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New owner of '05 with only 200 miles

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by 2005, Sep 14, 2016.

  1. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    Argh, please don't feed the troll.
     
  2. 2005

    2005 New Member

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    Right now its been going between 7 and 8 bars on the graph, I can't really tell what the colors are, blue/green/black are colors I have problems telling apart if they're the same shade.

    If I run the car out on the highway, say 65 mph, and stay at a constant speed, the bars are all filled in, with the occasional flash down to only 7 bars, if I decel from higher speed to exit, the 8th bar lights up and stays there till say I either accelerate hard or climb a long ramp. Its dropped as low as 6 bars with the A/C, headlights, and radio on when climbing a freeway ramp or just running uphill for a mile or two. It recovers in about the same time it took to drop to that level though. I've been trying not to park it unless all 8 bars are showing, and its always remained the same by the next morning.

    Will driving it 100% of the time down in FL with the A/C on and the radio playing discharge the battery beyond its ability to keep up with the charge? I think this is the scenario I fear the most.
    I don't want to have to constantly have to think about the battery charge and how much I've depleted it or how much its regained when I park the car. Around here it don't seem to be an issue but I've been deliberately trying to let the battery get more charge than discharge time since it sat so long. I don't think I'd have any issue with the drive to FL, my concern would be driving around town down there with the air on all the time.
    I do think I may be better off with a conventional car, or if its a hybrid, one that I can just plug in to boost the charge overnight. Down in FL I think a solar option would be good.
    So far around here I've been getting between 46 and 50 mpg. If the mileage stays in this range that means it would cost me under $50 to drive to FL rather than the $350 it cost me to drive my truck down there last winter.
    I figure if it continues to get the same mileage its getting now, I'll make two gas stops on my way down I95 and arrive with about a half tank or so.

    I was also told today that I will have the opportunity to buy another identical Prius, but this one with 1,500 miles. The person who inherited that car hates it and doesn't trust it. It spent the last week at a Toyota dealer getting a new battery, which Toyota apparently paid for all but the labor. If I don't buy it, it get offered to the rest of the family who won't likely buy it or have the cash to do so. It would then get sold off to a private buyer at book value or what ever value the three co executors of the estate decide on. I could soon have twin black Prius' in the driveway. Having one with a new battery in it would really let me compare the two and how the batteries behave when driven.
     
  3. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    That is unusual, in that the bars should hover around the bar 6 mark (the top blue bar), but I don't think it indicates a problem with your battery, but a problem with the monitoring–maybe it is still calibrating and will settle to the correct SOC eventually. You will remember that it stayed (unusually on 1 bar for ages) but eventually started to move. Given what you report about the MPG you are getting it indicates the car is driving normally, in a way it wouldn't if the battery was dead.

    I am just mentioning that it is normal for the battery to show at the 6 Bar level, just so you don't panic when it settles to the correct level, you don't panic and think your battery is going bad.
    You have ask and I have answered this before, but will say again, No, the car will manage quite well and you needn't worry about trying to manage the battery at all. You just drive the car, use the accessories you want, as and when you desire, and the car will look after itself.
    As I said above, you just drive the car, use the accessories you want, as and when you desire, and the car will look after itself. You don't need to ensure the battery is full or otherwise. Just park it up at what ever SOC it happens to be.
    And if you remember that is what your Toyota was recommending for you.
     
    #143 dolj, Sep 22, 2016
    Last edited: Sep 22, 2016
  4. 09Prius2

    09Prius2 Member

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    The engine stays 100% engaged over 40-42mph, so even if you let off the throttle and the fuel is cut off, the battery is receiving regenerative energy from the electric motor/generators. Freeway driving is about the only time the battery maintains a charge that is always closer to full than empty, at least on mine.

    If the car was parked for 10 years and it started up and gets the epa mileage rated, the battery is operational. It may be losing some charge overnight, however clearly not enough to render the vehicle inoperable, or affect its ability to recover adequate energy from short term cycling which is all it really needs to do.

    You probably do need a new 12v battery if you have not done this already. Its in the trunk, under the floor panels in the right passenger corner. They pull right up easily and its not hard to get to. This could be causing the concern you are experiencing. It can create similar symptoms of a bad traction battery, which is the big one that appears to be working fine. The big battery starts the car. The little 12v battery, roughly golf cart or tractor sized, runs the accessories and electrical functions and is your standard lead-acid battery with a shorter term life cycle.
     
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  5. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    OP mentioned it in his first post.
     
  6. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    There are two batteries in the Prius: a traditional (but small) 12 volt lead acid battery and the much larger 200+volt NiMH battery also referred to as the HV or traction battery that provides motive force on the drivetrain. When someone (especially a new owner) only uses the term "battery", it can disrupt two-way communications and explanations quickly become tedious and unnecessary.

    Driving is good for the HV battery but short drives aren't for the 12v. A battery tender with plug-in quick connectors is a simple solution to top off the charge on the 12v just like any vehicle that doesn't get driven much. You should be familiar with this if you own numerous vehicles and don't drive much.

    To me, the HV battery sounds sketchy if it is filling up the battery icon display with all bars most of the time. Typically it should only get full green coming down steep grades or a lot of regeneration braking from very high speeds. Putt-putting around town, you shouldn't see green bars.
     
  7. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    As explained earlier, it sounds more like the SOC calculations are out of whack as all other information is in line with the battery behaving and the car driving normally. As the car is driven more, it is likely the SOC will settle to where it should be as the car get to grips with the true SOC.
     
  8. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    When I completely rebuilt mine, everything was disconnected (of course) for weeks and then put back in fully charged via grid charger. Even so, the SOC showed one purple bar but it only took a few minutes to run the calibration and a drive around the block or two for everything to go back to normal.

    FWIW
     
  9. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

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    You are comparing apples with oranges, and you will admit this is uncharted waters. This is a low cycle battery that has sat in stasis for a decade and has now been woken up. When woken it still had > 40% charge as it was able to start the car no problem and threw no codes.
     
    #149 dolj, Sep 22, 2016
    Last edited: Sep 22, 2016
  10. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    Yes, agree uncharted waters here.
     
  11. 2005

    2005 New Member

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    I filled the tank again today, this time it took 9 gallons even and I went 496 miles. I think this actually does better on gas around town than it does on the highway on long trips. Most of my driving on this tank was in the 35 to 50 mph range with only one or two short trips on faster roads. I drove it nearly all day today with the battery meter pretty much doing the same thing, moving between the 7 and 8 bar. I did see it drop down a few bars after having to step on it pretty hard on one on ramp to get up to speed on the freeway for a bit but it recovered back to 8 bars by the time I got home.

    I'm considering buying the second Prius just to have the spare HV battery, I can own that car for less than the battery is worth. Apparently Toyota put a brand new battery in it under some sort of customer satisfaction policy. After my aunt went through all that she decided she hates the car and wants it gone. Its an identical twin to mine but with just over 1500 miles now. (Mine is soon catching up to that mark, I'm just shy of a 1000 miles right now.

    If I were to buy and keep the second car in storage, what is the best way to preserve the batteries? From what I gather its to completely discharge the HV battery? How would I do that? Or should I just keep the car with the new battery and sell the other one?
    I bought two trucks and a Crown Victoria today so I'm getting low on storage space here. I'm also going to pickup another truck from the estate this weekend. The neighbors are starting to say my yard looks like a used car lot.
     
  12. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Sell the defective black one to me, keep the other
     
  13. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    Use them.
     
  14. 2005

    2005 New Member

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    Their both black, every vehicle in this lot is black. Even the trucks.
     
  15. 2005

    2005 New Member

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    I'm leaving in the AM to go get the second Prius. I borrowed a buddies 53 foot fifth wheel triple car hauler and one ton dual wheel pickup to go get it and at least one other truck. I'm not sure if I'll try to load a third vehicle on the trailer since one will be a full size extra cab truck. Its a long ride back and as much as I'd like to minimize the trips I don't want to push my luck with a borrowed truck and equipment. I'm also not sure if the third truck is up and running or not, it may not have a good battery in it or may not have been 'waken up' yet. Loading a dead vehicle on a ramp trailer would be a bit tough and I don't really like putting a nice car in the lead position for a long haul like this. The chances of paint damage or a stone chip is too great for the vehicle sitting up above the tow vehicle. (Its one of the long ramp type haulers like you see them hauling limos and conversion vans on). It will fit three but there's no winch. I've hauled three on it before but never loaded a dead one by myself. It takes a lot of jockeying with a snatch block and cables to get the truck's winch to pull a non-runner up the ramp.
     
  16. kinglew

    kinglew Member

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    The story get deeper with each post !!!
     
  17. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Watch it....
     
  18. 2005

    2005 New Member

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    I figured I'd give an update here.
    I took the trip to get the other vehicles last Saturday, it rained the whole way up and the ride took four hours instead of 2.5 due to traffic tie ups and general slow going on the back roads with the truck and trailer.
    When I got there only two of the vehicles were ready, one was still at a dealer, and the other hadn't been cleared for removal yet due to some glitch on the new title.
    I loaded the second Prius, it started right up and has no issues. Its got 15,000 miles on it not 1,500, but for the price its pretty much a non issue. The second vehicle was a 3/4 ton truck that wouldn't stay running but I managed to load it anyway.

    The only issue with the second car, also a 2005, only vin 4 digits off from the first one, is that I can't seem to get it into the screen where it shows the arrows and battery charge/discharge?
    Its screen is the same but the display is a different color.

    The bad part is that I'll have to make another trip to get the last two cars I bought from the estate when the titles come back. (the executor of the will has to have one title corrected as it had the wrong color and no mileage statement on the title, and the other one hadn't been signed when I got there. Either way, I now have two 2005 Prius' here.

    I was thinking of taking the new battery from the car with 15K on it and putting it in the one with now 1600 miles, but there's really no difference in the two cars, both are minty clean, both have new tires, both are identical in every way, even color.

    I've got a buddy who wants to buy one of them, I just have to decide which one I want to sell, although the thought of keeping one as a spare or for parts has crossed my mind.
     
  19. 09Prius2

    09Prius2 Member

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    Really just depends on how much you plan to drive them. Obviously if you have that many cars you don't really need any more...

    The 2nd prius may have a different option package. Mine has option package #2, for whatever that is worth, I think it has upgraded screen detail. Your 2nd one doesn't seem to have this.

    If you need a high mileage commuter car, I'd keep them both. If you're not really that concerned about the fuel savings, you don't need them.
     
  20. usnavystgc

    usnavystgc Die Hard DIYer and Ebike enthusiast.

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    If you're going to drive them regularly, keep them. If you're not, sell them. The worst thing for any car is to sit idle and this is especially true of a Prius.