Purchased the car 7-31-2015. Driven about 100 miles. I have noticed that the battery fuel gauge for the electric engine never reads completely full. Do I have a problem with the car?
it's designed that way, it's normal If you ever get a chance to go downhill for about 5 miles, you might see the battery get fully charged.
If you're driving in hilly terrain, you might use B mode, since that will ensure you make best use of regenerative braking. One of my ScanGauge II displays is set for StateOfCharge (SoC), and I've noticed that when the bars are Blue (~4 to 7) the SoC is ~45-65%, above which they turn Green, up to all bars (9?) when the SoC is above 70%, at the other end, below ~40% the bars go down to 2 or 3 and they're Purple. So it's not exactly linear, however it is consistent! (I'm sure others will correct my (unintentional) mistakes, for which I apologise in advance - YMMV and hope this helps! - Wil P.S. Welcome to PriusChat, and congratulations on your sensible choice! You'll love your new car! Heat, and the ICE will spin, but will be generating 0HP (…another SGII Display)
On the instrument dash board a small red symbol keeps flashing after I have turned off the car. It looks like the symbol of a lock. Do you have any idea what that is? Attached is a picture of this symbol. Thanks in advance.
I say it's an essentially meaningless (although small) waste of battery power. All it tells you (or a potential thief) is that the Prius in its normal shut-down state (i.e., hybrid system not in "READY" mode, and 12V battery not dead).
It also means that the engine immobilizer has been activated, so thieves cannot hotwire the car. If they want to take it, they have to tow it.
The "immobilizer" is "activated" any time the hybrid system is shut down, and the thief already knows that, so the light doesn't make the car any more difficult to steal. At best, all it accomplishes is reassure the owner that, yep, the car is shut off and locked, in its electronic sort of way.
