1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Battery Charge Display

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by Holbrook22, Jul 30, 2009.

  1. Holbrook22

    Holbrook22 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 11, 2009
    68
    7
    0
    Location:
    Holbrook, NY
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    I've driven my new Gen III Prius IV for over 1400 miles and I have yet to see the battery charge display indicate that the battery is fully charged.
    Is this normal?
     
  2. eglmainz

    eglmainz New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2009
    887
    141
    0
    Location:
    Chicagoland, IL
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    V
    Yes. Generally the only time that you will see it fully charged is if you are going down long hills that generate a lot of electricity.

    The car strives to maintain between 3 to 7 bars of energy. When it goes to 2, the ICE will run a little more, and when you are over 6 the ICE tends to run a little less (or so it seems to me, without using a scangauge.)
     
  3. GoSkins

    GoSkins Member

    Joined:
    Jul 30, 2009
    132
    9
    0
    Location:
    Frederick, Maryland
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    Mine usually is 2 bars down. Have only driven 150 miles so far, 50/50 town and highway.
     
  4. Holbrook22

    Holbrook22 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 11, 2009
    68
    7
    0
    Location:
    Holbrook, NY
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    Thank you for the feedback.
    Now I know what to expect.
     
  5. skal2373

    skal2373 New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 20, 2011
    4
    0
    0
    Location:
    Florida
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    I was just about to ask the very same question! My 2011 with just over 2000 miles has been great! The only problem that I have is being fixated with the different read-outs. I have never seen the battery indicator at full charge! It seems to be 2 or 3 bars down! Thanks for asking the question for me. My saleman keeps telling me not to keep chasing the indicators! But I can not help myself for watching the fuel 5 minute indicator! My Prius loves between 45-50 mph to get the best fuel reading. The only problem is that while on the highway you cannot travel that slow, unless you are in the breakdown lane.
     
  6. Skoorbmax

    Skoorbmax Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 19, 2010
    2,641
    264
    0
    Location:
    Western NY
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Yes. I was about 5k before I got mine full. It was life-changing and it will change your life, too, but you need to have patience. It has to be earned. We have 21k on ours and I still watch that damn display more than I should, but it did wear off after a few k miles from the obsession I originally had.
     
  7. krelborne

    krelborne New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 2, 2011
    295
    54
    0
    Location:
    Alabama
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Here's a more recent and informative thread about that.
     
  8. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

    Joined:
    Mar 2, 2006
    18,058
    3,075
    7
    Location:
    Northern Michigan
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    A full battery is not desirable. The Prius tries to keep some room in the battery for regenerative braking. When the battery is up to the high limit it can't effectively recapture braking energy. Because of this, your Prius does everything in its power to work down the battery to a more reasonable charge level.

    Tom
     
  9. lenjack

    lenjack Active Member

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2006
    804
    114
    0
    Location:
    Pennsylvania USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    The batery life is maximized if the charge is kept between 40 to 80%. 1 bar is about 40%
     
    1 person likes this.