I have had an 07 Prius for about a month now and I have not been able to get all the bars on the battery display completely filled; the best I get is a green battery with one line (or what looks like one full line) empty. Is this normal or have I just not charged the battery enough during driving to fill in that last line?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bostonimann @ Apr 3 2007, 03:01 AM) [snapback]416934[/snapback]</div> The battery will turn all green (8 bars) if you're going downhill for some time. The car likes to stay at 6 bars, so there's absolutely nothing wrong if you don't get all green bars. Don't try to get a certain number of bars...just drive it!
B) I second that, just drive it! But, yes, w/ a long downhill, or long period of regen you can get the all green. By the same token, don't worry if you get down to two bars and they're purple. No worries, just drive & enjoy!! B)
The car is programmed to try to keep the battery at 60% SOC (about 5 blue bars). It tries very hard to do this but still uses the battery as a buffer to store extra energy and as a source for extra energy when it's need. As the SOC gets further from the 60% target the harder the system tries to get it back to the 60% number. Thus, it is rare to see only 1 pink bar and rare to see full green. Some folks who routinely drive in the mountains may see these extremes as it puts the system to it's limits on the long up and down hill runs. Remember, also, that even when you see all green bars filled the battery is still at or below 80% actual SOC...and when you see 1 pink bar it's still above 40% SOC...all part of the battery life saving system.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bostonimann @ Apr 3 2007, 07:01 AM) [snapback]416934[/snapback]</div> Think of it this way: charging (and getting power from) a battery is a very inefficient process. The less you use your battery, the more efficient your driving is.
I had mine for 3 1/2 months before I saw my first "full green" screen ... I'm sad to say that I had a little celebration - I pulled into a parking lot and called my husband to share the happy occasion. (I, too, wasn't sure if I would EVER see it.) Yes, yes, I know. But we Prius owners get excited over very small things sometimes. Even after 9 months of ownership, I rarely encounter it ... So have patience, grasshopper. It'll happen eventually.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ohm86 @ Apr 3 2007, 04:45 PM) [snapback]417263[/snapback]</div> I see mine about every day on the weekend. And the engine also seems to rev up to around 2600rpm when it happens, presumably to use up the extra energy. But one bar below full is pretty common on my 2007. Dave
nice... glad i ran into this thread... just got an 07 and was trying to get that last bar. Glad to not be alone.
I get the full 8 bars everyday. I live on a mountain, so when I drive home I park with 2 purple. When I get about 1/3rd of the way down "the hill" I am at 8 bars. Wish I had more reserve to capture all that excess energy.
Wait until the Plug In Prius comes out. I'm sure I've read that you can recover much much more power from down hill runs. Ideal for us who live in hilly areas.
I've gone green going down hill like others. I have also gone green when cruising at 60 on a flat straight road and having to brake sharply down to 15mph because a tractor decided to pull out in front. I remained green until I was able to overtake.
