I have attached two pictures - one from the owner's manual and the other from my car. I can't seem to get that last charge bar on the battery. Is this normal? If not, is there some other things I can try doing to get that bar? I have already tried braking down a long steep hill (you would think that would be enough to give me the last bar - wouldn't you)? Brad
That is normal. You will rarely ever see it at 8 bars (which isn't actually full, it's really somewhere around 80% capacity). As of 3,800 miles, I've only seen it once. .
The only time I ever get full charge is for a few minutes when I'm coasting down a steep hill. Usually when I'm driving down a steep hill or mountain top on the highway. As stated above, it's totally normal.
What's wrong with you people? When you buy a macbook, would you expect anything less than 100% capacity? Take the thing back! [Said in jest of course ]
The control system works very hard to keep the battery SOC at about the two-thirds level. Only unusual conditions will force it to either extreme. Tom
In my Gen 2, I usually only see 7 bars when I haven't been stopped long enough for the car to do its idle check, once warmed up, so the engine is running excessively at under 30mph. No appreciable hills on my route to work. The Gen 3 seems to have a much less stringent idle check routine, if it's there at all.
I'm encroaching on 5,000 miles, and I've seen it only a couple of times. The only times I remember have been when driving down the bluffs along the Mississippi. If you are a flatlander, you'll not see 8 bars very often!
Excessive Speed Override means you're going to fast to sustain EV-only. Any speed over 25 (or in some cases, 30) will cause you to get this error. I used to be able to get a car rollin' around 30-32 before it would pop out of EV, but that may have been on a small, small downhill street. The rule of thumb is 25+ OR stomping it to get fast response + out of EV she goes!
I have been wondering about the battery charge myself. I try to do the proper braking technique to get the charge but the battery seems to get down to half or less after every 5-10 mile I drive. I do a lot of small drives so I guess it is in ECO mode a lot, which means it uses the battery. But the battery bar still goes down quicker than what I'd thought it should. I am only 400+ miles on my 3 week old car. Thanks
My '11 is only two weeks old, but I've never seen the battery indicator move from it's one bar from the top spot. So far.
Are you driving in power mode? What is your mpg? I read an article (I can't find the link at present) where it says the battery is never supposed to be fully charged (apparently that preserves the life of the battery). Also it says that there is no danger of the battery fully discharging (unless someone leaves the light on or something)..apparently the hybrid technology while driving prevents it from ever getting fully discharged (guess the gas kicks in).
I used to see it rarely but now see it more often on hills that used to not let it happen. Either battery is more willing or I'm better at regen. Anyway, I posted this before: instructions on how to max the bars without a hill. All you really need is a few long stops. Accelerate briskly (important, because it forces you to use more of the ICE) and then brake only enough to max out the charge bar. Then repeat this. Stops from 60 or so will do it in just a few stops I've found. Effect is massively compounded if any of these stops are down hill. Why do this? Just because. When you hit 8 bars that first time it's a life-changing event. You'll hardly believe your eyes and feel at one with the world, in a good way.
