Why Does My Car Battery Take So Long to Start near Woodland Hills, CA?

When you climb into your Toyota Tundra, RAV4, or Corolla, you expect to be able to activate the engine and get moving through Woodland Hills. However, that is not always the case. If your car battery is taking a while to power the starting motor, there could be several reasons. Our Service Department at Northridge Toyota has created this guide to help you understand the potential root causes. 
Weather
Both hot and cold temperatures can reduce the effectiveness of your car battery, making it take longer to fire up the engine. When the mercury drops in winter, even relatively mild ones like ours, the battery retains less starting power and has to overcome other difficulties to activate your Toyota. Excessive heat can also affect the battery by raising the rate at which the chemical reactions take place inside the battery. Exposure to those conditions over time, such as when you’re driving on Ventura Highway for hours at a time, can evaporate the required fluids inside the battery and even reduce the component’s overall lifespan by accelerating interior corrosion. Make sure to get your battery tested after a significant period of heat to ensure it has the capacity to operate properly. 
Battery Condition
Interior harm to the battery can make it take longer to start and so can exterior damage. That’s why it’s important to schedule an appointment to have your battery examined by a professional, something you can ask for when you’re having other routine maintenance done. After all, corrosion can form on the battery terminals, leading to a poor connection and a reduced transfer of power to other vital components in the Toyota. Damaged wires can have the same impact. In some cases, letting your car sit for too long can lead to an ineffective battery. This can happen if animals get under the hood of your car seeking shelter and chew on the wire insulation in an attempt to nest. At the same time, a battery that is left sitting for too long in general can become too discharged to work, an occurrence we’ll go over more below. 
Lack of Use
If you let your Toyota sit in your driveway for several weeks or months, you will probably need a jump-start the next time you try to go hiking at Cerrillos Lookout. A constant chemical reaction is happening inside your vehicle’s battery whether or not you’re using it. That, combined with parasitic load from on-board electronics, consistently drains the energy. Your battery is usually replenished by the alternator while you drive. If you take away that source of power, then you’re left with a component that won’t be able to meet your requirements for starting the car. If you’re experiencing this issue, contact us for more information, including when to bring in your Toyota for service. 

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