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110 - 113 F. 'Vegas temps hurts hybrid battery

Discussion in 'Prius v Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Eric "v", Jun 28, 2015.

  1. Eric "v"

    Eric "v" Member

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    In the extreme heat her in 'Vegas I've noticed that my hybrid battery is often in the 2-bar purple zone at startup. I have to put at least 20 miles on it to get it back up to full charge.

    I assume the heat is hurting the battery. I wonder if Li-ion hybrid batteries have this problem as well.
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    no doubt. does anything/one like 120 degrees f?:mad:

    blackjack?

    air conditioned garage, doesn't everybody have one?
     
  3. rdgrimes

    rdgrimes Senior Member

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    More likely you're just running the batt low with the A/C before you shut it off.
     
  4. Bill the Engineer

    Bill the Engineer Senior Member

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    OK, then, so why do you live there?
     
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  5. Tony D

    Tony D Active Member

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    I tend to not to shut the car off if the battery levels are low so when i start up the battery levels are mid way at least

    those heats wont help the battery, that's for sure
     
  6. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Some hot days if our Prius is back in the garage after a drive, the heat really builds up. I've started referring to it as "slow death".

    There's a couple of windows on the back wall; I'll open them and prop a portable fan on one ledge, helps a small bit.

    The garage is enclosed, but not insulated, so tends to heat up on hot days, compounded by a hot car sitting in there.

    Once the car is off, exhausting heat from the battery is anything BUT easy. There's a labyrinth air circuit on either side, and the battery's snugged away under fleeced floor panels.

    Not sure what can be done for it, or how critical it is. Some way to manually run the hybrid battery fan, with a plug-in using converted household electricity, on a timer?
     
    #6 Mendel Leisk, Jun 29, 2015
    Last edited: Jun 29, 2015
  7. Tony D

    Tony D Active Member

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    I don't think blackjack affects battery levels but can have an adverse affect on your bank account
     
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  8. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Regarding running the hybrid battery vent fan after the car's shut down, the solar panel models seem good candidates for a mod.
     
  9. CR94

    CR94 Senior Member

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    How hot is "hot" in Vancouver? Anything over 25 deg C [77 deg F] or so?
     
  10. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    nope. the solar accumulation is tremendous though.:p
     
  11. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Pretty warm for the Great White North. May very dry, a record I think. June shaping up the same. This afternoon:

    image.jpg
     
  12. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i'm sweating already.
     
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  13. Tony D

    Tony D Active Member

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    We're getting a heatwave this week here in Ireland, we are expecting up to 23/24 degrees oC!

    The UK is getting up to 30 or a little more, well London will get the high temps, they get everything down there lol

    We all have air conditioned garages, it's normal
     
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  14. schmuly

    schmuly Member

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    On Sunday we topped out at 43c in Southeastern BC . That is 110.3f I think our Prius melted in the driveway...lol IMG_1517.JPG
     
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  15. Eric "v"

    Eric "v" Member

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    (This is my 2nd post on the subject. The 1st one "disappeared".)

    It has been 105 or over for the last 15 days here in the 'Vegas valley. I've noticed that often my hybrid battery is in the purple zone at startup, even when it was fully charged the day before.

    So is the heat killing my battery? If so I hope Toyota stands behind it in the guarantee.

    I'm desperately trying to clean out my garage so I can put the v inside. Maybe that will make the difference. The garage is well insulated against heat. I can even turn on a wall mounted swamp (evaporative) cooler if necessary.
     
  16. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    your battery is dying a slow premature death. that being said, it will probably make it through the warranty period, that's toyota's goal. you should be fine, albeit with slightly reduced mpg's as time goes by.

    do you see many prius out there? i would think that they would be sparse, considering that kind of heat.
     
  17. jzchen

    jzchen Newbie!

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    Bring it in. Something's wrong with your battery. (That's my humble opinion...)

    BTW- It's not very common that I see a "full charge," meaning all the bars are lit. There are usually two at the top that are not. Which do you mean?
     
  18. Chazz8

    Chazz8 Gadget Lover

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    Eric v, you say your Prius v was fully charged the day before. The only charge that is of interest is how many bars of charge on the traction battery icon right before you turn the vehicle off last time of the day.

    Some thoughts of what could cause a low traction battery;
    Do you run your Prius v in accessory mode (start button twice with no brake pedal press)?
    Do you drive in EV mode on last leg of travel into your garage?
    Do you run the AC for a while after starting up before driving to cool off the car?

    If you turn on your Prius v, it's showing two purple bars of traction battery, and if you let it sit in Ready mode and the gas engine DOES NOT come on to charge up the traction battery to %40 - %50, then you have a malfunction and should have it checked at certified garage.

    When you start driving the Prius v it relies on the traction battery while the ICE goes though warmup stages. This usually takes approximately a minute in moderate summer temps. Could be less for your high Vegas temperatures. If you don't have enough traction battery charge at startup you could increase engine wear and emissions during warmup stages.

    I would like to hear from other Prius v owners in high temperature environments, if they see a significant decrease in traction battery after sitting overnight. I think we would have heard about this on PriusChat before.
     
  19. Eric "v"

    Eric "v" Member

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    OK! OK! OK! I see the light...

    RD, you're correct about the AC and probably I should shut off the AC a few blocks from my home.
    Bisco, Now you've got me scared. You are likely right about the battery "dying a slow death" in the extreme heat.
    So yeah, I must get my garage cleaned out to make room for the v. Presently it looks like a hoarder lives here. ;o)

    I can see the next two weeks as "garage weeks", i.e getting rid of junk like a 7 ft. fake Xmas tree, a small fridge, 4 unused suitcases, etc, etc. AND installing 8 more overhead storage racks and 4 more wall shelving units. Anyone wanna buy some cool camouflaged hip waders lightly used for duck hunting? Or a leg exercise unit for a Bowflex? Hee, hee

    No you can NOT have my 18 ft. Kevlar sea kayak that I have hung from the ceiling. Or the 3 pair of kayak and canoe paddles. Or the 5 ft. tall metal ammunition storage safe. But PLEASE take half of my Xmas decorations - free, no less - and my climbing tree stand I used for deer hunting when I lived in Pennsylvania.
     
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  20. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    My thought too.