I’ve been in my new-to-me 2015 Prius four since 6am this morning, Driving mostly non stop to Florida (1,400 miles). Been getting spectacular highway gas mileage on each fill up (46-49mpg!). We’ve been rotating drivers so I’m now in the back seat, and I noticed the HV battery cooling fan running on a low speed. We have been in heavy stop and go traffic in Atlanta for at least an hour. Guessing this is pretty normal for driving the car all day, through mountains and with 3 grown adults and all Of our luggage? By the way, I’ve only got 18,000 miles on the car and it’s certified pre owned. No indications of any battery trouble, and I’ve never heard the fan running. I only knew it was running because out of curiosity, I stuck my hand near it and felt a little rushing air in. As a test, I stuck a tissue to the hv fan grate in the back seat, and it stuck.
I hope you removed the tissue. That's pretty good mileage for all the people and luggage. What part of Florida are you heading too? Business or pleasure?
Yup totally normal! You’ll be surprised how much air it will suck through that vent, especially after an hour of stop and go traffic in the summer!
To maximize the lifespan of your vehicle, try to avoid parking in full sun with all the windows rolled up for long periods of time. This alone can make a huge difference in how often the fan has to run to cool the pack... Stop and go traffic tends to heat the pack up too... Basically, the cooler you keep your pack, the longer it will last!
I could swear some other threads say avoid extreme cold and heat. Extreme cold is the way to go then.
By keeping a pack cool I specifically mean keeping between 75-98 degrees Fahrenheit... Once you get above 100 for prolonged periods of time things start unraveling, which is why hybrid battery problems are most common in late Spring when Summer heat starts kicking in.
headed to Fort Lauderdale, leaving on a cruise Saturday! So lotsa pleasure oh, no worries, she’s swell. And even if it wasn’t, I’m under warranty for another 80,000 miles and 3-4 years. I’ve only got 18,000 miles on the car right now, and it’s spent it’s entire life in the very mild Midwest.
