2007 Prius battery draining

How many miles do you have on the 2007? How quickly would you say is "quickly"?

 

It really depends on his driving habits. If its not showing any trouble codes/lights, its working fine. I would have him monitor the "Energy" display and drive about 52 or so for 5-10 minutes. This should charge the battery up to its normal 60% level (6 bars). Then slow to 40 and make sure it is in electric only mode and watch the battery for a sudden drop. I don't think there's anything wrong with the car but heat degrades a battery's performance.

 

I would first change the cabin air filter in the car, not sure when was the last time you changed it out. That can be a reason why your car is not cooling properly. I notice a little difference when it comes to my 2006 and 2008 AC systems, the 2008 definitely cools better and seems stronger. But my 2006 still isn't bad.

If the rear hybrid fan is constantly on, that just means the hv battery is getting hot. You have a 8 year/100k mile warranty on the battery so hopefully if there is something wrong, it'll happen before the 8 year mark.

If you have a dog you carry in the car, many times dog hair can get caught in the fan and prohibiting it from working properly. If that is the case, you would need to clean out the fan.

 

You can change the cabin filter in 2 minutes for less than $15. The dealer will charge you $60+ for this cabin filter

SM-N900P ?

 

Since it has been "a few years" since you changed the 12 V battery, it is probably time to have it tested again.

BUT......if the "problem" is just a ~3 MPG reduction in fuel mileage, then that's probably due to the weather and AC use.
And the engine loses a tiny bit of efficiency when it is REALLY hot; so does the main battery.

 

Hi
I have an 07 and live in Tampa area and its very hot here (90F) and the ac works great. Cools the car off very quickly. Not sure why your ac is so poor but that contributes to an unhappy Hybrid battery when the cabin is hot.

Was your car ever in a front end accident?

Signs of impending Hybrid battery death is battery fan always on and on high and the energy meter shows wide swings from full to low charge and these are always with multiple check engine lights. Master warning red exclamation point on dash and accompanied red car icon with exclamation point through it on the mfd alerting to Hybrid failure.

With the year and such low miles ( i have same year & miles) I doubt your having a battery failure your just letting the battery get very hot
because the interior is so hot..
If stored outside make sure you have good tint job. Extend the cloth pull out package rack in the back area to shade the hybrid battery hatch area from direct sunlight.
And always use high quality window shade. If you don't the interior will get so hot you'll never cool it off and the battery will cook.
Your basically killing it. The front window is very big and at a bad angle. I use an recommend the Heat Shield Windshield Shade found here at PRIUS SHOP. The blue bar at top of the page says shop. Click it and buy there shade custom fit for your year car.. It will keep your car very cool and save your battery.

Ge the ac fixed. First thing is to look at the front ac condenser. It sits in front of the radiator and if not flushed out now and then it gets debris and bug filled and the ac will not work good. Take off the top plastic engine off the cover that is over the radiator. The screws just unscrew if you snake your hand behind the screw and push it out while turning. Go to Home Depot and in the AC filter aisle they sell a blue aerosol can of ac condenser cleaner. Spray the condenser down with that soapy cleaner. Let sit them hose off good. Put engine cover back on. Done.

This is the same service you should do to your home ac compressor to extend its life and make the ac much cooler.
That and with car warmed up and ac on max both radiator fans should be running. One fan is for radiator the other is for ac cooling assist.
Both must be on or ac will never get very cool. Common failure item.

Lastly get thermometer. Stick thermometer in vent. Run ac on max cold. Should get down to at least 35-40f degree's colder than ambient temperature.

 

43 mpg is not all that bad, especially if the A/C appears not to be working well. I would have the refrigerant pressures checked to make sure there is no slow leak. Make sure the condenser in front is nice and clean. Most people feel the GenII A/C is good when in proper working order.

The engine running all the time could be indicative that it is not making its usual power levels. That could be due to blocked air flow, dirty throttle body, bad spark plugs. The usual sign of a failing battery is for the charge indicator to swing from high to low and back quickly. If it just stays low, then the power that is used to charge it is not available due to an inefficiency elsewhere.

The HV cooling fan running is not a good sign, but it could be due to the fact that the A/C is not working properly. I've experienced one NC summer, so I know what that entails. If the car is hot, then that is what the cooling fan will have to use to cool the battery.

 

Yes, I agree with the others above. The car is working and operating properly. The vent you speak of is for cooling the battery. It is best for the battery if that vent can suck in cool air from the AC system. If your car's AC is not working properly (which is obviously the case), this prohibits you being comfortable and proper cooling of the HV battery. I think you should have your AC system checked out. The Prius AC isn't the best but, your kids should be comfortable in the back seat.

 

Something is wrong with your aircon. It cannot achieve the desired temperature but is working overly hard in trying to do so. The aircon is powered from the HV battery and this could explain the charge deficit.

There's definitely something wrong with it then.

You've got a big misunderstanding about the purpose of that rear fan. It's NOT to assist in removing heat from the car, it is in fact only there to cool the HV battery. If it's running fast it means that the HV battery is getting too hot! This will shorten it's life and may also be impacting on your MPG too.

Dog hair or other material is not a problem for the cabin filter, it can obstruct the rear fan that cools the battery. If the rear fan is frequently running fast enough to be noticeable then you definitely should check the rear fan and ducting for obstructions. This is vital for the health of your main battery (as is your aircon working correctly).

 

I'm a new member of the forum too so I may be stepping into the hot zone with this post.
I suggest
to have your husband search how to balance the prius traction pack and/or reconditioning the pack.
HV battery balancing | PriusChat

I think since you mentioned "we are not car people" it would be advisable to
find some one to help explain how re-balancing works and if it is the right thing to do
for your prius.

 

I notice in my 2009 Gen II, that if I use the a/c (summer finally arrived here in the NE) the traction battery drops to 1 or 2 bars pretty quickly, so I turn off the a/c and the battery comes back up to full pretty quickly! hope this helps - Wil

DROID4 ?

 

...sorry, I meant to mention that ChuggyPig has 88k on the odometer.

DROID4 ?

 

I'm in NC also. 43 to 45 mpg tells me that Prius is fine.

If you decide to sell it PM me. I'm always looking for another. We have an 05 with 160k miles that runs great. Also have a 13 Camry Hybrid but those darn things hardly avg 40mpg. Lol


iPhone ?