Mobile phone use inside the car`

Other than "hang the f***ing thing up and drive?" None.

When the car is running there are no issues - leave it charging as long as you want.

Depending on the amperage drain of your charger you might want to unplug it when the car is parked for any length of time. Go into the supermarket and you'll be fine; leave it plugged in overnight and you might come back to a dead car battery.

-- Mike Harris Austin, TX

Frequent use of a cell phone charger will not affect the life of your car battery but it may affect the life of the cell phone battery.

No other considerations when using a cell phone charger in a Toyota because the 12V outlets are switched with the accessory/ignition switch.

Obviously, you also face the dangers of talking and driving, etc.

Yes, and it's no trivial matter either...also it's not the same as chatting with passengers with you either...

I can never remember to charge my phone at home. My 25 minute commute plus a car charger is enough to keep it working for the day. But I'm worried. Am I messing up the battery? No. Search lithium ion on wikipedia.

I've been keeping my phone plugged in the lighter socket while I talk and drive around town. Will I ruin my car battery? Yes, right after you hit something.

I read your question as the first one as the second one doesn't really make any sense.

These posts are mixed up so that one can't read them properly...let me try to untangle them

No...modern cell phones use lithium ion (or similar) batteries and don't develop a 'memory'

I'd say that the battery is already 'messed up'...it certainly should last longer than that...my cel phone is several years old, I use it every day and it will last about a week on one overnight charge. (mind you, I don't carry on hour long chats on it...)

God no!...a cel phone draws very little current and your car battery will drive it for a very long time, even if you 'weren't charging it while using the phone...

I'd get that battery checked (or changed) though, it's certainly a little lazy...

And......not to mention an increased chance of brain tumors from the RF radiation.

snips

I personally doubt this...it's never been even remotely connected (AFIK) ...I'm a long time ham radio operator (55 years) I've used handheld radios of up to 5 watts of RF and high power amplifiers (1000 watts DC) as have most of my friends/associates and I've never heard of any of them suffering with this malady...I think it's just an 'old wives tale'

I'm not convinced that the chance of developing brain tumors increases from the RF radiation, but just in case, I used the term "dangers" to include all of the risks that come from talking and driving.

I agree, theres no scientific data to back this up at all, and there has been a LOT of research on the subject.

The day? Where did you buy your phone? Mine will stay charged for a week or more and I use it often, even to connect to the internet ;)

mike hunt

Damned tootin Ray...I think there's massive danger in using a cel phone while driving...some say "Well, then, get y'self a 'hands free' unit!...gee!...big difference THAT will make!...it's NOT the lack of the hand that's the problem, it's the lack of half (or whatever) of your brain that's important.

It takes much more concentration to use a phone that to converse with your passengers in the vehicle.

I'm a long time ham radio operator (40+ years) and have had mobile VHF equipment in my car for all of them. I discovered long ago that it wasn't smart to use the radio actively while under way because of the distraction of paying a lot of attention to what's being said then formulating answers etc. I found myself making many more traffic errors while doing that.

I made a resolution to just listen casually and to not transmit while moving, if I needed to communicate I stopped, do my thing then carried on...it really does make a big difference.

As a real estate broker, I'm on the cell phone quite a bit. It doesn't take much to pull into a parking lot or gas station to deal with the phone and then get back on the road.

If you have setting on your phone to slow down the charging rate, set it at the lowest practical mode. Batteries last longer the slower they are recharged.

With hands-free? hows that? you dont need to touch the phone, all you have to do is speak. You dont even need to press anything to answer or hang up?? How is that different to conversing with a passenger?

This depends on the battery type. Some (like old nicads, though not used in phones i know!) work better if charged fast.

If the overnight use of your charger kills your car battery,it was already time to replace it. Mine is on continuously without a problem, sometimes for a week without the truck being driven.

T-Mobile manual says:

"For optimum performance of your phone and your battery, avoid charging your battery only partially, but instead always charge it completely. You should also avoid recharging a battery that is already full or nearly full. This may shorten the life of the battery."

What we have here is a failure to communicate. I have my truck cell phone charger plugged in and it is on continuously in my truck but my phone is not plugged into it continuously, only when it needs a charge and I am not at home. I was talking about the vehicle battery being too weak to hold a charge.

It's the concentration required J, you must concentrate much more just to pick out what's being said on the phone plus you have no visual cues on the phone, body language?. One gets many clues about the trend of the conversation from body language of a 'live' speaker, and with multiple passengers the driver isn't 'sort of under the gun' to pay attention to it either...in general, it's just more 'relaxed' than phone conversation.

Matter of fact, the 'powers that be' are considering banning cel phone use while driving...my wife and I don't allow ourselves to do that.

Just imagine how you'd feel, if, due to a second's inattention, you failed to initiate panic braking and killed a little kid who darted out between cars parked along a street?.

Nothing in God's world could be worse I think.