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battery stays green most of the time

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by stan, Feb 1, 2010.

  1. stan

    stan New Member

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    2006 with 100600K miles. My battery icon now stays green about 80-85% of the time. This is a significant change and has been going on for the past 400 miles. When it does go into the blue, it is for a short period of time and "greens up" quickly. Nothing has changed as far as my commuting route, traffic patterns or general driving. The screen is showing battery/engine usage about the same as always. Is something going on that I should be concerned about?
     
    #1 stan, Feb 1, 2010
  2. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    How long have you owned this car? Green is common in the winter.

    Tom
     
    #2 qbee42, Feb 1, 2010
  3. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    Ditto Tom. As long as there are no radical swings in the SOC from green to pink I suspect it's normal b/c the engine is running more to stay warm to provide you heat and then is spilling extra charge into the battery.
     
    #3 efusco, Feb 1, 2010
  4. stan

    stan New Member

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    Thanks - that makes sense although I can't say I have ever noticed it before and I'm the original owner. So far the only repair needed has been HID bulb replacement at 60K and Toyota picked up the tab.
     
    #4 stan, Feb 1, 2010
  5. macmaster05

    macmaster05 Senor Member

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    If it's mileage you're worried about, calculate it yourself next time you get gas.
     
    #5 macmaster05, Feb 1, 2010
  6. hwmoody

    hwmoody Junior Member

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    This is my first time on this chat room so I hope I do it right. I bought a 2008 Prius new and have been enjoying the 47 to 51 mpg. I have kept record of every gallon of gas used, and calculated each fill up. My icon for the high voltage battery has run 90% of the time in the blue. But about 500 miles ago it started running mostly in the green and my gas mileage has dropped 8-10 mpg. The only change that I can associate with it is that it started right after I got a new set of tires. The tires are the same size, different brand, and they installed new valve stems, and had 27 lbs pressure in them instead of the 32 lbs I carried in the original ones. I raised the tire pressure back up to 32lbs but it seems to make very little difference. I'm very aware of the difference in colder weather and its' effectiveness. Any comment are deeply appreciated.
     
    #6 hwmoody, Dec 1, 2013
  7. nh7o

    nh7o Off grid since 1980

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    You will see a number of comments in the various tire reports in the Fuel Economy forum section that new tires do indeed reduce mpg for a while. Many people here go with ~40psi in the tires. See if that helps. Cold weather plays a role, and cabin heat. If your usage is more for short trips, then the warm up period is longer, so the engine will run more to get up to temp. Some use grill blocking to help with that.

    Please add the general location to your profile, as that helps with future comments.
     
    #7 nh7o, Dec 1, 2013
  8. Britprius

    Britprius Senior Member

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    Please let us know exactly what tyres you have fitted as this can make a big difference to your MPG.

    John (Britprius)
     
    #8 Britprius, Dec 2, 2013
  9. uart

    uart Senior Member

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    Yep, it's the tires. It may improve a bit as they run in. As John said, please post the exact size and model of your tires. For example mine are "Bridgestone Ecopia EP100 195/60". We need the full details to identify the tires and whether or not they are any good.
     
    #9 uart, Dec 2, 2013
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