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Battery Status Display; Never full? Here's why.

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by RobertO, Jan 14, 2004.

  1. RobertO

    RobertO New Member

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    I made my weekly paranoid obsessive-compulsive visit to my Prius-trained Service Advisor yesterday to "talk Prius".

    Primary topic was that my Battery Dispaly NEVER shows solid green bars; at best always leaves one bar white at the top. Tthis despite longer trips that show beacoup watt hours generated on the alternate display panel.

    The explanation turned out to be really simple; when the cars come in, the battery display shows full. During the system initialization process before delivery to a customer, the battery system is calibrated by the Toyota Prius tech. Once this and other initializations are done (window lifts, etc.) the battery disply will always have one white bar at the top.

    This was confirmed by the dealer tech who went to the Prius school.

    Now, if anyone out there knows a different story, let us know; The Truth Is Out There.


    Bob
     
  2. glscheil1

    glscheil1 New Member

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    Battery Status

    Mine were all green when I took delivery but soon drioped to 2 white segments. Has stayed there.
     
  3. HTMLSpinnr

    HTMLSpinnr Super Moderator
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    I still hit full batt on screen at least once per week going to work.

    If you continue to regen much beyond that point, the ICE will spin with some compression braking (less so than B mode). It's possible to get full.

    -Rick
     
  4. terkar

    terkar New Member

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    I have had all green several times. Very easy to do when going down a really long hill/grade. In fact, I have been concerned that staying all green for several miles may cause harm to the battery.

    04 Salsa Red
     
  5. HTMLSpinnr

    HTMLSpinnr Super Moderator
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    No cause for concern, it's not truly at 100%, and the computer won't let you get even close using conventional means.

    Once the battery hits the upper limit of it's SOC (state of charge), the extra energy gets piped to MG1 for some compression braking during higher speeds where the foot is off the gas. The end result is the same amount of drag. For actual braking, it's all friction at that point using the pads like a conventional car.

    Now I have felt at lower speeds when braking if I hit the full mark (going from stoplight light to stop light after a long descent) during the stop that the regen system will suddenly "let go" a bit requiring me to remodulate the brakes. Basically it was saying "I'm full, no more".

    Never fear, this car is smart :)
     
  6. gordon169

    gordon169 New Member

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    My battery display is normally only half-full. The highest I've seen in its 660-mile life is half plus one -- i.e. still around 3 short of full. Should I be concerned?

    In case it matters, I do trips of about 5 miles, avg 45 mph, with about 6 red lights. My mileage for tank 1 was 45.9, tank 2 is 49.3 so far.

    (My first post -- I love the car, and this site!) :D
     
  7. rockluvr

    rockluvr New Member

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    Gordan,
    No need for concern. If you take your Prius in the mountains for a drive, you will likely see all green bars on the downhill. When going up mountain I've had the last two bars turn pink and then very depleted (no pink bars). I did this on a trip from Denver to Evergreen on I-70 and back.
     
  8. 8AA

    8AA Active Member

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    I rented a Prius instead of just going for a test drive. Most of the time there were two or three white bars, but several times I had all of them green. I was wondering if the Prius "learns" the driver's habit and changes the use of the battery. It would make sense to try to use as much of the battery energy as possible, without letting it get too depleted. At the very least, I'd hope that the car starts using more of the battery's energy when the battery is nearly full.

    As for the statement that there will always be one white bar at the top, this makes no sense at all. It's like the amplifier in Spinal Tap that was louder than everyone elses because it went to 11 instead of just 10. Maybe with normal driving it is typical for there to be one white bar at the top, because when the battery is full, there's no room left for energy recovery.
     
  9. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    I've hit full green a few times...can make it do it with some conservative driving before a long descent which pushes it to full green...

    Someone said (not confirmed) that even when full there's still a 20% reserve...
     
  10. edmcnierney

    edmcnierney Junior Member

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    Yup, I've been all green, too. I never got there until I decided to make an effort on a long downhill after a highway run, and I've repeated that "all green" event.

    Up until that point I began to suspect it would never happen, so I think it's perfectly normal to never observe it unless you're looking and/or trying.
     
  11. Wolfman

    Wolfman New Member

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    OK guys, how do you do this. I've had my classic over Raton pass, which is around 12 miles long downhill on the north side of that pass. Weather in the area on that trip precluded me really pushing the car on the uphill grade. At the bottom, I still wasn't showing a "full" battery.
     
  12. m1j1tc0rn

    m1j1tc0rn New Member

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    even though i hit all green everyday on my way to work (downhill a couple miles), that's not to say the "calibration theory" isn't correct. that would still explain the differences per driver.
    -r
     
  13. rockluvr

    rockluvr New Member

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    Wolfman,
    I don't know what to tell you - I don't DO anything special. It seems that my battery level changes fairly easily (up and down). Also full green doesn't last that long - only a couple of minutes usually. You could easily miss it if you didn't catch a glance at the right time. Have there been any changes to the battery from the Classic to 2004?
     
  14. TJandGENESIS

    TJandGENESIS Are We Having Fun Yet?

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    Great thread. Thanks.
     
  15. davedog

    davedog Member

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    i get all green. it's the hills in the bay area. i've also seen pink ...that's the damn traffic w/out HOV.
     
  16. Mt View

    Mt View Member

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    I hit all green every morning going to work. I live In Colorado and drive NE on 285 to I470. I go from about 8600 ft to about 7000 ft. See only one bar most of the way coming back up.
     
  17. ross33

    ross33 New Member

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    at 2500 miles so far i'm usually mid way in the blue. a couple of times i've seen green, but never all green, always one white at the top.
     
  18. gblatt

    gblatt New Member

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    Me too, I've hit green bars but never all green. Been as low as 2 pink bars.
     
  19. TJandGENESIS

    TJandGENESIS Are We Having Fun Yet?

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    Pink bars, blue bars, green bars...I'm thinking that this system is like the terror alert system...

    So, I have noticed (today), that I have like two white spaces above blue bars. This, I take it, is normal...right?
    Or at least not a Bad Thingâ„¢?
     
  20. aaf709

    aaf709 Ravenpaw of ThunderClan

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    When I picked up mine, it had 3 bars, which when up on the drive from the dealer. I've had it go full green a couple of times, but it dropped down quickly.