Hybrid Battery Survey-Gen2 Prius 2004-2009

2008 prius with 125k, still going strong.

I talked to a hybrid replacement tech from here and he mentioned an easy test people can perform to test the HV battery is ...

from a full charge (green bars), let your car park in "ready" mode. A good HV battery would be able to hold at least a 30 minute charge before the ICE kicks in to recharge. A weak HV battery would drain before the 30 minutes and the ICE turn on.

I've done this test and my battery can last beyond 30 minutes. This is ready mode without AC. Radio operation was on but I don't think that little power matters.

 

This test as written does not work, when the engine cools it will restart to warm up again charging the battery while doing this.

John (Britprius)

 

How about on a warm day -- say in the summer ?

 

Does not happen in the UK. At least the engine does no stay above the restart temp in 30 mins.

John (Britprius)

 

How about with a comforter ?

 

Maybe. But we are forecast snow this week.

John (Britprius)

 

Is there a limit on how many years old for CARB states. I had no idea that my prius c I bought in oregon was coverd under this. but I am happy it is

 

I wasn't aware my ICE engine will kick in when the engine cools. I live in California and the climate here isn't that cold. I did the exact test and my ICE engine didn't come on within the 30 minute time frame. The information I wrote was passed to me through a tech. My question to him was how I would be able to tell if my modules get weak. The tech had a service that would rebuild your battery and replace bad and weak modules.

 

I do understand what you are saying and in your location probably correct, but you put this in open forum with no conditions such as air temperature, winter or summer in the advice. This is a bit like saying you do not need antifreeze, because in your location you do not get temperatures below 32f. This forum is world wide and as such the information is only good under certain conditions "not stipulated". Again I do not say in any way did you intend to mislead, but unfortunately, and unintentionally the information does not hold good for all.

John (Britprius)

 

I just had no idea the ICE engine was also controlled by temperature. I was under the assumption if the HV battery is charged and you are at a stop, the ICE engine will not engage unless the battery needs to be charged after being drained. This forum is filled with great information. Thanks

 

I have made similar mistakes mostly due to the differences in the Prius between the US and UK so I hope I did not sound to Harsh, but yes the engine is controlled by temperature along with other things. Welcome to PC the wealth of information here along with many very helpful people.

John (Britprius)

 

I should've known there are other people around the world driving these machines. I also know that England is really cold. I get my inlaws that come in from Brighton every winter for 2 months to escape the harsh wet and cold climate.

 

This sounds like a good test to me. I'll hook up my scan gauge to be monitor the ICE temp in case the ICE turns on before 30 minutes. Your advice to wait for a warm day without wind seems sound.

 

I ran the test with only 1 of the green bars. I don't think I've seen both green bars in a long time. I believe my battery still had 4 blue bars remaining after 30 minutes of Ready mode.

 

My vague memory is that the car uses about 250 watts in 'ready' mode, so 30 minutes would consume 0.125 kWh. IIRC discharge from 'full' to 'empty' is 0.6 kWh.

Please correct my memory if needed, or I'll track down the specs.

 

My vague memory is that the car uses about 250 watts in 'ready' mode, so 30 minutes would consume 0.125 kWh. IIRC discharge from 'full' to 'empty' is 0.6 kWh.

Please correct my memory if needed, or I'll track down the specs.