Almost battery death in traffic

nncyang · 06-14-2007, 11:18 AM

This past weekend, I was driving in deadstop highway traffic. All I did was step on brake, release, step on brake, etc. so everything was coming out of the battery. I had the A/C on in the beginning, but soon realized that my battery was going from green, to blue, to less and less by the minute so I turned that sucker off. I was hardcore panicking at that point. It was in the 90's and I had no A/C and my car was dying! What I ended up doing was waiting for there to be a few feet between me and the other car, stomping on the gas, so the car could charge in the glide. Has anyone else had this problem?! I only have 3000 miles on my 2007 Prius and had never had any battery problems before this. As an afternote, the battery quickly charged back up when I was finally able to drive normal.

Marlin · 06-14-2007, 11:20 AM

Is this post for real?

Trevor · 06-14-2007, 11:22 AM

You don't have to worry about the battery, it will take care of itself. You don't have to turn your A/C off. As long as you have gas in the car, everything will be fine. I'm sure others will chime in with the more technical details, but you can drive the Prius without ever looking at how much the battery is charged. The important thing is having gas in the car.

qbee42 · 06-14-2007, 11:23 AM

It's not a problem. You are trying to out-think the Prius - don't do that. Just drive it and it will take care of itself. When the battery gets low, the Prius will turn on the ICE and charge. Turning off the air isn't necessary either, and in fact is hard on the battery since the cabin air conditioning also cools the battery. The only way you can induce a battery SOC problem is by shifting into neutral, in which case the ICE can't charge the battery. The Prius will complain about it if you do.

Tom

Rae Vynn · 06-14-2007, 11:23 AM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Marlin @ Jun 14 2007, 08:20 AM) [snapback]461552[/snapback]</div>

Quote:

Is this post for real?
[/b]

I have my doubts...

SomervillePrius · 06-14-2007, 11:26 AM

Ok,

Not sure this is a serious question or not. If it is you are missing some basic understanding of how a hybrid system works.

What is the main way the battery gets charged? A: By the engine. So once the Battery is drained the Prius will force the (gasoline) engine to start so that it can charge th battery. The prius will wait as long as it can before starting the engine when standing still as it's "hoping" that you will have to drive soon and need the engine anyway. But if the battery falls to low it will start the engine.

There is nothing to worry about when driving your prius. You cannot hurt it if all you do is but the gear in drive, set the climiate to auto and simply drive. Sure it might not always sound like a normal car but you will get used to it's noises/quirks.

So simply drive it and enjoy the view!

MegansPrius · 06-14-2007, 11:26 AM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Marlin @ Jun 14 2007, 10:20 AM) [snapback]461552[/snapback]</div>

Quote:

Is this post for real?
[/b]

Just in case it is...

The car won't fully discharge the battery. Nor will it fully charge it. The scale on the MFD screen from full to empty is actually showing you about 80% full (top) and 20% full (bottom) (NOTE: that's off the top of my head from other posts. Corrections welcome). Never fully emptying or filling the battery increases the lifespan of the battery.

The ICE (internal combustion engine) will come on and run when you can't run off battery power. The car will not let you empty the battery. The only real way you can willfully do that is to run out of gas and keep driving, something you should never do. There's no need to turn off the A/C unless you want to save gas.

JimboK · 06-14-2007, 11:27 AM

Sounds like normal behavior. First, your AC runs on the battery, so if you're in stop and go traffic with no opportunity for the battery to be recharged, it will pull your battery down ... to a point. Which leads to the second point: Your battery is fine. The car has a very sophisticated battery management system to prevent over-charging and over-discharging. What you see on the display as "full" (all green bars) to "empty" (no bars) is actually from 80% charge to 40%. While sitting still the battery can discharge down to 2 pink bars, but then the engine kicks on to keep it from going much further. It's still anywhere from about 43 to 48% charged with two pink bars.

nncyang · 06-14-2007, 11:41 AM

Ok, I just gave myself away as a noob

. Thanks for explaining this to me. I was hoping that at some point, my car would stop draining the battery, but when it went down to the last 2 bars, I got scared. I guess I should've had more faith and waited for the gas engine to start taking over. My faith is restored in the Prius. I love it more everyday!

SomervillePrius · 06-14-2007, 11:54 AM

It's cool,

Sorry if we came off "defensive". You can learn a lot about the car by reading posts here (and ask questions). But the first rule to remember is that you can't hurt the Prius just driving it.

Turning the AC off might actually be worse (for the car) then leaving it on as the Battery is cooled by the same air you are (and like the same temperature range). Letting the air around the battery heat to >100F could (maybe) damage it. That said the Prius has "intelligence" for that as well and will limit battery use when it's to hot.

Have fun driving and enjoy the car!

06-14-2007, 11:23 AM	#4
qbee42 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Northern Michigan Posts: 10,477 My Car: 2006 Prius Model: Package: #7 Thanks: 95 Thanked 389 Times in 290 Posts Friends: 10	It's not a problem. You are trying to out-think the Prius - don't do that. Just drive it and it will take care of itself. When the battery gets low, the Prius will turn on the ICE and charge. Turning off the air isn't necessary either, and in fact is hard on the battery since the cabin air conditioning also cools the battery. The only way you can induce a battery SOC problem is by shifting into neutral, in which case the ICE can't charge the battery. The Prius will complain about it if you do. Tom __________________ *Black* 2006 package #7 Northern Michigan

06-14-2007, 11:26 AM	#6
SomervillePrius Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Somerville, MA Posts: 946 My Car: 2006 Prius Model: Package: #9 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post Friends: 0	Ok, Not sure this is a serious question or not. If it is you are missing some basic understanding of how a hybrid system works. What is the main way the battery gets charged? A: By the engine. So once the Battery is drained the Prius will force the (gasoline) engine to start so that it can charge th battery. The prius will wait as long as it can before starting the engine when standing still as it's "hoping" that you will have to drive soon and need the engine anyway. But if the battery falls to low it will start the engine. There is nothing to worry about when driving your prius. You cannot hurt it if all you do is but the gear in drive, set the climiate to auto and simply drive. Sure it might not always sound like a normal car but you will get used to it's noises/quirks. So simply drive it and enjoy the view! __________________ help start a revolution! Demand PLUG IN Hybrids to be built today!

06-14-2007, 11:27 AM	#8
JimboK One owner, low mileage Join Date: May 2006 Location: Chesterfield, VA Posts: 2,548 My Car: 2005 Prius Model: Package: #2 Thanks: 4 Thanked 88 Times in 69 Posts Friends: 6	Sounds like normal behavior. First, your AC runs on the battery, so if you're in stop and go traffic with no opportunity for the battery to be recharged, it will pull your battery down ... to a point. Which leads to the second point: Your battery is fine. The car has a very sophisticated battery management system to prevent over-charging and over-discharging. What you see on the display as "full" (all green bars) to "empty" (no bars) is actually from 80% charge to 40%. While sitting still the battery can discharge down to 2 pink bars, but then the engine kicks on to keep it from going much further. It's still anywhere from about 43 to 48% charged with two pink bars. __________________ Jim Click here for car details.

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06-14-2007, 11:18 AM	#1
nncyang Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 11 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	This past weekend, I was driving in deadstop highway traffic. All I did was step on brake, release, step on brake, etc. so everything was coming out of the battery. I had the A/C on in the beginning, but soon realized that my battery was going from green, to blue, to less and less by the minute so I turned that sucker off. I was hardcore panicking at that point. It was in the 90's and I had no A/C and my car was dying! What I ended up doing was waiting for there to be a few feet between me and the other car, stomping on the gas, so the car could charge in the glide. Has anyone else had this problem?! I only have 3000 miles on my 2007 Prius and had never had any battery problems before this. As an afternote, the battery quickly charged back up when I was finally able to drive normal.

06-14-2007, 11:20 AM	#2
Marlin Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Bucks County, PA Posts: 1,408 My Car: 2005 Prius Model: Package: #6 Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts Friends: 0	Is this post for real?

06-14-2007, 11:22 AM	#3
Trevor Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Staten Island, NY Posts: 334 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post Friends: 1	You don't have to worry about the battery, it will take care of itself. You don't have to turn your A/C off. As long as you have gas in the car, everything will be fine. I'm sure others will chime in with the more technical details, but you can drive the Prius without ever looking at how much the battery is charged. The important thing is having gas in the car.

06-14-2007, 11:41 AM	#9
nncyang Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 11 My Car: Model: Package: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts Friends: 0	Ok, I just gave myself away as a noob . Thanks for explaining this to me. I was hoping that at some point, my car would stop draining the battery, but when it went down to the last 2 bars, I got scared. I guess I should've had more faith and waited for the gas engine to start taking over. My faith is restored in the Prius. I love it more everyday!

06-14-2007, 11:54 AM	#10
SomervillePrius Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Somerville, MA Posts: 946 My Car: 2006 Prius Model: Package: #9 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post Friends: 0	It's cool, Sorry if we came off "defensive". You can learn a lot about the car by reading posts here (and ask questions). But the first rule to remember is that you can't hurt the Prius just driving it. Turning the AC off might actually be worse (for the car) then leaving it on as the Battery is cooled by the same air you are (and like the same temperature range). Letting the air around the battery heat to >100F could (maybe) damage it. That said the Prius has "intelligence" for that as well and will limit battery use when it's to hot. Have fun driving and enjoy the car!