I was recently given a 2013 Toyota Avalon that has been sitting for several years. I replaced the 12 volt battery and it refuses to try and start. From what I've read online, sitting is the worst thing you can do for these cars. My question to anyone who has experience with these things, is there any way to start them if the hybrid battery is dead? This car is in decent shape with relatively low miles, but if I can't start it and maybe charge up the hybrid battery, it is looking like it is destined for the scrap yard.

What does it do? Does the dash light up? Does the radio work? Does it crank at all?
Did you replace the key fob batteries???
Replacing the hybrid battery is not bad.
Let’s see if we can get you rolling before the scrap yard. And before the scrap yard if you are not crazy far away I would likely be interested in it.

Where has it been sitting? Inside, outside???

That era of Toyotas used soy based wire insulation and critters love to chew it. So a wire or harness could have been chewed up.

Check for any codes if the data link powers up, especially security. Code reader should at least power up, if not, going to have to check powers and grounds to it. Check your fuses for power also.

I just went to look at a 20 y/o Cub Cadet mower that wouldn’t start. I was told the starter was likely bad??

When I get there, low power, lights, no crank. I get power to the 3.5 year old battery, turns over fine. Still no start.

I look, the fuel filter is dry as a bone. I’m then told, the fuel line has issues, cracked. I’m now planning to fix the fuel line, ensure flow from the tank.

I’d start with a good crank & fresh gas.

All the dash lights work. Every one seems to be on. I did replace the battery in the key fob. I’ve cleared the codes that I could. Nothing happens when I try to start it. One problem that I know the car has is that it has been sitting outside under a tree and leaves have clogged some of the drain holes and it has had a fair amount of water on the floor. I don’t know if this might have destroyed the cars computer as well. I really can’t see investing the money to replace the battery when that might not be the only serious problem. My plan was to try and get the car going and sell it. I really don’t have any use for it. Black, I’m in Maryland so not exactly in your neighborhood.

2013 has a gas engine and an electric motor. The 4 cylinder gas engine should start. Was gas stored with Sta-bil? Best to drain the gas , replace plugs, clean out air filter.
10 year old electric battery needs replacing.

quote:

Originally posted by SIGfourme:
2013 has a gas engine and an electric motor. The 4 cylinder gas engine should start. Was gas stored with Sta-bil? Best to drain the gas , replace plugs, clean out air filter.
10 year old electric battery needs replacing.

This car wasn’t actually prepared for long term storage, it was just basically abandoned, so I’m sure the gas is bad, but I get nothing when I try to start it. No sign of it making any effort to start.

quote:

Originally posted by vandrv:
All the dash lights work. Every one seems to be on. I did replace the battery in the key fob. I’ve cleared the codes that I could. Nothing happens when I try to start it. One problem that I know the car has is that it has been sitting outside under a tree and leaves have clogged some of the drain holes and it has had a fair amount of water on the floor. I don’t know if this might have destroyed the cars computer as well. I really can’t see investing the money to replace the battery when that might not be the only serious problem. My plan was to try and get the car going and sell it. I really don’t have any use for it. Black, I’m in Maryland so not exactly in your neighborhood.

What were the codes that you actually cleared.

The ECU and a bunch of harnesses are under the passenger side dash. Sitting water in the floorboards is not a good thing there. But a replacement ECU is only about $350.
Have you dried it all out??
But before I gave up I would drain the fuel, ad some new, and rap the starter a few times then try to start it.

Without the water issue a trip to Maryland would not be out of the question but water issues can create a whole host of issues unfortunately.

quote:

Originally posted by Black92LX:

quote:

Originally posted by vandrv:
All the dash lights work. Every one seems to be on. I did replace the battery in the key fob. I’ve cleared the codes that I could. Nothing happens when I try to start it. One problem that I know the car has is that it has been sitting outside under a tree and leaves have clogged some of the drain holes and it has had a fair amount of water on the floor. I don’t know if this might have destroyed the cars computer as well. I really can’t see investing the money to replace the battery when that might not be the only serious problem. My plan was to try and get the car going and sell it. I really don’t have any use for it. Black, I’m in Maryland so not exactly in your neighborhood.

What were the codes that you actually cleared.

The ECU and a bunch of harnesses are under the passenger side dash. Sitting water in the floorboards is not a good thing there. But a replacement ECU is only about $350.
Have you dried it all out??
But before I gave up I would drain the fuel, ad some new, and rap the starter a few times then try to start it.

Without the water issue a trip to Maryland would not be out of the question but water issues can create a whole host of issues unfortunately.

I can’t remember exactly what codes were cleared. The water issue is pretty worrisome. I don’t know how much water it got in it but I know how much damage it can do. I will try tapping on the starter and see if I can get any response from it. There doesn’t seem to be much point in trying to drain the fuel until I get the motor to at least crank.

Pull the carpet out from the passenger seat and let everything dry really well.

Do you have both key fobs?
If so new batteries in both. Don’t have both in the car when trying to start it.
Try both of them separately.

Also make sure you push the brake pedal REALLY HARD, apparently some Avalons had a faulty brake switch and needed a lot of extra effort for the car to start because folks were lightly touching the pedal since the we’re only starting it.

Put a battery charger on the new battery. High amp setting.
Push the engine start stop button once to put it in accessory mode let it sit for like 30 seconds then the press the brake pedal extra firm and hold the start stop button in for at least 15 seconds and see what happens.

I think my niece has this same car. Hers wouldn't start either and all kinds of dash board lights on. Put a new 12 volt battery in it. No Go. Ended up took it to a dealer and they told her the electric battery needed replacing. WOW that was an expensive quote. She found a place on line that would come out and replace it with a rebuilt? battery for her for like half price with a warranty even. cars running fine now.

If it has a new battery and the dash lights up, then the question is - do the dash lights go out whey you try to start? That would indicate that the ignition switch is doing its thing properly.

The next thing to check is if the starter is getting the "start" signal. Does it even make a clicking sound when you try to start? If it is, it could just be a bum solenoid. If it's not, then it could be a computer problem, a missing input, or a clutch safety switch. Another person mentioned a brake safety switch. Whichever it has might be misadjusted or non-functional.

If no "clicking" when you try to start, you could try to jump directly from the battery to the starter solenoid while the ignition is on. If you were able to tap on the starter, you should be able to reach it with a jumper cable.

If it turns over, it'll narrow the problem search. It might start. Or the engine might be frozen up.

quote:

Originally posted by phil in indy:
I think my niece has this same car. Hers wouldn't start either and all kinds of dash board lights on. Put a new 12 volt battery in it. No Go. Ended up took it to a dealer and they told her the electric battery needed replacing. WOW that was an expensive quote. She found a place on line that would come out and replace it with a rebuilt? battery for her for like half price with a warranty even. cars running fine now.

Retirement is in sight and I won’t have a company truck anymore. So I am starting to look at big sedans. This era hybrid Avalon is toward the top of the list for this exact reason. They are at the age the hybrid batteries are starting to go.
People get that CRAZY dealer quote of $5k+ for the battery.
So you can find these vehicles for decent prices.

Anyone that is not physically handicapped (not saying this as a derogatory thing) can swap the hybrid battery out in a hour, with a single ratchet and a flat head screw driver.
Toyota has made these thing so easy to get to and swap out.
A new battery with 3 year unlimited mileage warranty is $2400. With a 1 year warranty is $1700. You can rebuild these packs but that is not worth it anymore as far as this tech has come.

I really hope the OP can get this up and running they are a great car.

I've only got the one key fob for the car. There is no sound or anything when I press the starter. I think that at the very least, as long as it has been sitting, that the hybrid battery needs replacing and there is no guarantee that there isn't some serious water damage. The carpet of this car looks like it was under water for a while. I'm not sure I would trust a rebuilt battery vs a new one. From what I've read the rebuilds just replace the bad cells, so you are likely to encounter problems again before long. I'm not sure this car is actually worth investing any money in at this point.

Unfortunately, The water damage sounds like enough to move on. That’s a bummer as these are really good cars.
If it weren’t for that I would have no issue with a rebuilt battery from a solid company that completely redo the battery all the components and wiring.

Even at that an OEM new battery is $2700 with 1 year warranty. So still not crazy.
The fact that the dealers charge 5-6k is highway robbery.
It’s literally a job that can be done by pretty much anyone in under an hour.

quote:

Originally posted by vandrv:

I can’t remember exactly what codes were cleared. The water issue is pretty worrisome. I don’t know how much water it got in it but I know how much damage it can do. I will try tapping on the starter and see if I can get any response from it. There doesn’t seem to be much point in trying to drain the fuel until I get the motor to at least crank.

I have a Toyota hybrid and it does not have a starter. The gas engine is turned over by the front electric drive motor that is powered by the hybrid battery.

^^^^^
Interesting concept

Learn something new everyday.
Is there a way to charge/attempt to charge the hybrid battery with out the vehicle starting.

quote:

Originally posted by Black92LX:
^^^^^
Interesting concept

Learn something new everyday.
Is there a way to charge/attempt to charge the hybrid battery with out the vehicle starting.

That was kind of my understanding as well, that the hybrid battery had to be good to start the car. My original question was if there was a way to charge the hybrid battery without the car running?

I would contact the nearest Toyota dealership and ask them what can be done to charge the hybrid batteries.

Also a very informative video that explains how Toyota hybrids actually work. I watched this before I purchased one.

Worth a shot