My brother-in-law says that all Toyotas have an issue with the computer draining the battery if the vehicle is not run for more than two weeks, especially in cold weather (he lives in Alaska, I live in Montana). Is this true? I'm concerned because I often take winter vacations and leave my vehicle in the airport parking lot for up to 3 weeks (never a problem with my 2002 Outback).

Thanks

All of the electronic gadgetry in new vehicles(not just Toyota) do little to preserve battery life. Alarms and some of the various "memories" are always alive.

Can't speak for Alaska/Montana winters, but if/when it comes time to replace the battery, think twice before you buy a Toyota True Start Battery.

Don't even get me started.

In my opinion Deka batteries are some of the best out there.

Mine was dead after sitting in my driveway for two weeks this summer

Rickl- is there anyway you can put a battery tender on it when you leave?

You could always just disconnect the battery as well.

The problem is with a lot of newer cars that require more power when off to keep stuff "alive".

I think the longest I've left my 4th gen sitting is for 1week. Still started fine.

I would think it would take more than 2 weeks, like a couple months, most modern electronics take millivolts. The cold screws up cheap batteries without any help though.

But even if 2 weeks were the case. You could just get a power cutoff for the battery. You'd have to redo your radio presets though. Could be tragic.

This does sound like a good excuse to talk your spouse into a dual battery setup to be honest.

Get a cheap solar charger from Amazon (one that connects directly to the battery, not through a cig outlet (disconnected when ignition is off). Make sure to disconnect the solar charger before using the starter, that will fry the charger.

Thanks all. Battery tender isn't an option at the airport. Solar charger is an interesting thought. Probably just disconnect. But disconnecting and reconnecting in snow covered subzero conditions isn't going to be fun. Maybe the cutoff switch.

I had been considering one myself. Streamlight has a vehicle specific unit. I would expect this to be plug, play, and forget about it. I don't believe you need to disconnect it. Although there are others with higher output, this is a kit, ready to go, made in USA, and has a 5 year warranty.

http://www.streamlight.com/en-gb/pro...t.html?pid=259

Mine went 2 weeks without starting at the beginning of this month. I had no issues starting it. I used to leave my 80 series Land Cruiser sitting for up to a month at a time and similarly had no trouble starting it, regardless of the season or temperatures.

All cars will eventually drain down a battery when left sitting. The $64,000 question is how long will it take? If you're worried about it pick up a pair of booster cables just in case.

Realized solar wouldn't be reliable since we often come back to snow cover. I would never be without booster cables. But that's not something you look forward to in the snow and subfreezing. I think a disconnect switch might make the most sense.

Not arguing that the disconnect switch might help with current drain, but wonder what affect connecting/disconnecting the battery repeatedly might have on engine mgt. We turn on PCs/Laptops on and off repeatedly all of the time and ROM is not affected.

Would appreciate someone more knowledgeable than I chiming in on this.

My vote is that the OP NEEDS a dual battery settup.

Disconnect would get old having to reset presets Lol.

Car battery should maintain presets down to 9V or maybe even less.
Old school way to save info was to plug a 9V battery into the cigar lighter while main battery was disconnected.

Automative Lead Acid batteries typically have 5% self-discharge rate per month at room temperature. In addition to that they will loose capacity about 15% at 32F and 30% at 0F. With initially fully charged battery it should easy crank starter after 4 weeks in park. If before to park you did short trips with a lot of starter cranks at low temperature (starter takes more current at low temps), and, especially drive with highlights ON, then most likely truck was parked with not fully charged battery.....
Various electronics, such as CPU, Radio memory and Remote receiver are taken very small currents, absolutely won't drain battery for a few month.

If it's not the case, inspect the battery. Check for electrolyte level (low level kills capacity), add distilled water as necessary. Check good connection on both sides of cables and main fuses (bad or rusty connections limiting charge current). Any dirt on top of battery may lead to Parasitic draw, keep it clean!

If all above won't help, stop by auto parts shop and ask them for free battery test.

Good luck !

I work shift work, 10 days on, 10 days off. live in Calgary, Alberta. so it sits out front of the house for 10 days straight whenever I'm up at work, never had a problem with my 4Runner as of yet, but I've only had it since january. We had some pretty bitter cold weather, earlier in the year, but i don't think it got below -30 (celsius).

I haven't had that issue with my Diehard PM1, but if it is with your truck you could always keep one of these in the glove box...:
Micro-Start PPS XP-1

They work great and have been tested in the overland community. At Overland Expo West 2014 some guys tied a few together and actually welded with them (obviously not what they are intended for though).

Maybe just a battery upgrade in general would also be beneficial if you didn't want to go full dual battery.