Why was the vents for the battery on a gen 3 prius located lower instead of being placed higher? Looks to me that the design flaw can be blocked easily if occupants on the back are not aware of the vents or specially one who never owned a prius before.
I don't know why they do what they do. But yes, you need to be careful especially if you have a coat or blanket in the back seat.
Met a friend last week with the gen 2 prius and the vents where higher. I think close to shoulder level.
probably because cooling is more important than heating for the battery and cool air sinks. Just a guess though.
That I really don't know. Maybe someone can chime in on that. Has any gen 2 prius owner complained about the noise?
Air is drawn in at the vent, right-hand side lower seat-back. After is passes over the battery, it is vented out the car through vents at the rear of the car (spare tire area). There is also a variable speed fan to assist. That is what causes the noise if warm climates. I have never heard the fan myself.
I have owned both a Gen2 and a Gen3 and the noise is not a problem at all for me. In fact I probably wouldn't have noticed it if someone on here had not mentioned it.
Speaking of the vents, I have no problem driving around in an uncomfortably hot car. I know she can take care of herself and shut down when she gets too hot, but should I be a better owner and keep the cabin cooler?
In the hot part of the summer I usually set the AC for 78 or even 80 and sometimes don't use it all. I think our batteries will survive fine.
Yeah, road trips with the kiddos in back can be a little stressful when they want to snooze with their blankets. I had to keep checking the blanket wasn't covering the vent.
Hmmmm. Do you think it will drain the battery more when setting the temp at 78 ot 80 degrees? Reason I'm asking is that, looks to me that the battery is draining more at this setting because the AC is powered by the battery plus adding the amount of electrical drain when using the heater part. AC + heater = more electrical drain than just the AC. I was thinking that having the temp set at the lowest setting with the fan set at it's lowest setting could probably have the least amount of electrical drain. Just throwing a different line of thinking here.
If you're comfy then the battery and its controlling electronics are also comfy. But if you ever hear the battery's cooling fan running through that vent then it is too hot, either because you should be using the AC and are not, or because the fan is clogged with dog hair or whatnot.
Just comment, lots of folks asking 'Will it get too hot' who do not have a city and state in their profile. Without knowing if you live in Nome AK or New Orleans LA, there is no meaningful answer.
Sorry my comment wasn't to clear. I usually have the temperature set at 70 to 72 when I am using heat and 78 to 80 when I want AC. When I mentioned "battery survival" I was commenting on battery ventilation which draws air from inside the car. Some posters thought having the AC running on hot days would give the battery cooler air and maybe make it last longer in terms of years, not state of charge. My thought was that the battery would be fine even without AC. You are certainly correct about battery life in terms of state of charge. A lower the heating temp and A higher AC temp means less energy will be used. Actually I think it would be nice if our ventilation systems had separate thermostats for heating and AC such as the ones in most houses.
When the battery fan is off or when the car is vacant/fan off, what would keep the battery fumes being introduced back into the passenger compartment. I would think there should be some sort of fume check valve or something.
