Battery Not Full ??

[artieb]

Got about 1100 miles so far batt. indicator has never been full all bars on, just today moved up a total of one higher but still one or two bars to be full ,is it braking in, cycling etc. book says all bars should top out???....... I love this car.........

[JimboPalmer]

My Prius normally leaves room for more regen, but rarely I will do a ton of braking after a 50 mile cruse and get it to go green. But mostly you always want room to do more regen, so you hope it never tops out.

[Paradox]

Unlike my 2006 where I could often fill the battery to the top, I only did this once in my 2010.

It doesn't matter though... I can definitely stay in battery electric only much longer in my 2010 so it not 'filling up' to the top on the display really means nothing...

[fuzzy1]

On my 2010, I have seen it fill on up all bars only when using regenerative braking while descending hills of at least several hundred vertical feet. When the road flattens out, it is fairly aggressive about burning off the top two bars to make some room for the next descent.

Driven normally, it should never fill up on the flats because this would preclude any regenerative braking on mountain descents, which some of us drive frequently. But you might be able to trick it into filling up more with a series of regen stops from high speeds. I see no point in even trying.

[lenjack]

If it's anything lke the '07, the onboard computers will keep the battery state of charge between 40 to 80%. normally, 80% will ot show full bars. Likely there's no problem.

[daniel]

As lenjack says, the Prius tries to avoid ever having the battery full or empty. And in fact, the icon on the MFD only represents part of the battery, since it will never go below 40% or over 80% of the battery's actual capacity. It maintains these limits to extend the battery life, and is the reason your battery will outlast the life of the car.

(Unfortunately, this only applies to the big traction battery. The little twelve-volt lead-acid battery will probably have to be replaced once every four years or thereabouts, the same as the 12-v battery on any other car.)

[ken1784]

As everybody wrote, Prius is trying to keep the charge level to the target SOC (state of charge).
So, it does not want to be full.

Ken@Japan

[Blind Guy]

Originally Posted by ken1784

As everybody wrote, Prius is trying to keep the charge level to the target SOC (state of charge).
So, it does not want to be full.

Ken@Japan

Ken;

Our V, which is typically driven short duration commutes (seldom more than 7-9 miles round trip), my wife informs me stays at or near the Top Bar almost continuously.

Live in a flat area, with normal driving speeds around 30-50 MPH (but probably only average around 20-25).

Anything to be concerned with?

David (aka Blind Guy)

[qbee42]

Originally Posted by artieb

Got about 1100 miles so far batt. indicator has never been full all bars on, just today moved up a total of one higher but still one or two bars to be full ,is it braking in, cycling etc. book says all bars should top out???....... I love this car.........

What book says that all bars should top out? Time to toss out that book for one with good information. As the others have pointed out, the Prius tries very hard to keep the battery at about the 2/3rd position on the display. That way the car has power when it needs it, but still has room for regenerative braking.

Tom

[qbee42]

Originally Posted by Blind Guy

Ken;

Our V, which is typically driven short duration commutes (seldom more than 7-9 miles round trip), my wife informs me stays at or near the Top Bar almost continuously.

Live in a flat area, with normal driving speeds around 30-50 MPH (but probably only average around 20-25).

Anything to be concerned with?

David (aka Blind Guy)

Short drives require the engine to run to heat it up. While the engine is running it charges the battery and supplies power, so you will find that short drives tend to result in a higher SOC. In cold weather the effect is even more pronounced.

Tom