Hi everyone, So my wife and I picked up a 2011 Prius about three weeks ago (we love it!) and I brought it to Toyota the other day to have that annoying reverse beep turned off and also to have the doors unlock with one touch. Right when I left the dealer, I noticed a couple of things, or am I crazy??? 1. The MPG indicator bars were going down even when I didn't have my foot on the gas and seemed to jump around more erratically then before. 2. I also noticed the gas engine came on a few times to charge the battery. I never noticed this before, but figured maybe it is just something that happens when the battery charge is depleted. It was weird because I was at a stop light and then felt the engine kick in. After about 700 miles so far, it never did that before. So, I know it is a small issue, but I'm almost positive that the MPG gauge is operating differently than before, and was not sure if they inadvertently messed with something else when it was at Toyota... Anyone experience anything similar?
My guess is it's due to the battery charge level being unusually low. I've noticed my battery level very low after picking up the car from servicing--my assumption is it's due the car sitting without being powered down during servicing.
1. Be sure to check your tire pressure if you have the tire pressure higher than the standard 32 psi. 2. Engine has to come on to charge the battery. It could be they ran the HV battery down during the maintenance and it had to charge back up. If this is happening often the it could be the AC settings.
They probably ran down the battery and it needed to be recharged Also if the A/C is on MAX then the engine is more likely to not turn off
Cool thanks! That all makes sense but the one thing still bothering me is the way the MPG gauge seems a bit sporadic. It jumps around sometimes now... any thoughts?
I hate it when the gauges jump around. They are on the dash one second, in the passenger seat the next then under my feet. Make 'em sit in the tray until they behave. Are you describing the current tank average? Wild fluctuations are normal at the start. About halfway through it starts getting hard to make big changes but gaining or losing a few tenths is all in a day's trip for me. If the weather is right I'll come out ahead .1mpg. When conditions are marginal the display can flip the tenth back & forth due to rounding. It shouldn't last long. Are you describing the historic average (all 700+ miles)? If so, you got me. With that much history the number isn't going to change drastically.
Sorry should have been clearer. I am talking about the MPG pips that are opposite the gas pips. Before, they would move smoothly up and down depending on acceleration. Now they tend to jump around and get stuck in one spot, and sometimes even when the gas engine is not running it shows less than 100 MPG. I didn't notice this before visiting the dealer. I'm sure I sound a little crazy, so sorry for that!
I don't know if you're crazy or not but let's work on the car's problem. I have never noticed quantum movement or lotto ball type bouncing on my display. Detail your observations as best you can. I'd give it 2 tanks of gas just to see if it straightens itself out. If so, fine. End of problem & someone else is entertaining the Evil Spirits. The thing about taking it to the dealer is if it doesn't throw a code nobody wants to spend the (unpaid) time to troubleshoot the problem so they'll tell you either it's normal or it's your driving or it's your gas. Can you hook up a ScanGauge to see what's going on?
Switch your display to the little car view with the charge arrows. It will give you a generic idea of what is going on.
As to the MPG pips, I assume that you are looking at the display that shows the average MPG over a few minutes. Try changing to a different screen.
I don't think it should ever indicate less then maximum (100 mpg) when the ICE is not running. If it were me I would watch it for a while and see if it is still acting up. It could be the dealer run the 12V battery completely down and things need to recalibrate, or whatever it does, and it will be OK after a 100 miles or so. If it doesn't "fix itself" take it in, what you describe doesn't sound normal to me. If the dealer tells you it's normal and you still don't think it is ask them to let you test drive another Prius and compare.
Another reason your traction battery might have been low, was the same reason mine was, the Toyota mechanic had the stereo on high on some stupid rap station listening to that as he changed the oil and filter. After they finished their work, I powered up the car and the volume on the radio was at a level I don't use and on a radio station I don't listen to. The first thing the motor did was start up, to start charging the traction battery, and when I had driven it in less than 1 1/2 earlier the battery was fully charged.
That's what I thought. It used to register 100 MPG when the car was stopped. Now, it starts at 0, and as I step on the gas, it goes up to 100 MPG and works its way down from there if the ICE engages. Weird right? So I'm not crazy. It should show 100 MPG when the car is stopped, right? What's a scan gauge by the way? Pete
That's correct. And if it does, then it's because the ICE really is running, and you just didn't notice the noise. It's also possible to be over 100 mpg and have the engine running, say around the 110-120 mpg range. Why it does this is another matter - if the engine is too cold, or the battery is too warm, or any number of other assorted reasons.
That isn't something I've ever noticed. 0 MPH --> 0 MPG. ScanGauge-II. Lots of gauges to tell what the car is doing. Essential for a competitive hypermiler, very usual for techies, but not necessary for the average driver.
Okay so maybe I am crazy. Anyway, thanks for all the input everyone. I broke 1000 miles recently and can't tell you how much we love the car!
