Battery indicator ok?

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Andanotherthing, Jan 25, 2021.

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  1. Andanotherthing

    Andanotherthing New Member

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    We bought a 2018 Prius 2 used about 15 months ago w/ 72K miles (probably was an Uber), and it’s been great.

    For the first year, we got used to the battery indicator ranging mostly from 6 bars to 2 bars, and the gas engine coming on at 2 bars to push it back to 4 or 5 bars.

    We took it to a dealer this past September for a check up, and ever since, it shows 6 bars almost all the time. We hear the gas coming on and going off at typical intervals, but the indicator shows 6 bars the whole time. I did see it go to 7 once briefly, and to 5 twice, so it isn’t frozen, but seriously it’s at 6 probably 90% of the time.

    What’s going on? Did the dealer turn on some special setting? Was our air filter really dirty? Is it more or less fuel-efficient to run it this way? Can I change it back? (Gas mileage seems down, but maybe it’s just the colder weather.)
     
    #1 Andanotherthing, Jan 25, 2021
  2. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    What is your fuel economy like - any different?
    What is your EV% - any difference?
     
    #2 alanclarkeau, Jan 27, 2021
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  3. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    Normal behavior would be for it to not get down to two bars unless you're just sitting or going very slowly. I don't know what the dealer might have done to change that behavior.

    I would expect it to be more efficient the way it is, but only you can tell that since we can't see your fuel economy reading this far away. ;)
     
    #3 jerrymildred, Feb 3, 2021
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  4. davecook89t

    davecook89t Senior Member

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    Colder weather also explains your HV battery staying at a higher State of Charge. I'm assuming you are keeping the cabin at a comfortable temperature, meaning that the car has to run the Internal Combustion Engine more often to generate heat, thus keeping the battery at a higher SOC. If you turn the HVAC off, you will see the SOC indicator dropping down as far as 2 bars, as before.
     
    #4 davecook89t, Feb 3, 2021
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