The Prius has both an electric engine and a gas engine. The battery for the electric engine is a lithium based battery and is re-charged by kinetic energy resulting from the brakes.
Stacy, you have some reading to do. Only the Plug-In Prius has lithium-ion batteries. The other Prius vehicles still have nickel-metal-hydride batteries (NiMH). You need to search this forum for MG1 and MG2 to learn how the motor generators work to power the Prius and charge the batteries. A lot of people have described the operation of MG1 and MG2. Just search for them and you can read how they work.
Check out THIS excellent web site, created by Prius Chat's own John1701a. Note also that regenerative braking accounts for only a small part of the battery charging. In the non-plug-in Prius, most of the charging is done by the gas engine via MG1, though some is regenerative, via MG2. The plug-in Prius, of course, gets charged from the wall when you plug it in. Note that the word "engine" is never used for an electric motor. The Prius has two electric motors, both of which can function as either motor or generator, as the car's computer determines. There is no conventional transmission. Instead, there is a power-split device (PSD) which effectively decouples engine speed from car speed without the need for a clutch or gear shifting or belt-driven variable-speed transmission. The system is difficult to conceptualize, and requires very complex computer control, but is mechanically extremely simple and therefore more reliable than any conventional transmission, whether manual, automatic, or belt-driven.
You posted in the plugin forum. The plugin battery can be recharged by the regen brakes or from the plug. The battery is used when you need less than 38kW (51hp) of power. This is great for around town. If you ask for more power, the gas engine will assist. This is per design to save weight, cost and complexity by reusing existing hardware. You'll also get EV/HV button to switch per your commute.
So, here's a basic question on the new plug in. With my existing Prius, if I go down a long hill -- the battery tops off and stops charging. Will I actually have more capacity now in the plug-in for the battery to charge up this way -- or will it still top off? I asked a Toyota guy this queston during a test drive, he said something about no more capacity than your existing one -- there is a separate battery (or part of the battery system) that can only be charged up by the plug?
The production version of Prius PHV will let you top off. The battery pack is no longer divided into sub-packs, like the prototype. There is now one pack with 4 modules. If you recharge module #3 to full, it'll continue and charge module #4 down a long hill.
i much prefer someone look at This page. i love all johns stuff but i find it's a little too hard core. animations and such make it simple.
