It is a good idea to add a trickle charger to keep the house battery topped off especially if you only make short trips or leave the RAV4 parked for more than a week. Even if your big battery is charged, the regular 12v battery mounted in the back cargo area on passenger side is not easy to get to and if it doesn't have enough juice to start the computers, etc then the vehicle is undrivable without a jump. Once in "READY" mode the high voltage battery does slowly charge the 12v battery. Tthese new smart chargers have a mode which helps remove sulfation inside the battery which can extend its life so its a good idea to plug it in occasionally, especially if it sits for days at a time.
Here is my writeup with pictures of my charger install under the hood. 2026 Rav4 GR Trickle Charger Install
The charger I bought is a NOCO GENIUS2D 2A 12V Onboard Battery Charger, Trickle Charger & Maintainer for $40 on Amazon
Here is my writeup with pictures of my charger install under the hood. 2026 Rav4 GR Trickle Charger Install
The charger I bought is a NOCO GENIUS2D 2A 12V Onboard Battery Charger, Trickle Charger & Maintainer for $40 on Amazon
