I just bought a 2012 Prius Plug in- advanced. It charges up nicely and says I have about 12 mi EV only range at full charge. But it drains so quickly. It might say I have 4 miles left and it's gone after a mile. Do I need a new battery? It only has 40K on it so the battery is under warranty. It's so frustrating because I bought the thing for the extra EV for short drives around town.
The indicated EV range is only an estimate, based on your actual driving habits as the car learns them. While 5-6 miles sounds low, it could be reasonable if the temperature is below 30F. Also, keep your tires pumped up high, I keep the front at 40 psi and the rear at 38.
Welcome! One of the recently discussed things here was that the traction battery warranty doesn't guarantee full/new range until the end of the warranty. It sure seems like it SHOULD be that way, but unless a manufacturer says you will have X amount of battery capacity % at the end the warranty - or miles driven, well, you only have a warranty issue if the traction pack is a warning code that relates to the traction pack. The good thing is, you will find that you have more range once the weather warms up a bit because batteries, like the ice, are not as efficient in colder or rainy weather. On top of that, you have variables such as elevation changes & how heavy footed a driver is. .
hi henrietta, welcome to the pip club! it sounds like your car has a problem. right now, i'm getting about 11 miles around town with careful driving, and the indicator matches what i'm getting. that isn't always the case if you do a lot of different types of driving, but it shouldn't't be too far off, and 4 miles disappearing to one around town doesn't sound right. where did you buy it, and do you know the history?
Thanks- I was worried it was a lemon (and I bought it used from a dealer but didn't pay the $2000 for extended warranty because I thought EV that came with it was enough.). I did just get the car yesterday. It was 40 today and I'm pretty sure tires are okay but will check pressure. Meanwhile, I'll give it some time and see how it goes. My average today was 110 for 20 miles so that was great. If the EV range with the traction battery only is still is really low mileage, I may contact Toyota.
2 things: toyota doesn't care unless you have illuminated dash warning lights. B) give it a full charge, and take it out on 30mph back roads. see how far she goes before the engine comes on.
I bought it at a dealership, it was a trade in. Single owner. 40K. But are you saying that Toyota will only look at it if there is a code?
possibly, maybe $5-6000. unless you can find a good salvage. but i wouldn't worry about that, we haven't seen any problems with the pip batteries. again, if you bought it from a toyota dealership, there should be a 30 day warranty.
We'll see how it goes over the next few days and bring it back if there's a problem. It could be the previous owner didn't use the plug in part that much--- the cord was missing and they are given me a new one.
I live in a hilly area, and my 2012 uses two miles of EV charge just getting up a half-mile hill to a flat area. Always has. The estimated EV mileage assumes careful driving on flat terrain, with HVAC OFF.
The five big things that shorten my range. Doing all five will really hurt you economy. 1. Acceleration rate. 2. Hard stops. 3. Driving speed. 4. Temperature. (Sweet spot for me is 70-80°.) 5. HVAC. (Even just the vent fan on low drops it by about 10%.) Tire pressure is also important.
