AC draining Hybrid battery

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Absolutely! I'd be really annoyed, too.

Did that battery come with a warranty? Not sure you'd have a claim without a P0A80 trouble code or something along those lines. The other option is grid charging as I mentioned in post #34. It's a tool made for battery situations just like yours. Low capacity but still functioning.

I'm sure the inverter is charging or it would have an error code. It's hyper-easy to see the charge rate with an inexpensive bluetooth OBDII reader and a phone app.

 

well my original battery is past the warranty and the one I bought recently still is under warranty so I can still send it back if I need to. I’m going to Toyota dealership Monday because that’s the earliest they could get me in. I know whenever the original battery got scanned it threw the code up that my first battery block wasn’t putting out the 15V it was supposed to be putting out. But when I opened the battery up all the cells were fully charged. So that’s when I bought this used battery hoping the problem would be solved but already the lights are back on and the battery isn’t getting charged, I actually witnessed last night the lights all come on and my full green battery drain to one purple bar. That’s the second time the lights came on with this battery so I have to assume it’s the battery but it could also be something else in my car messing the batterys up. I do hear a very loud buzzing/clicking from the engine when I am idle or parked. That’s been like that since I bought the car. Either way it’s been such a hassle and I’m really disappointed the battery didn’t last longer, I’ve been really good to this car, better to it than all my other cars haha. But I digress and thank you for the help

 

If you knew someone complaining about their tires because they just put new tires on and they were really disappointed the tires didn’t last longer, but you then find out the new tires were actually nearly worn-out tires, what would you say to that person as to the sense in going down that route? It could be that the person only needed the car to last up to 2,000 more miles, So, fair enough that might make sense. But if the person was expecting to do 75,000 to 100,000 more miles, then not such a sensible decision. Maybe it was financial, in hard times with better times on the horizon. So that might also make sense.

Similarly, with batteries. The recently bought battery could be even worse than the original one and could be characterized as old and nearly worn out. Only you can decide the best way forward – If this car is in very good condition and is otherwise very sound, it would make more sense to spend $1,600 non-OEM (or $1,625 - $1,950 OEM) – DIY to $2,400 – non-DIY to put in an HV battery with all new modules and be done with all the hassle for another 10+ years.

At this stage, I guess you have to see what happens with your battery supplier/installer, but generally, these second-hand battery scenarios never seem to work out well for the end customer.

 

First post
Hi all
So my 08 Prius (196k) hybrid battery was draining all the way down when using a/c recently. I started doing research thinking that my hybrid battery was shot . I did a test on the 12v battery and it was bad so installed a new one and now everything works great and my mpg is going up to around 46-48 and hybrid battery stays above 50%. Car runs and drive excellent.

 

welcome and well done!

 

Once in a while the simplest diagnostic and solution works wonders. Lots of hybrid owners try to make their 12v battery last ten years when six or seven is unheard of in conventional cars.

 

Had the exact thing were the AC drains the battery quickly when hot. I have a method for this. The manual actually states this too

When you’re going for a drive, open the windows for the first few minutes. This will quickly air the car out.
Keep an eye out for the SOC of the battery. If it’s in the highest blue range or plenty charged (I like to call it 80%) turn the AC on or use Auto like I do.
The cabin will cool pretty quick and the battery will keep its charge. Also take a look at the set temperature. Setting it higher helps too. (And better for your health!) When you near your destination turn the AC off in advance. Prevents that drain when stopped or when driving on battery alone.
It works wonders for me.

When driving off on a low charge, the car was using more gas and felt a bit slow, because I drove off with AC running at probably maximum draw. It charged it up quick, but then when at the end of the drive (15 min) it was low on charge again. Using this method stops that. This way the car accelerates speedy how it usually does and the battery won’t drain like crazy.

My hybrid battery is fine, it holds charge well and charges quick. ‘08 gen 2 (Touring) with 271.000 KM.

 

Holding charge is what one would expect. But charging quickly and discharging quickly are sure signs that it's loosing capacity.

 

Mine doesn’t charge or discharge fast. Like mentioned, normal operation.
Why would a bad battery hold charge well? Seems contradicting to me.

Quick and fast aren’t the same. But I get someone could interpret it like that.

 

Not "bad;" out of balance. The battery stops charging when the cell with the highest voltage hits its upper limit. It stops discharging when the cell with the lowest voltage hits its limit. The greater the difference between the high and low cell, the less room there is for the cells to go up and down in voltage and therefore the less capacity in the battery. Everything else being equal, the battery charges and discharges are the same rate of change in voltage so it hits its limits more quickly than a healthy battery getting charged or discharged with the same kWs.