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Stuck in traffic. Took 1 hour to go 13 miles. Battery bar on 2 notches

Discussion in 'Prius c Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by jmbnmc, Jul 6, 2015.

  1. jmbnmc

    jmbnmc New Member

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    That was from traffic on the 15 Frwy reconstruction. How long can the car go on 2 bars stuck in traffic before the batteries die. Went to LAX airport and got stuck in traffic for 1.5 hours to travel 4 miles in traffic and the battery went down again to 2 bars. Battery recharged itself once we left the area and dealership said battery has a good charge. If battery dies can it still run on the full tank of gas ??
     
    Burna J likes this.
  2. Silver bullit

    Silver bullit Right Lane Cruiser

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    I think that when the batteries get down to a certain point the ICU starts recharging them. So no need to worry about the battery dying.
     
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  3. mmmodem

    mmmodem Senior Taste Tester

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    It would be quite a defect for a car not be able to drive slowly for long periods of time. Engine automatically runs whenever the battery goes below 3 bars to recharge.
     
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  4. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    There's nothing wrong with the battery, it would normally go down to 2 bars or less when you're idling or going really slow. It will recharge when you start driving normal speeds
     
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  5. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    When charge hits 2 bars the engine kicks in to avoid any further drop. It doesn't raise it far, when stuck in traffic like that, maybe just to 3 bars. So then it yoyos around 2~3 bars, engine on mostly. It's not really happy, but no danger.
     
  6. ftl

    ftl Explicator

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    At least once a month I drive from Long Island to New Jersey via the Cross Bronx Expressway. For years now there has been extensive roadwork on the westbound side, so even in the early afternoon traffic is heavy - sometimes it takes thirty minutes or more to travel the five miles of the highway.

    In the summer I just leave the A/C running with the windows closed, and between complete stops and slow-speed movement the engine is hardly on at all. As noted above, the traction battery eventually drops to two bars and the engine kicks in for a couple of minutes to push the charge back up, but I find that this extensive stop-and-go driving has very little impact on my mileage - unlike in a non-hybrid where the engine would be running all the time.
     
  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    probably forever. welcome to priuschat.(y)
     
  8. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    Sitting in traffic - or worse, creeping along - really sucks!
    It will drain the battery down to 2 bars so fast you don't even see it coming. But there's nothing wrong with that. The Prius is still performing well within it's design parameters.

    No worries.
     
  9. John Bergendahl

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    Car will cut on to charge it back up,car won't ever let batteries fully die.good ole 15 fwy
     
  10. Okinawa

    Okinawa Senior Member

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    Don't worry about it. The battery is not going to die. The computer takes care of that. It will charge back up.