Backseat, passenger side, between the seatback and the pillar is a rectangular box with a grill on it. It sounds like it blows air yet I don't know of a switch that turns it on. What is that box and what does it do? Thanks
If it looks something like this: It is the hybrid battery air intake, it is very important not to block it. The back of that looks like this: It is thermostatically controlled, if your big battery gets hot, you can hear it. (I am not sure all these photos are from a Gen 2, but the idea is the same)
Thanks, fellows for the replies. I wouldn't have thought it was for the battery. It was cold outside, 12*, and I had my heater on full blast. I got hot while driving and turned the fan off and then I heard a very loud fan sound coming from the battery cooling fan. It just bugged me that the sound was so loud. I figured the fan was going to fail. But after a few seconds the fan stopped turning and it became quiet again. Maybe the fan started because it was hot in the cabin.
If the cabin was in the 86ºF+ (30ºC+) range, then almost more than likely. Try and keep the cabin in the 64-75ºF (18-24ºC) range. If it was in the cooler range, then that could a sign that your HV battery is not in the best shape.
The battery is not outside, it is in the cabin with you. Besides the possibility that the cabin was too hot, did you go down (or up) a long hill? Changing electricity into chemistry is going to generate heat. Talimena National Scenic Byway Home - Talimena National Scenic Byway as an example, but that seems south of you.
