Ok so for the first time since I have had my prius I got stuck in a long queue of traffic for a good 10 mins it was crawling along and then stopping at around 2- 5mph (4-8kph) battery was at around 6 bars I think was still blue. Temperature outside around 13c (55f) road nearly flat maybe 1 degree uphill. Just wondering how long you would expect the battery to last in that situation roughly as at around the 10min mark and after I guess about a 3 quarters of a mile it was down to 2 purple bars and then engine was coming on and off as we creeped forward and stopped etc. Cars got a new 12v battery and when driving in EV only mode manages around 1.5 miles at around 30mph (48kph) so it just seems to be the slow creeping traffic knocked it for six. Stereo was on and air con off temperature was set to 20c if that helps. Just want to know if that sound right?
Yes, all the power comes from the engine eventually, the good news is for 10 minutes you were NOT idling like the rest of them.
Yeah that's about normal Dave. The Prius is just about ideal for a 5 to 10 minute traffic jam, but eventually the EV juice runs out and you need the engine every time you move. The things that work against you are if it's up hill and also if you need A/C usage (though obviously you didn't need A/C on this occasion). In the worst case of uphill and with A/C you might only get about a minute or two of EV and perhaps a few hundred yards or less. Then again you might get lucky with some good downhill portions. I got stuck in a huge traffic jam a few weeks ago and was really lucky it was over about 1.5 km of mild downhill and flats. I was stuck for about 20 minutes and didn't need to use the engine once. Had about 4 or 5 consecutive bars on the MFD of zero fuel usage and despite the huge traffic jam I still averaged over 55 MPG for the 50 minute trip home.
Fantastic thanks for clearing it up for my now I really must just stop being paranoid about the battery and just go with it. Probably the only downside to joining the forum is it makes you paranoid about your own car
