Hybrid Battery Sometimes Goes Down to Two Bars: Is This Normal?

I urge you to not use N. The car cannot recharge the big battery in N. (I also urge you not to use ACC but always be in READY, but that is to protect the little 12v battery)

 

I've seen it go that low. I consider it the bottom range at which point the ICE needs to start a charge cycle.

 

Car has to be in N going through Car Wash.
Mine does the same as you describe, I hope its normal.

Once I had to leave it running for an hour or so in direct sunlight in P with AC on full blast.

ICE would kick on, charge to three bars, ICE kick off till the two bars were purple for a while then ICE back on...repeat....

 

As noted above, the system will try to keep the battery above 2 bars. During warmup, it will continue to charge the battery even above 3 bars. It will also charge at higher speeds when the engine has excess capacity.

 

Low speed driving, especially up an incline (think parking garage), will run it down to two bars for us, without fail.

But if you're parking with semi-high state of charge, and coming back to it depleted, not sure.

 

I must be more 'backwoods' than you all, but I have never used a carwash where I need to be in N, all the ones around here want you in P, chock one tire, and then move the apparatus around your car.

http://www.oasiscarwashsystems.com/videos/commands/typhoon_300.swf (Vender propaganda)

 

No longer than it takes to go through a car wash, putting in neutral should not be a concern. I do it all the time with no warning lights and no problem.

 

In hot conditions with heavy AC use, the AC can drain the battery quickly. If too hot to shut off the AC, then look at the battery meter before entering the car wash. If it is too low, either skip the wash, or do something to boost the battery charge first. If you don't want to drive around, then Search for threads about 'forced charging'.

In the 'frontwoods', that system (stationary car, moving apparatus) lacks adequate throughput for the local market. Here, the apparatus remains stationary, while the assembly line of cars is pushed through on a moving track.

 

OP: 2 bars is very common here (desert driving) since the electric compressor really sucks the juice out of the HV battery. Your car's regulator (ECU) will take care of it and should just run the ICE until more bars appear. If not, get a dealer to check out the systems.