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Hybrid battery looses charge.

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Technical Discussion' started by katiesdad7, Apr 13, 2011.

  1. katiesdad7

    katiesdad7 Member

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    I have had my 11 prius since Janurary. I took it to the dealer for its first service (5k). I told them that the hybrid battery goes way down (to about 2 bars) after sitting for about 8 - 10 hours. They said that this is normal. The computer does it so the batter will last longer.

    Does this sound right?
     
  2. spiderman

    spiderman wretched

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    Depends... what is the charge at the time of shutdown? Mine rarely even drops one bar over night.

    Forget what the dealer says... they have no clue.

    Personally I would check for a draw with an ammeter.
     
  3. ItsNotAboutTheMoney

    ItsNotAboutTheMoney EditProfOptInfoCustomUser Title

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    Trust the spider, your dealer told you a load of nonsense. The car doesn't ever want the traction battery to get down to 2 bars. Before you take it back, let's ask the dumb question: are you actually turning it off when you park it?
     
  4. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    I hope no one gets injured when the charge is loosed. Does it look like a lightning bolt?

    ;)

    Tom
     
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  5. ItsNotAboutTheMoney

    ItsNotAboutTheMoney EditProfOptInfoCustomUser Title

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    Annoying, isn't it? This is the kind of subtle editing mods should do. ;) Just make sure it's hidden in the T's & C's "In order to minimize sarcasm and other cheap humor we reserve the right to reformat your posts to correct typographical, orthographical and grammatical errors. Trolling and factual errors will be left unedited since nothing ups the traffic like a good argument."
     
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  6. sipnfuel

    sipnfuel New Member

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    The person at the dealership who answered your question is either a moron or just gave you a load of bull.

    This is not normal behavior of the car or battery.

    My question is, does it drain after each time you drive the car, or only occasionally?
     
  7. dogfriend

    dogfriend Human - Animal Hybrid

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    Or they could be a moron who gave you a load of bull. The two choices are not mutually exclusive. :madgrin:
     
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  8. sipnfuel

    sipnfuel New Member

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    +1

    Agreed
     
  9. GrumpyCabbie

    GrumpyCabbie Senior Member

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    This 8-10 hours - is it overnight or even when parked up at work during the day?

    Is an interior light switched on by mistake? Have you checked the light in the trunk? Are you sitting and listening to the radio for 30 mins with the car out of 'Ready' mode before you go into work etc?

    What level is the HV battery at when you turn the car off? If you've left it at 2 or 3 bars then it'll be there when you switch on.

    One last thing (and someone has already picked up on this); are you 100% sure you're actually turning the car off out of 'Ready' mode when you leave it?
     
  10. GSW

    GSW PRIUS POWER

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    +1, sad the dealer service did not pickup on this.

    OP,You have a major drain on your traction battery and you need to find the problem soon.
     
  11. billnchristy

    billnchristy Active Member

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    Have you seen an extension cord running from the trunk and the neighbors running all their lights lately?
     
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  12. Troyroy

    Troyroy Member

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    Since the OP has not come back to check his post......I'm not taking my time or effort to answer his question.......

    Post a question.....follow it up....you will get help. !!!
     
  13. 1sgret

    1sgret Junior Member

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    I also have noticed that the main hybrid battery will lose some of its charge during overnight parking 8 to 14 hours). It does not happen all of the time, but I have noticed it. The interior lights are not left on and the ready light, as well as all dash lights are off. I now pay attention to the battery level before I shut the vehicle off. I insure that the vehicle is off. It usually has a full or almost full charge prior to being turned off. When it does discharge, it goes down to about 4 bars.

    I also told the head mechanic at my dealer and he did not hear of this problem before. But like most of you I do not have a high trust level where car dealers are concerned.

    2010 Gen III Prius with 24 fuel-ups, purchased in Jan, 2011
     
  14. sipnfuel

    sipnfuel New Member

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    I have had the odd situation where charge has gone up overnight.

    It's not hysteresis because, it went up two bars. It is probably some kind of glitch in a sensor.
     
  15. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    Interior lights have nothing to do with the HV battery. As for losing charge, remember that the SOC display is only an approximation of the real charge. It's not easy to determine how much juice is left in a battery. You can't use a simple float sender like you do with a gas tank (and even those aren't all that accurate). Often you will see some swing in SOC because of temperature changes. The battery hasn't really lost charge, but ambient conditions have changed.

    Tom
     
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  16. GSW

    GSW PRIUS POWER

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    I know SOC was almost a grey area with batteries anyway and the auto manufacturers are not only trying to up the extended range on traction batteries, but build in some kind of reliable SOC status. Interesting stuff. Thanks Tom.
     
  17. katiesdad7

    katiesdad7 Member

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    It mostly happens when I go to school during the day. Its fully charged when I park it but when I get back in it the battery has only 2 bars left. I have no clue what is causing this. My car also has the sun roof and solar charger so it shouldn't drain at all.

    What the dealer told me didn't sound right but since the prius is new to me I had to go with it.
     
  18. sipnfuel

    sipnfuel New Member

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    There's something very wrong with your car. Take it to a different dealer under warranty (they all can service your car). Your existing dealer seems to be staffed with idiots. This won't cost you a dime, and they may provide a loaner.
     
  19. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    Unless OP is parking at the end of a long down hill drive I do not know why the traction battery would usually be 'full.'

    IF this thread is not trolling, then I also vote for OP not turning the car off completely.
     
  20. Flaninacupboard

    Flaninacupboard Senior Member

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    Your solar panel charges your HV battery? is that what the dealership told you?