Low batteries?

Don't worry about the state of charge, 75 percent of the time it will be at 6 bars. The best advice I can give you is read alot of threads here about understanding how the synergy drive system works. But to sum it up the best the car will always maintain the battery and you don't have to worry about it.

 

Agreed, nothing to worry about. As part of its battery management algorithm, the car actually aims to keep it at 6 bars. Under certain conditions, the charge will drop below 6 bars. But then when the car next has the opportunity to recharge it, it will. And if it goes to 7 or 8, it will use a little more battery power next time around than it normally does to bring it back to 6.

 

Looks after itself.
Enjoy the Prius.

 

Yes :_>

The only way to drain the big battery (the one whose charge is indicated by the bars) is to run out of gas and keep driving, or to leave the car ON and in Neutral for more than a few minutes. Don't do either of those things and you will be fine.

 

The battery serves as a buffer between the engine and the wheels. The car wants the battery to have enough charge available to provide power to the motor when needed, but at the same time, it wants the battery to have enough head room ("empty space," as it were) to absorb energy from regeneration when you step on the brakes.

You will see it charged above that level when you use the brakes a lot (e.g. long downhills) and you'll see it below that level when you have a lot of acceleration or power demand (e.g. long uphills) but mostly it'll be near the middle.

As the posters above have pointed out, the car takes care of itself. The worst thing you could do would be to try to force the car to charge the battery more than it wants to. When the computer wants the battery to be more charged, it will run the engine to do that, when it wants the batter to be less charged, it will draw from it instead of from the engine.

The car takes care of itself.

Just drive it as though it was an ordinary car. That's how it was designed to be driven, and it works beautifully.

A common mistake is to imagine that the battery is supposed to be full. It is not supposed to be full. The car does not charge the battery in order to then be able to run on electric. The car uses the battery to store excess energy and deliver it when excess energy is needed.

 

Where did they go???

So let's see . . .
You started off with a new Prius which showed eight bars on the battery graphic (like everyone else), and now it only shows six bars???


Oh, no!!!! Now you're in trouble!!!!


That could mean that the capacity for holding a charge has already diminished by 25 percent!!!!!!


Or, it could just mean that I am pulling your leg.


Relax.


The Prius will take care of itself . . .


that is unless the last two remaining lit bars turn pink.


In that case, it's imperative you not panic and just continue to drive as you normally would.


Welcome to PriusChat ToyotaMan.

 

You are a sick, sad man, I think I like you.:der:

 

Stop watching the Energy screen. It's eye-candy. Switch to the Energy screen, it gives better info.

 

Did you mean Consumption screen?

 

What they said. your battery is behaving normally. The charge bars will go up or down depending on driving conditions. You do not need to alter the way you drive the car. The battery is not in trouble.

 

Wait a minute....you're not looking at the gas gauge are you?

 

The only time my battery has ever really dipped was when I drove it in a snowstorm. Didn't have much of a choice, but it drained the hell out of it. Next day, it was back to normal after about 30 minutes of driving...

GOTTA LOVE THIS CAR!!!