The Best Way to Prevent Electrical Issues in Your Toyota

Toyota Car

Toyotas are known for being durable, reliable vehicles. However, in order to maintain your Toyota’s durability, you’ll need to perform regular preventative care on some of its more sensitive systems.

One such system is the electrical system, which powers the entirety of your vehicle. Fixing electrical issues can be difficult and expensive, but preventing them is relatively easy. In fact, most electrical issues can be prevented by following a few simple recommendations.

Potential Causes of Electrical Issues

Because your vehicle’s electrical system is both large and central to your vehicle’s functioning, there are several factors that may damage it. For example, battery trouble is one of the most common causes of electrical system malfunctions. Your Toyota’s battery is the sole power source for its electrical system. Therefore, if the battery dies, so will the system.

Another common cause of electrical system issues is stuck relay switches. Relay switches direct electricity flow to specific parts of your vehicle, including the fuel pump and cooling fan. If a switch corrodes and becomes stuck in the “on” position, it will continue sending energy to a specific part even when it’s not supposed to. This will simultaneously destroy the system and drain your vehicle’s battery extremely quickly.

Fuses are similar to relay switches in that they control energy flow to specific parts of your vehicle. However, whereas relay switches control where the electricity goes, fuses determine how much electricity is granted to a certain part. A blown fuse can essentially be considered a break in the wiring. Electricity will not be able to pass the fuse, which means that specific systems may not turn on.

A blown fuse is less severe than a stuck relay switch as it will not drain the vehicle’s battery, but it is still an annoying problem that should be addressed when it comes up.

Preventing Toyota Electrical Issues

There are two easy steps you can take to prevent your Toyota from experiencing electrical issues: making sure the electricity system is off when you leave the vehicle and having your vehicle regularly maintenanced.

Ensuring that your Toyota’s electrically-controlled parts, such as the stereo and lights, are off when you’re not in the vehicle will prevent the battery from dying unexpectedly. In turn, this will not only prevent your car from experiencing electrical issues, but will also keep you from having to jump start your car at an inopportune moment.

The single best way to prevent electrical issues in your Toyota is by regularly taking your vehicle in for scheduled maintenance appointments. At these appointments, the mechanic will be able to identify and fix stuck relay switches and blown fuses.

Additionally, they will be able to replace your vehicle’s battery for you after it has hit the three year mark, which is the average length of time that a battery will last. Overall, regular maintenance appointments can feel like a hassle, but they will save you a great deal of time, money, and frustration in the long run.

What to Do When Prevention Isn’t Enough

Regardless of how much preventative maintenance you perform on your Toyota, there’s still a chance it might experience a blown fuse, stuck relay, or dead battery sometime between maintenance appointments. When this happens, it’s important to recognize the problem and know how to handle it.

Abnormally-dim headlights, the smell of melting plastic, and clicking or grinding sounds are all signs that your vehicle’s electrical system may be malfunctioning. If you notice any of these symptoms, you should contact a mechanic to have the problem addressed as soon as possible. This will prevent the situation from becoming any worse and potentially causing permanent damage to your vehicle.

Toyota Battery Voltage Measurement

How We Can Help

Electrical issues can be particularly challenging to solve, so if your Toyota’s electrical system is malfunctioning, you’ll want a professional to handle the problem. Fortunately, our team here at Landmark Motors has plenty of experience at fixing electrical system malfunctions.

For over twenty years, we have provided exceptional service to European vehicle owners in Seattle and Bellevue, WA. Not only do we know how to solve electrical issues when they occur, but we also excel at performing high-quality vehicle maintenance. So give us a call today, or stop by our shop to find out what we can do for you.

* Toyota Car image credit goes to: helen89.