Hi All, I am a proud owner of a new prius 2013 that I just bought last week. I am still learning about the vehicle. Overall the experience was pretty good. I am getting 40+ MPG in average. However I do feel like the battery SOC is going down fairly rapidly. For example, today during lunch time I got into my car at the parking lot and powered on the car and the AC. I was not driving or anything then I noticed the battery went from about half all the way down to purple in less than 10 minutes for just sitting in the car and using AC. AC was set to about 78 and medium fan speed. Does that sound normal or I am just being paranoid? I thought AC shouldn't drain battery that quickly. I was thinking 50% battery SOC should be able to power the AC for 30 to 60 min, but maybe I was just dreaming. I think the battery plays a big part in fuel economy, if I got a weaker than average battery I would like to get it replaced. Feedbacks appreciated!
It's hard to say how fast. But if your A/C is keeping you cool, it definitely will use up the power in the battery very quickly. What you describing is normal. The battery in the Prius isn't that big. The battery in the PPi is bigger but still, if you're running your A/C, it will drain the battery quick.
We don't know anything about the outside air temp nor the temp inside the car. I have a Gen 2, not a Gen 3, but the car won't even stay on for 30 mins w/o the AC on before the HV battery runs low enough where the ICE has to turn on. Forget it w/the AC on. You are dreaming. I've posted some amperage results at Hybrid drive trouble light, check engine light, red triangle all on | PriusChat. The HV battery in a Prius has little capacity and Toyota only lets you use a range. Prius Palm Mileage Simulator was what the graph represented on Gen 2.
Do not worry about it. I take a ferry to work and sit in the heat for an hour. I run the AC the whole time. The ICE sometimes comes on. Most times it does not. Just enjoy the car. It is great. Go to fuelly.com and you can keep track of your gas mileage. Plus you can see what others are getting. SCH-I535 ? 2
