Wehave a 2012 plug-in Prius that we bought brand-new and when I first bought it after plugging in to the regular outlet I would get 11 miles now it's dropping down to 9 miles. Is anyone else experiencing this? Does it matter where I plug in at? Please share.
Degrading battery? Heavy foot? I think they only give you estimated mileage, not guaranteed milage ... Hence the phrase: "Your milage may vary..."
The displayed EV miles are based on recent history. If you have been driving on hillier routes, or at higher speeds, or with more a/c use, or your tire pressure has dropped, or you accelerate faster, the miles will drop.
The only meaningful tests for battery degradation, without involving external check instruments, are IMO: 1. Decrease in actual EV range on the same return trip trying to keep all other factors the same (temp, driving style, traffic, occupants, A/C use, tires pressure and more). 2. Decrease in energy the battery is accepting when charging from empty to full on the same charging level. This requires kWh meter. Empty - best is 3 bars on the HV battery icon. My experience combining the two tests above is about 3% decrease per year (have the car only 2 years). To your question: Level 1 (120 V) charging suffers more charging losses than Level 2. So the energy into the battery will be the same but "payable" energy will be higher with Level 1.
I have seen electric range differences due to ODT changes, winter against summer times, gradient of roads and vehicle loads (passenger or cargo). The supplied charger wand is efficient for what it does and doesn't have nothing to do with the vehicle built in charger. Your EV range display is based on driving history, as previously said.
welcome! where is ukiah? have you read the o/m? there is a great section on the battery indicator icon, and actual battery charge available. also, an explanation of lithium ion degradation. beyond that, see the faq sticky for a tremendous amount of consolidated knowledge, as well as the many threads already addressing this issue. all the best!
Ukiah is Northern California. I plugged in at home yesterday and the range displayed 10 miles as opposed to the recent 9. Weird.
thanks. what's weird is that you've been getting 11 for 3 years. most of ours change almost constantly.
Well mine does change constantly Sometimes in town on the faster chargers I will 11 but at home it varies too.
One of the biggest variables here in New England is the seasonal variation in temperature. On a cold February morning when the thermometer reads 10F the estimated EV range is 9.5 miles. Out of that estimate I can only get 8 miles of electric range. Now that it's summer, the morning temperature reads 75F and the estimate of electric range is 14.5 miles. This yields about 12.5 miles of electric range. That is a season difference of 4.5 electric miles. These are actually measure miles on roads in the suburbs where speed is between 30 to 40 mph. Here is another interesting phenomenon I've noticed. There is a small but steep hill near me. In the winter the car can never make it up this small hill without the gasoline engine starting. During the summer the hill is taken on electric power only. It seems like the cold winter battery does not have the same current capacity as it has in summer.
the computers protect the battery from charging and discharging too rapidly, based on many factors. climate is a major one, as the batteries have a 'preferred' temperature range. kinda like me.
