[Tim21078]

I own a 2013 Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid. The manual and the service department both warn against using the vehicle to jumpstart another. Other vehicles can jumpstart the Prius, but they say that trying to help someone else out with a jump can cause severe damage to the electrical system. I am wondering if the same applies to the Maverick or will I be able to lend a hand when needed. I always carry cables and have used my 1990 Chevy S-10 to jump many other cars throughout the years. I am hoping to continue to be helpful when needed.

 

[Toddio12]

Jump starting for Hybrid Maverick starts on page 282 of the owners manual. The only differences I see from Hybrid vs Ecoboost is the location of the jump start posts. There are no warnings about the hybrid being either the jumper or the jumpee.
For whatever it is worth, the 12v battery in the hybrid is a traditional 12v battery. I have used my Escape and MKZ hybrids to jump other vehicles many times.

 

[Tim21078]

Jump starting for Hybrid Maverick starts on page 282 of the owners manual. The only differences I see from Hybrid vs Ecoboost is the location of the jump start posts. There are no warnings about the hybrid being either the jumper or the jumpee.
For whatever it is worth, the 12v battery in the hybrid is a traditional 12v battery. I have used my Escape and MKZ hybrids to jump other vehicles many times.

That's good to know. The Prius may have been unusual because it was one of the first plug-ins. In any case, thanks for the info.

 

[Toddio12]

That's good to know. The Prius may have been unusual because it was one of the first plug-ins. In any case, thanks for the info.

I can't speak specifically to any one hybrid, but there are some which use a very small 12v battery which would not be suitable for jump starting another vehicle, and yet others which use a portion of the HV battery to act as the 12v battery, all regulated through the HV battery electronics. It would not be advised to use a vehicle which has these types of systems to jump start another vehicle.

Before I'd actually use the Maverick hybrid to jump start another I'd wait to confirm what the 12v battery specifications actually are. Anything capable of delivering around 400 cca should be safe (but maybe not up to the task). I'll look at the owners guide again and see if it is there.

 

[Toddio12]

That's good to know. The Prius may have been unusual because it was one of the first plug-ins. In any case, thanks for the info.

According to the manual, the hybrid 12v battery is a BXT-99RT4-A. This battery has a CCA raging of 470. This should be fine for jump starting most light duty vehicles.

 

[russross]

Here's what I've heard about this issue: when you jump start someone, your vehicle should be running so that the alternator is doing the heavy lifting. With a hybrid, there is no alternator and the charger has a very small capacity. Since the 12v battery is not used to run a starter motor, it is not drained as much and does not need a powerful charger supply. So if you use a hybrid to jump somebody else, you are putting a heavy drain on a system that was not designed to supply a high-amp load, and running the gas engine doesn't really help.

I've heard some horror stories about jumping people even with a gas engine. Modern cars have way more electronic systems than older cars and they are not always very robust. Some people report permanent damage to the infotainment system after jumping someone, for example.

A few months ago I bought the "autowit SuperCap 2", and within a few weeks had multiple chances to use it. It's an awesome device and I plan to get another one for my Maverick. I'll use it to jump start others that need it and to jump my own vehicles if they need it. It's different than the battery pack chargers because you don't need to keep it charged. You just let it run flat and then pull it out when you need it. I recommend looking up a few reviews on youtube--they explain how it works as well as testing and demonstrating it. It's pretty cool,

 

[Toddio12]

Here's what I've heard about this issue: when you jump start someone, your vehicle should be running so that the alternator is doing the heavy lifting. With a hybrid, there is no alternator and the charger has a very small capacity. Since the 12v battery is not used to run a starter motor, it is not drained as much and does not need a powerful charger supply. So if you use a hybrid to jump somebody else, you are putting a heavy drain on a system that was not designed to supply a high-amp load, and running the gas engine doesn't really help.

I've heard some horror stories about jumping people even with a gas engine. Modern cars have way more electronic systems than older cars and they are not always very robust. Some people report permanent damage to the infotainment system after jumping someone, for example.

A few months ago I bought the "autowit SuperCap 2", and within a few weeks had multiple chances to use it. It's an awesome device and I plan to get another one for my Maverick. I'll use it to jump start others that need it and to jump my own vehicles if they need it. It's different than the battery pack chargers because you don't

I agree that some of the compact jump starters work very well. I have one and it works better than I ever would have expected.

But, there are a lot of misconceptions in your post.
A modern 'normal' car starter typically draws around 300amps when starting to crank and somewhere around 250amps to maintain cranking. A typical alternator can only produce about 100amps at full load. These are generalizations and figures car to car will vary. D point is, there are not any standard equipped non hybrid vehicles which have a standard alternator with enough output to crank over a starter. Largest output alternators I've ever seen were on limousines and competition audio rigs..... They maybe could do it.
The reason you want to start the car is so that the jumper vehicle puts a little charge into the stranded vehicles battery, maintains the starting vehicles battery a bit, and when running, the voltage in the system typically increases to around 14volts which helps give a little extra kick (and why 24v starting systems used to be a thing. Makes the starter spin twice as fast as long as there is sufficient current/amps available.) But without enough available current (from the battery) the 14v still wouldn't start the vehicle; that starter needs current flow, lots of it. The alternator can't supply it all at once.
The alternator only does the heavy lifting if you allow the vehicles to maintain connection for a longer period of time in order to charge the stranded vehicles battery, allowing it to dump current, which is not a bad idea.
In the cold, the need for amps is increased.

If there are no other underlying problems and the jumpers are connected properly, there should be no issues jumping a 12v system with another 12v system.

Sorry, not meaning to get into a whole electrical theory discussion here. I could go into a lot more detail (no ohm's law discussions, I swear!) but I'm sure many are already bored or are clinging to their own theories. I'm also sure there are others who could explain it better.

 

[russross]

Great info, thanks!

I would love to see a deeper dive into this issue with some real testing because there are a lot of unsubstantiated claims out there. I'm no expert here (as evidenced by my post) but what I have read makes me nervous about potential problems. I want to help people when I can, but I also don't want to put my own vehicle at risk if there is uncertainty. A portable jump starter seems like a simple insurance policy that lets me help stranded people without worry.

 

[Toddio12]

Great info, thanks!

I would love to see a deeper dive into this issue with some real testing because there are a lot of unsubstantiated claims out there. I'm no expert here (as evidenced by my post) but what I have read makes me nervous about potential problems. I want to help people when I can, but I also don't want to put my own vehicle at risk if there is uncertainty. A portable jump starter seems like a simple insurance policy that lets me help stranded people without worry.

And that's a good plan because they are typically polarity protected. They'll let you know if it's on backwards.
I'm still mystified by how they dump so much current through such small cables!

The biggest problem I saw with jump starting is reversed cables. and then someone forgetting they reversed the cables because apparently it was "never connected, it only sparked once." I'd say people admitting to reversing their jumper cables is about 50/50. Half of them probably didn't even know they did it. It only takes a fraction of a second to let the smoke out of those electronics!