Has anyone noticed that the color of the energy indicator is sometime blue and sometime green, why is that?
When you're up to the 7 and 8 bar level it turns green to help you notice that the SOC is higher, when it's at the last 1-2 bars it's pink (or purple depending upon who you ask), and in between (3-6 bars) where you'll be most of the time it's blue. There's some hysteresis with the actual SOC so it's not an exact thing. As for 'why'...just for fun, just because, just to make it easier to recognize. The reality is the energy indicator isn't really necessary and certainly isn't a completely accurate representation of what's going on anyway.
The color of the bars is redundant with the number of bars. It adds no info except to see a bit more quickly what is the approximate state of charge. It might have been better not to use multiple colors. Some drivers get un-necessarily alarmed when they see pink/red/purple bars, thinking that something is wrong and they have to pull off the road, etc.
True, the SOC color change is for FYI only. It's fun to watch but the driver can't do much about it anyway, as the Prius computer will take care everything in that area.
Some new drivers panic when the bars get down to purple (pink) and shut off the car. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Tom
They probably changed the color from pink (too much like red, a warning color) to purple because of this.
Sorry about that, I'll ask in that forum next time I have a question....But wait, I don't think that the newbies will be able to help me the way you can. Cheers.
No, you asked in the right place. Although I'm surprised nobody answered "It means your battery is about to BLOW UP! Leave the car at once!" At least, that's what I sometimes feel like answering when somebody asks that... (Somebody was once going to make a FAQ, but nobody ever did)
