Prius Gen II - Dying Traction Battery Question

There are many things that can leave you stranded 200 miles away, it's not only the HV battery that can do that. If you have that fear, you would have to take action and start replacing parts on your 12 year old car.

But specifically about the question you asked, the HV usually will not just die, it most likely will have 1 failed cell and all the scary dash lights come on to scare you. Unless you know what those lights are for, you'll just have to risk driving it home (it "normally" won't just die). It may or may not be the battery when those lights come up.

Have you checked the health on your 12v battery? Usually a mileage drop that big will be related to a 12v battery or low under inflated tires

 

AAA with the 200 mile free tow is 119 a year 1-200 mile or 3-100 mile tows a year.

 

you can't limp home once the pack won't turn over the engine. it can get to the point where you're underpowered.
not many stories here of people who were stranded due to a bad hybrid battery, but you can't go on forever. unless you're waiting for an inheritance, replace the bad cells, the whole pack or the car

 

don't forget to balance!

 

have you been using it?

 

tech stream will tell you the condition of the cells. it could be that you have other problems

 

How long have you been reconditioning?
Do you have the intelligent Discharger?
Do you discharge down to 17 volts?
How many reconditioning cycles have you done?

 

How long are your reconditioning sessions lasting?

Do you do top end balancing between reconditioning sessions?

Is each reconditioning session three cycles?

While mpg is low, does the battery pack seem to not cycle?

 

So every 4 months you do a full 3 cycle reconditioning?

No just top end balances in between the 3 cycle reconditioning sessions?

How long do you hold at the top end after each discharge cycle before starting the next one?

If you are ever interested, we have meet ups in the Bay Area and should be one soon:

Possible Monthly install meets. Bay Area-Fremont

 

I’ve got a 7 and 6 year old, so I understand .

I’d say let it top end balance a bit more and see if that improves .

What condition is the ice in? Consume any oil?

 

Also remember to wait after the final charge before driving. Otherwise you can kill the battery.

 

Or .... just use your discharger to take it back down to 222 V if you need to drive/switch on before 2 hours.

My opinion is that unless you are in the final death throes of battery life, every 6 months (if my calculations are correct) is too frequent. As you have observed, you are getting little benefit from your subsequent charging sessions. Maybe only do full sessions annually.

 

Or simply start the car and put it in neutral, that won't charge the battery. Put the AC in high until the SOC drops