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Hybrid battery lower when starting

Discussion in 'Prius v Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Adam H, Jul 25, 2012.

  1. Adam H

    Adam H Junior Member

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    I've noticed often the hybrid battery level is lower when starting than when I shut the car off. My thinking is: maybe it was used for cooling either the battery itself or the engine. Is that correct and normal?
     
    #1 Adam H, Jul 25, 2012
  2. Paradox

    Paradox Prius Enthusiast / Moderator
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    It happens to people from time to time, don't worry about it. I'm sure you are doing it, just make sure you are in fact turning off the car properly (simply pressing the power button once stopped to turn the car OFF) and not leaving it in ready mode causing the engine to cycle on and off as battery level drops.
     
    #2 Paradox, Jul 25, 2012
    dave77 likes this.
  3. benagi

    benagi Active Member

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    Mine is low everytime I get home for the day because that last mile or two I try to keep it in EV mode which will draw heavily on the hybrid battery. I wouldn't worry about it unless you were going to park the car for a few days. As far as being lower the next day than when you parked it, how much lower?
     
    #3 benagi, Jul 26, 2012
  4. Paradox

    Paradox Prius Enthusiast / Moderator
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    Also, full is not ful and empty is not empty. The battery never fully charges nor fully discharges so the battery level indicator really shouldn't be watched and worried about, the computer will manage battery levels as appropriate.
     
    #4 Paradox, Jul 26, 2012
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    how many bars in the evening and how many in the morning?
     
    #5 bisco, Jul 26, 2012
  6. ItsNotAboutTheMoney

    ItsNotAboutTheMoney EditProfOptInfoCustomUser Title

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    This is quite common due to the infrequent updating of the battery charge indicator.

    If the last leg of your journey home is on battery the charge will drop, but the display doesn't update quickly so you only see the final level when you turn the car back on.
     
    #6 ItsNotAboutTheMoney, Jul 26, 2012
  7. Adam H

    Adam H Junior Member

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    For example I had indicator showing full minus one bar when I shut off the engine, and 3 bars when I came back next day to restart.

    Also one time when the car was shut off I started hearing some motor sound coming from the back of the vehicle. Is that the battery fan coming on to cool the battery?
     
    #7 Adam H, Aug 2, 2012
  8. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    If it was about 5 hours after turning off the car, it was the evaporative control system.
     
    #8 fuzzy1, Aug 2, 2012
  9. mudmanrv

    mudmanrv Member

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    My battery indicator while driving is always 2 bars below full - and if you watch the energy display on the mfd... it will sometimes stop charging - draw a bit - then charge a bit - then draw a bit ... sort of a float charge if you will....
    i have only gotten it to 1 bar below full a couple times - on long regenerative coasts...
    in the morning - after the car has sat for 10-12 hours - the battery will indicate 3-4 bars below... full.

    another thing i notice - is the engine starts almost instantly upon morning first start. I'm assuming for warm up for it's normal cycling ... also - i cannot get the car to stay in EV mode for more than a block. I have tried feathering the throttle... etc. but i usually get the double beep and the ICE kicks in. also - the other night - i was in the drive thru picking up dinner - in normal mode -- but EV ... engine was off... i hit EV mode - and got the double beep - it would not let me put it in EV mode -- while sitting still.

    sometimes even driving or coasting up to a light with ICE off - below 30 mph - I cannot enter EV mode.

    weird? i do not know - assuming it's all in the programming - but not sure why it wont when battery is charged.
     
    #9 mudmanrv, Aug 2, 2012
  10. Adam H

    Adam H Junior Member

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    It would be nice if the car would give a message explaining why it turned EV off.
     
    #10 Adam H, Aug 2, 2012
  11. GerryL

    GerryL Master Model Railroader

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    Except that you're supposed to be driving, not reading the display.
     
    #11 GerryL, Aug 2, 2012
  12. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    what kind of mpg's are you guys getting?
     
    #12 bisco, Aug 3, 2012
  13. ItsNotAboutTheMoney

    ItsNotAboutTheMoney EditProfOptInfoCustomUser Title

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    If you never look at your display you shouldn't be driving.
     
    #13 ItsNotAboutTheMoney, Aug 3, 2012
  14. Adam H

    Adam H Junior Member

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    Ok. The car has a sound system so it could say, "my precious driver, sorry I had to turn off EV because ... "
     
    #14 Adam H, Aug 3, 2012
  15. GerryL

    GerryL Master Model Railroader

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    No, I'm saying you shouldn't be reading a detailed explanation of why the car decided to turn off the EV while you're supposed to be watching for traffic. You may as well be texting if you're reading that much.
     
    #15 GerryL, Aug 4, 2012
  16. Adam H

    Adam H Junior Member

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    A simple message like "speed too high for EV" should not be any more distracting than other indicators in the touch display.
     
    #16 Adam H, Aug 6, 2012
  17. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    Liftback does have this and a few other messages for rejecting EV. But I'm not familiar with the 'v' displays.
     
    #17 fuzzy1, Aug 6, 2012
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