I have spent way to much time searching for an answer to this question both here and elsewhere and have come up with nothing. So forgive me if I just haven't phrase my searches right and this has been hashed out before. As brand new to the Hybrid world and wanting to take good care of my new 2022 Prius, what are real ways to prolong the life of the traction battery? Basically I don't want to do something stupid that was easily avoided that causes the battery to fail. I know about the filter and plan on keeping a close eye on it. Some pertinent facts (I think). Assume 3000 to 5000 miles a year, I live in NW Illinois (so expect temperature extremes from -25f to 110f). It will be parked in an uninsulated garage. I'm 70 years old a no longer need to prove how fast I can drive and never wore the brakes out on my last 3 vehicles even though they were all well over 100K when we gave then up (in other words I anticipate stops and what others do on the road).
congrats and welcome! there isn't anything you can do, toyota has taken care of everything. unfortunately, the battery likes to be used, so your average miles won't help, but it's not a huge deal. one thing you might want to consider is a 12v battery tender, because they drain in between drives, and short drives don't recharge them much. all the best!
Drive it at least once a week, no battery likes being ignored and driving even 5 miles a week will keep both the 12 volt and High Voltage battery charged some, more is better. Do the maintenance in the manual, either your self, an independent mechanic, or the dealership.
Block heater would help in your situation. 2 hours plug-in before driving is enough for all but the coldest conditions. For some reason US dealerships seem to have a hard time getting them, but yeah, try them first. The part's around $80~90 USD, and installed maybe around $300? Look into grill-blocking through winter. You want to determine where the inverter radiator is, avoid blocking that portion. For the rest a 50% block is very conservative/safe. Assuming you have lots of road salt: consider coating the suspension components, underbody, whatever you can reach, with a semi-pliable rust protectorant. Fluid Film is a commercial product with a good name. I used boiled linseed oil, applied mostly with foam brushes, which was cheap and very effective.
I'd watch The Car Care Nut videos on YouTube. He actually works for a dealer in Illinois and has a wealth of knowledge on Prius models and how to make them really last. The Car Care Nut - YouTube
I appreciate that advice and I have actually watched all of his videos on the Prius and other Toyota hybrids, even emailed him the same basic question and so far nothing. I’m hoping that there is at least one battery expert on here that might respond.
This is really your main concern. As others already mentioned, the Prius likes to be driven. The battery has three main enemies - time, heat, and cycles. So don't leave it parked in hot sun if there is shade available. Your driving pattern will keep the charge/discharge cycles low, but the battery will still degrade with age. It should last as long as any other Prius battery, but you won't get as many miles out of it since you don't drive it much. 4th generation already has automatic grill shutters. That will help with those areas. On the other hand, I just worked on a 2006 with over 299,999 miles that had a bracket near the 3-way coolant valve almost rusted away.
Strategy I’ve used is to inspect, and when I see rust developing: coat those areas. It’s maybe counterintuitive to let the rust get a head-start, but it’s actually been quite effective, at least with the boiled linseed oil I’ve used. Here's what I saw, about 5 years in, on the rear shock absorber: Applied boiled linseed oil, and this pic was taken maybe a couple of years further along:
I'm sure you've mentioned this before, but to save someone looking it up, do you spray it on or brush it on?
Brushed on, with foam paint brushes or an old tooth brush. Really inaccessible bits “flossed” with rag strips.
Back to my original question concerning the hybrid battery I reached out to some battery gurus I dealt with in my previous life. The Lithium Ion battery in the my 2022 Prius is simply a deep cycle battery and these types (lithium ion) have been in use in other applications for quite some time now (most notably solar applications and even several mobile applications). Without access to Toyota's proprietary charging logarithms and programming, but based on their record of preproduction testing (especially with the Prius), I'm told that it is pretty safe to assume that the programing is designed to insure this battery will last for a LONG time (assuming I drive the car the way Toyota designed it and don't mess with the battery (like try to charge it or balance it myself)). Their set up is insuring the battery cells are being monitored to stay in balance, and the charging (again assuming it is driven normally) will maintain it in the 20 to 80% range, and sitting in the garage after short trips at almost the ideal 50% level. As far as our predicted "low milage" damaging the battery, my sources tell me "not likely" (again assuming that I don't just let it sit for really extended lengths of time (months at a time) and actually use the car like it was designed to be used). My observations of the charging behavior as we have been driving the car, confirms what they told me, seldom, if ever hitting 100% charge level or dropping below 20%. I had heard somewhere that Toyota was monitoring groups of cells instead of each individual one for balance, and they told me that they could easily see they were monitoring each one and controlling charging base on that. In short, Toyota actually knows what they are doing! LOL. Their advise was to do what I learned to do with solar applications and the battery would feel like it had been dropped in paradise! As far as the 12 volt aux battery goes, again, it is a basically a deep cycle battery (as compared to a normal ICE car's battery which is more of a combo type), and treat it with a reasonable amount of care and it should last at least as long as its warranty. They said Toyota's advise to drive the car at least once a month should be more than adequate, again assuming the battery was cared for and used the way ti was intended. Hope this helps others.
you'll know soon enough if you're driving enough to keep the 12v charged. it is impossible for anyone to know the correct amount. it's a combo of frequency and trip lengths
Looks like you have pretty good grasp of how it works. As for not getting the hybrid battery to 100%, the car will not permit that to happen. When the display shows 100%, that's really about 83-84%. The display shows the percentage of what's available, not the percentage of what exists. As for the 12V, I'm still on the original with about 62,000 miles so far. Still behaves normally. Never needed a jump, but that might be simply because I carry a lithium jump pack. LOL! Also never felt the need for connecting to my battery charger. I drive almost every day. Most drives are 20-50 miles and it's about 85% EV. So, I have lots of cycles on the hybrid battery and it's just now starting to show some reduction in capacity.
