prius 2010 hybrid batteries dead at 126000km and up on atleast 3 taxis i know of

It is the grille-looking thing on the right side of the rear seat. "Right" = "on your right as you are sitting in the seat". Never block this opening. The location is shown in the Owner's Manual (maybe time for a refresher read, eh?).

 

I think blocking it would be bad idea but installation of thin layer of filter that would prevent the dust, hairs and pet's fur may make a sense for some owners.

Manuals may be like old books- some info can be obsolete. This simple upgrade is to prevent fan of being blocked and thus main battery to overheat as a result.

 

How do you get the scan gauge to monitor the other things like HV battery? I can see the small battery but not the hybrid one. Is there a list of codes and their description?

 

You need to program in the appropriate xGauge. There are lists of them and directions scattered on this site and on the scan gauge company site.

JeffD

 

I just checked my fan last night. I own a gen 3 and I am at 49,000 miles. It was very clean and looked new. So unless the toyota service guys cleaned it I must not get much build up. I travel a lot and am always using my cargo area with the seats folded down. I almost never have people in the back seat and have never had a dog back there. I will defineately check it again though.

I also installed a 12 volt fan back in May and laid it on the air inlet with the seats folded down to keep the HV battery cool. I did this before I found out that there is an internal fan. I don't have a scan gauge to moniter any improvement though. I was thinking about mounting a pc fan with a couple 9 volt rechargeable battery and running the switch to the outside since I never have people back there, but I doubt my wife would enjoy that.
Does anyone see any benefit to what I did with another fan to assist the internal one? If so does anyone have any good ideas on how to mount one?

 

ok. i guess i have never bothered... but where is this fan and how do you check it? with the Leaf, we really dont put that many miles on the Prius so in 30+ months of ownership, have just passed 30,000 miles but i guess its worth a look

 

Check out the Taxis when they are waiting for customers. The have the windows down on sunny days and even drive around like that without activating AC. Of course this collects a huge amount of dust into the car - especially in the mediaterean region like Greece. When cleaning the car they vacuum the seats and floor but do not clean the vent for the cooling fan.

Therefore fellow owners who often carry people, animals or have the windows down a lot may really check the fan from time to time.

 

I've also wondered, if possibly, in order to increase air flow and/or save money, they may not have removed the filter from the hvac, thus bringing in the dirty outside air to be fed to the battery?

 

Combined replies:
- Yes, for people trasnport dogs etc. adding a rather coarse home-made filter is a good idea. Small dust and lint are not a problem for the fan; wads of hair are.
- Adding a fan seems like overkill. When it's not jammed up the factory fan works fine by itself.
- I keep my cabin A/C on recirculate all the time, because the battery gets its cooling air from the cabin. You want to keep the cabin air clean and cool both for your own comfort and for the health of the battery system.

 

I agree that the added fan is overkill. I was just wondering if it would help the HV battery to stay cool in the summer and warm in the winter since less extreme cabin air temps are being force into the snorkel. I hooked up one of those large 12v fans you find at wlamart. Are two fans better than one?

 

Yeah me too. If it's hot (25c+ in uk) I'll have the windows open and only use the a/c on a longer run. Otherwise in normal UK weather (15c and raining) I leave the a/c at 20c on auto.

I have found that running the a/c in town just doesn't seem to work with a cab - too many doors opening and closing all the time.

 

No I don't drive with my windows open. Most of my driving is at 100-110 kph. There's no way I would drive on dirt roads with the window open either. I use A/C a lot and still get an average of 4.7 l/100 ks. The electric A/C pump om the gen III is very efficient. I suspect air drag from open windows would nullify their fuel gains.

 

I suggest that you leave the car on all the time. When you turn the car off, the ventilation fan for the hybrid pack shuts off too. There are chemical processes in the battery if near full charge that can caused heating even though current does not flow.

 

When I was setting up my cab, I had a series of discussions with Grumpy and a taxi operator from Canada. Both indicated to me that they never turn the power off while the cab is operating, even when sitting at the rank, as this will also put a drain on the 12v battery. To me, the small amount of fuel that would be used to charge up the battery will be minor.

I have just had my first shift in my new cab, and I did not turn off the power for the entire shift. I also left the a/c on the entire time - I had it on auto, with outside air coming in, and the temp set at 23C. Due to the pre-Christmas time, I did not spend much time on the rank, but, when on the rank, I did wind down the window, but as soon as a passenger got in, I put the window back up. Most of my customers appreciated the reduction in noise and the general temp. I only had one group of passengers who wanted the windows down.

At present, we are having a very cold summer here in Sydney, with our highest temp so far of only 25C - we normally are up around the 28C+ mark in December. We did have some hot weather in November (30C+), and I was driving one of the normal Ford wagon cabs that are the mainstay for cabs in Sydney. I was running the a/c all the time, even on the rank, and found that the fuel costs on those cars was only a matter of a few dollars - and those cars are very inefficient when in idle due to the LPG fuel.

 

Yer cuttin' yer own throat there, Grumps.

Harrogate's a town in the Pennine rain shadow so it's relatively dry. Maybe call it 15c and cloudy.

 

I put a thin filter in my fan grill to catch dust and lint, I look at it from time to time and I use the air conditioner " very important " do not leave windows open as cab drivers are prone to do. AC air is what keeps the HV Battery cool and operating in the summer. # 1 summer issue in places like Arizona, Texas, Colorado and maybe Greece!