Looking Again At The Jazz 2023

[ninanina]

Some may remember that I was looking to buy a Jazz but the brake failure issues really put me off so started looking at the Yaris. However the Yaris is not that practical and if doing a low mileage it has 12v battery problems

I only do about 3-4,000 miles a year

Does anyone know if I went for a 2023 model Jazz has the brake failure issue definitely been fixed?

The Jazz is just so practical.  I don’t need a big car anymore and I keep coming back to the Jazz because it’s small on the outside but big on the inside. It’d be perfect for me

I am looking to keep my next car for many years

[5thcivic]

Since we know people have had it replaced at Honda's expense, I would tell the dealer your concerns that are preventing a sale, and ask if they could put in writing a commitment to fix it if the issue ever occurred. Then you would be watertight?

[ninanina]

That’s a great idea

[Tombola]

The Jazz is a great choice, I have owned a Yaris Cross and the Jazz is a much better car to drive, it's more refined, more spacious, better soundproofing, I could go on, as for the brake issue I would think on a 2023 MY a modified part will have been fitted, as has been said you could ask the dealer, most makes of cars have their issues (even Toyota) so have another test drive in a Jazz, good luck 

[ninanina]

Thanks all

Would the Jazz be reliable if doing a low mileage? as I know the Yaris has 12v battery issues

[coldstart]

Thanks all

Would the Jazz be reliable if doing a low mileage? as I know the Yaris has 12v battery issues

Great that you are thinking about a Jazz again!

To answer your question: I think all cars will get issues with the 12V battery when driven sporadically and/or only for short trips so you shouldn't let that deter you.

Do you have a garage with a power outlet for your car? If yes, you can easily avoid any 12V battery issues by regularly using a good charger/maintainer to top up the 12V battery.

Otherwise you might want to take a look at a 12V jump starter in case the battery should run flat on you.
The jump starter will get you moving but you will still need to recharge the 12V battery by driving for at least 30 minutes.

[Kremmen]

Fully agree

I use my CTEK every fortnight and even after I have driven recently it can take over 5hrs before it reckons it's finished

I had the same on my 9G Civic, low mileage, CTEK every fortnight and when I sold the car after almost 10 years it still had the original problem free battery

[Bristol_Crosstar]

I just put the trickle charger on a couple of times in the Winter and that seems to be enough to keep the battery healthy

[FMIB]

Mine is a low mileage, hardly used car. It's 2 years old now and covered around 3500 miles.
99% of my journeys are 2-3 miles from cold starts in and out of town, with longer runs of 30-50 miles a few times a year.
The car can go a week or more without use at times and so far I have not needed to hook it up to a trickle charger.
I am familiar with 12V battery drain on numerous cars, EV and petrol and have no real concerns regarding this issue and appreciate as the car(battery) gets older it may need a top up from time to time during extended non use periods during the winter.

[coldstart]

Mine is a low mileage, hardly used car. It's 2 years old now and covered around 3500 miles.
99% of my journeys are 2-3 miles from cold starts in and out of town, with longer runs of 30-50 miles a few times a year.
The car can go a week or more without use at times and so far I have not needed to hook it up to a trickle charger.

I think the 12V-battery drain depends highly on the usage of high drain accessories like heated seats / rear window and mirrors / steering wheel.
If you don't use these even short trips won't be such a problem as the ICE is cranked by the HV-battery.

[Lord Voltermore]

Keeping the small 12v battery typical of hybrids charged has raised concerns  if you only do short ,infrequent journeys .
But bear in mind that ALL recently made cars with petrol or diesel engines ,even those with large batteries to start large engines, are also at  increased risk of a flat battery compared to a few years ago. They can go flat in a  surprisingly  short time if the battery isnt regularly topped up by being driven or trickle charged.
  Its because cars now have an increasing number of computer systems, alarms, transmissions to keyless entry systems ,connectivity etc that are constantly active,  24/7, even when the car is  locked and idle.  The draw may be small but it adds up over time.

The good news is if the car has  easy  access to mains power, there are  smart chargers that can be left connected to the car for long periods to keep it trickle charged. You probably wouldnt need to always have it connected, but its not a problem if you forget to disconnect it.  Also you can prewire the battery so the charger can connect easily using a simple plug connector, perhaps somewhere  inside the  cabin.  Saves the faff of opening the bonnet and attaching crocodile clips direct to the battery.

 Without mains power there  is plan B . With hybrids the small 12v battery doesnt have the heavily lifting of cranking and starting the engine. So if it does go flat you only need to boost it enough to power up the computer systems  .  I think this is only about 30 amps, as apposed to maybe 300 amps required to jump start  an engine.
   For about £30 you can buy small 'jump start' powerbank . They are small enough to carry in a pocket or handbag. In an emergency this should easily be able to 'jump start' a hybrid.   (They claim to be able to start a 'conventional' car  ). They can also be used to charge phones etc.

Plan C  is a solar powered trickle charger, which is independent of mains electricity.  It might help , and again it could be wired for easy connection/disconnection. 

I have  all 3    .  Soon after I got my Mk4 I knew it would not be driven for about 2 months in January and February.  (no one available to start it during that time)  I attached a solar charger.  The car  started no problem on my return, but might have done so anyway.

I have a powerbank jump starter for emergencies. Not yet needed in over 3 years.    Also a mains smart charger, not yet needed. 




 

[Tombola]

Thanks all

Would the Jazz be reliable if doing a low mileage? as I know the Yaris has 12v battery issues

I would think if the car is used on a regular basis even for short trips it will be OK, of course, if you are capable, it's a good thing to give the battery an occasional charge with a smart charger, the battery is in the engine bay unlike the Yaris which is under the rear seat. I would suggest connecting the negative charger lead to the chassis earthing point just in front of the battery not directly to the negative terminal on the battery
     

[ColinB]

Does anyone know if I went for a 2023 model Jazz has the brake failure issue definitely been fixed?

My Mk3 was in for service recently, and I took the opportunity to ask the dealer an almost identical question:
"If I were to buy a new Mk4, would it have a modified brake simulator so that it would be unlikely to suffer the failure?"

The response, unfortunately, was less positive than I had hoped for. Essentially, they couldn't guarantee that any car would have been modified. They suggested that Honda might extend the warranty on just that one part beyond the standard three years in order to provide peace of mind, but I've not seen anything definite about that; it'd be worth asking before placing an order. They did say that out of all the repairs they'd had to do (I think it was around 9 or 10) they'd made substantial contributions towards the costs (not sure if this was just the parts or the total costs). None of which removes the nagging concern about a failure happening at an inconvenient time or place. Of course that was just one person's opinion in one dealership. And of course we don't know how many - out of all the Mk4s sold - have had the failure, it may not be a significant number so (as Jazzik will probably say) it's not worth worrying about.

I'm now looking at buying a further two years service plan on my Mk3.

[coldstart]

Does anyone know if I went for a 2023 model Jazz has the brake failure issue definitely been fixed?

My Mk3 was in for service recently, and I took the opportunity to ask the dealer an almost identical question:
"If I were to buy a new Mk4, would it have a modified brake simulator so that it would be unlikely to suffer the failure?"

The response, unfortunately, was less positive than I had hoped for. Essentially, they couldn't guarantee that any car would have been modified. ...

There is some good news regarding the brake simulator failure (at least in Germany)
https://clubjazz.org/forum/index.php?topic=16448.msg146276

[Nicksey]

If you are only doing such a small minimum mileage per year, why would you spend so much on what is considered a very expensive small car like the Jazz?

Have you thought about electric? You can buy a 24 plate Citroen EC 4 for 20k!