Parasitic aux battery drain

obd2 device. Pretty commonly installed by an insurance company to lower rates.

 

Yep, used and new car dealerships install them. Makes it easier for loan companies to repossess the car. They often fail to turn-off and remain a constant draw on a system.

 

It's not clear to me if it was actually plugged into the obdc port or if it was just in the general area.
I thought the obdc port would power down after a while.

 

There's an active fused wire that goes back to the battery - that's why 3nd party accessory installers' go after it.

 

Thanks. The OBDLinkMX+ adapter I just got says it has a battery saver mode that consumes 2mA.
Would that be too much to be kept plugged in all the time?

 

Almost all accessories say they they have low shutdown currents and they do until they don't.

2-10ma extra is ok. It is always important to have a 12v battery with 75-100% of its new capacity since normal parasitic draws will kill a low capacity battery in a week, sometimes in an hour. I had one fail to Ready the car following a thirty minute drive and a 15 minute shopping stop.

Because a hybrid has no 12v starter motor, normal early warning signs of a discharged battery do not occur.

Carrying an easily accessible (not hiding in the hatch area) lithium jump pack is the best way to avoid stranding. Assuming the drivers know how to use it under the hood at the special jump point.

Now that most of Toyota car's are going hybrid only, many novices will learn these lessons the hard way.