Battery cooling fan

I wouldn't worry about it. I have only heard my battery fan come on 1 time in the past 14k miles and it was over 100 degrees outside.

The condition when mine came on was my car was parked in the sun for about 30 mins and it was about 110 degrees outside I got stuck at a light when I left the parking lot and the fan came on for a couple of minutes and then turned off.

Basically once I felt comforatble with the temperature in the car the fan turned off about the same time. That is why everybody says that not using the AC can affect mileage just as much if not more then using it because the battery has a lower tolerance for hot and cold then we do or at least then what I do

 

I have heard the fan come on four times in 66,000 miles. It has come on twice after trips to the mountains and twice around town. External or cabin temperature are not the most important factors in determining battery temperature, but rather heavy battery use by the hybrid system.

 

I heard mine come on twice this summer...it was really weird the first time! Like a door is open in the back....I kept looking all around to see what was open...looking at the dash for warning lights, etc....the fan went off within 2 mintues each time.

Both times that it has come on my car was parked in the same location at our swim club....back end facing west...must have been the afternoon sun beating down on the back end of the car.

 

The fan comes on when the battery system is getting hotter than is optimal. If you hear the fan in hot weather, roll up the windows and turn on the A/C.

 

Hi -
I have a 2005 Prius - White with 20,000 miles - I bought it new in 3/05. Today I heard a loud noise from the rear and it was air coming from the vent for the hybrid battery. This lasted around 2-3 minutes. My Prius had been sitting for about one hour in my carport and I had driven it for short distances prior to this. This has never ever happened before. I took the car to Kendall Toyota and they had no time to look at it and told me to bring it in Friday and assured me that if it was serious warning lights would go on. I have very concerned however (I also must keep my job) and am not quite sure if I should take off from work tomorrow or if this is normal.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. BTW - it was hot today but not hotter than it has been in the past. This happened around 1PM EDT

thank you. Also - it is great to be back on the Prius forum - I have been reading but not posting for the past several months.

ML

 

It's been consistently over 38C in Arizona for the last few weeks and I haven't had my fan come on yet. In the next couple of weeks we'll start seeing temperatures upwards of 43-44C. I'm sure I'll eventually hear it..... unfortunately.

 

I'd wager there was just some odd combination of circumstances that made the battery system hotter than usual. It's not worth a trip to a dealer unless you get warning lights.

 

My car sits out all day in the Tempe, AZ sun (40-46ºC in the summer) and I have yet to have the fan come on while driving home after work (25 minutes through town) even though I never use the A/C. But, I have had it come on several times when I have come home, left for a bit to do something else, then get back in the car to go back home. I've also had it come on in very moderate temperatures while driving in the mountains where the battery is seeing a lot of charge/discharge cycling.

What you experienced seems entirely normal and a trip to the dealer sounds like a waste of time IMHO.

 

Thank you for you input. I think perhaps it was just an odd set of circumstances. It was only 88 degrees (31 C) when this occurred but I had made a trip to the vet w/two German Shepherds, and two other short trips plus I had to sit and wait in a parking lot to avoid valet parking and then drove home for an hour and went back out. I did notice that when I got back into the Prius after the wait in the parking lot that my bars were purple which is very unusual.

This is not my normal driving as the Prius is in an enclosed high rise garage all day during the week.

I will drive to work Friday and hope for the best.

Thanks again.

ML

 

Wow, you're a bigger man than me. Heck, I'll run into the grocery store and lock it up with the A/C running. I'm in Gilbert, and work right off of Tempe Town lake BTW...

 

You might try turning on the A/C to see whether the fuel economy improves.