2010 gen III hybrid battery

I agree with Paradox. It never will really be 100% Full and there is a threshold as he stated.

I don't know the exact parameters but the car does not allow it to overcharge or undercharge.

I have never seen 100% full as well. And never seen below 40-50%.

Drive, Enjoy and don't worry. Operating as designed.

 

For reasonably flat roads, this is normal.

While I've pegged 8 bars many times, it has always been on relatively steep mountain descents of many hundreds of feet. (My typical mountain downgrade is 2000 vertical feet, and a few were 5000.) Once the slope shallows, GenIII rapidly burns off the top two bars.

In hilly country, we don't want to see 8 bars on flat roads unless a mountain is looming ahead. That empty space on the top is what permits regeneration going downhill. Once that space is filled, the rest of any steep downslope is 'wasted'.

 

I have a related question, what wears out a battery more, time or frequent charging or discharging.

Or to put it another way you are given a free battery. You have to choose one battery out of 2. One battery was used 100,000 miles in a taxi in two year. The other was used 100,000 miles in a family car in 8 years. Which one would you pick?

 

Charging/discharging is believed to be the main factor for battery life.. there was a detailed post on this somewhere, but I can't seem to find it now.

 

Your choice is between two batteries that went the same distance, so probably had just as many charge/discharge cycles. So the younger battery would most likely be "fresher".

Each charge/discharge event will shorten the life of the battery, due to imperfect recharging (some material is either corroded or placed in an inappropriate location during charge - the nickle is actually removed and redeposited). Time will also do the same, as the battery will corrode just sitting there and will have to be recharged as well due to "self discharge".

But Politburo is correct, charge/discharge has a bigger effect than time.

Because the Prius battery is operated over a greatly reduced charge/discharge range (typically about 40% capacity) it will outlast another NIMH battery operated as most consumers use them - recharge when it dies. My guess is the difference will be 5 times the life minimum, and probably more like 10 to 20 times the life.

 

Actually that tire pressure is good for mileage, and won't hurt the tire wear. It -might- ride rougher though.

If you watch the battery charge and use the brakes gently on a long downhill, you can quite easily get to "full charge" (all green, but actually about 80% charge capacity). Pearl does it in just a few miles. It takes longer in "B" mode. You will notice the brakes suddenly require more pedal pressure when it reaches full indicated charge, as regen braking shuts down. You can -then- select "B" to dump energy with the engine to keep your speed under control. You'll also notice once you reach bottom the car will try to "use up" the extra charge asap. If you are gentle on the throttle, it will actually use a form of high speed EV and "warp stealth" to move the car using no fuel, trying to run the battery back down to about 60% charge capacity, its' design operation level.

 

Hi Dave,
Does anyone know how to do a hack to turn on WARP STEATH? This would be helpful after installing a PHEV kit. The 2010 EV button kicks or at 25mph. I know that it will stay in stealth at higher speeds but you still loose the acceleration that you would like if you have the extra power in added batteries from the PHEV kit.

If there is a better thread for this Question Please direct me there.

Thanks,
Dan

 

Mine arrived with 40/38 PSI. According to another thread, some other folks had similar pressures at delivery. 40 appeared to be the pressure Toyota installs before the boat ride, with the intent that the dealers will drop it to placard level.

But for reasons of fuel economy, hydroplaning resistance, and tire wear, some of us don't want it lowered.

 

I assume you want to run EV at speed. EV mode is kicked out for several reasons, including the current limit the battery can supply and the electronics can handle. Then there is battery heating. The most important is limiting MG1 RPM (it runs high if the ICE isn't running). Use "ECO" mode to get better throttle sensitivity, and expect you will have to use very slow acceleration (low torque and therefore low battery current) and it will stay in EV mode longer. It will then turn the ICE over with no fuel injected (warp stealth) at higher speeds. Still, you can't demand very much torque, for the above reasons.

To change this would require a total re-program of the system, and an inverter that could handle much higher current. I'm not aware of any "hack" that can do this. I know the after-market EV systems do have a switch to do what you want. They install a lot of electronics.

 

Has it been colder? Battery behavior changes with temperature.

Tom

 

I would express it the opposite way -- in cold weather, it charges faster. Did you acquire this car before winter, or is this the first warm weather you have experienced with it?

In cold weather, the engine runs more to stay warm, producing more charging time. And another contributor mentioned that the cold battery has less capacity, so the same charge rate will fill up the available capacity faster.

 

NH in January ? I don't expect 60F for two more months, and I live in the southwest US !