]

ICE run

The battery indicator was at 6 bars and when I came out and found the engine running it was at 2 bars in the weak lavender color. Sure, there will be some discharge as there is in any battery, but I was at 6 bars and went in the house for about 3-4 hours and came out to this surprise!

As to the power down... the radio was on when I came out (as it was when I drove in). Had I not shut down, I would think I would have heard the radio as I exited the car. I already mused over that one figuring that maybe I am an idiot and somehow hit the power button again... I hadn't read of this kind of problem either on this forum or on Yahoo, so I am puzzled. There were no warning lights, nasty messages or anything else. Will keep any eye on this one

 

[patrickg]

Blame it on software, everyone else does. Most often when a complicated system does something weird or non-reproducible, software gets the blame. Sometimes it is a software fault and sometimes not but more often than not software gets the blame.

Just be grateful you weren't doing mach 1+ in terrain folowing RADAR mode and had an itsy bitsy software glitch. In that situation the absolute last thing to go through the pilot's mind is the tail of the aircraft.

I have had a cruise control go awry and give full throttle. It ignored the "tap the brake to disengage" and ignored the off button on the wheel. As it was a Cummins turbo diesel pickup the brakes were unable to stop the vehicle so I shut it off and wrestled with the loss of power steering and got off the freeway safely. When restarted it acted normal but it does undermine confidence.

If everything happened as you say and there wasn't any "missing time indicitive of alien abduction" then I'd guess either a software glitch or... I really don't think there would be a mode where it would intentionally start up to "save" the batttery. Consider liability, exhaust fumes, closed garages, etc. OSHA requires safety plackards that warn of equipment that is a hazard because it starts up automatically. I suspect Toyota would be sensitive to the issues of having a car start itself and refrain from doing so, intentionally.

Pat

 

[Fredo]

That sounds like it's definitely worth a trip back to the dealer to have it checked out. Finding it running like that it very disconcerting, and could be dangerous. At least double check that it is in Park, and that the parking break is set.

The battery discharging overnight is also not normal. This should also be easy for the dealer to check out. They just keep it overnight, and see what the charge is in the morning. As long as they have it, they can also check on the unexpected starting.

 

[RSnyder]

Just to make sure all bases are covered, you wouldn't happen to have any friends or relatives who are fond of a practical joke and have access to keys would you?