Battery Status Bars - Is this Right?

Hello Everyone. My first Post here. On Friday, July 18, I took delivery of my 2008 Prius Touring, Bright Silver Met, #5 plus leather.

I am confused on how the Battery status and Energy display are reporting the status of my Hybrid System.
I live just N.E. of Atlanta, GA. I picked up the Prius in Jacksonville, Fl. I drove back up I-75. Speeds were between 55 - 65 MPH. I averaged 42.6 MPG, which I am very pleased with. However:
1. The battery indicator never got above 6 BARS on the Interstate.

I have been driving around Snellville / Lawrenceville since getting back on Friday evening.
2. The Energy display almost never goes into Battery only mode. The ICE is almost always running, even after driving around town for 30 minutes.
3. The Energy display indicates Battery only operation ONLY if I creep at about 10 - 15 MPH. If I step down on the accelerator even slightly, the ICE starts and the instant MPG drops to the teens. This is true even on level pavement.
4. When stopped at traffic lights, the Battery Status may drop one or two bars.
5. I have seen 7 Bars (GREEN) on the display only twice, and only after re-generating downhill for a good distance. When I started up the next slight incline at about 30 MPH, the Status dropped to 6 or 5 bars within one minute, and the ICE was powering the vehicle.
6. The Battery Status indicator reports the Battery fluctuating a lot between 3 bars and 6 bars. It seem to drop over the course of 10 - 15 minutes when driving in heavy traffic and stopping frequently, then goes back up to 5 - 6 bars within 2 - 3 minutes of driving 30 - 40 MPH.

Does all this seem normal, or might I have a problem????

Thanks, Robert.

Your description is normal in every way. Don't worry. Your gas mileage will improve as the engine breaks in. My mileage jumped about 6mpg after about 3000 miles. I now get about 50 mpg even with air conditioning.

Use the MFD to help you learn how to drive the car, but don't let it worry you. All systems are "go."

Don't worry so much about the bars on your battery. You will never totally go without battery power.

Okay,
I appreciate the information. I'll quit obsessing on the display and just drive the thing.

You'll probably never stop obsessing about the displays! That's part of what makes driving the vehicle so much fun. Everyone is correct in that you should see substantial improvement in mpg after you've logged several thousand miles on your car. In my case, the mpg's improved after ~6,000 miles driven. With A/C running full blast, I'm averaging about 52mpg.

Stupid Question time

What is MFD? I still haven't gotten through the manual but laughed out loud at the part about not carrying an aquarium with water in it....DUH! Someone must have done that and now they have to put in a disclaimer...

I just picked mine up Saturday - I got so tired of waiting I took one that didn't match my order....

Yeah, I wish we can all watch DVD on the display. But that will be very unsafe.

Simply drive your Prius and enjoy every moment saving gas. As members stated, your battery status is very normal. Congrats on your new ride.

Hello. Congrats on your new Prius. What color, etc.?

MFD stands for 'Multi Function Display'.

Graciegirl,

MFD stands for Multi Function Display. Its the screen in the middle of your dashboard that shows you the various informational display screens, i.e., energy usage, nav, telephone, etc.

Sounds like you got a lemon. Better sell it to me.

I live near you in Georgia. Look for a Spectra Blue Mica Touring Prius. I'll wave if I see you.

I got my car this weekend. Make sure the AC is not on too low a temperature and coast down hills. I am getting 47 mpg and seem to be doing better on the highway than off. Good luck and congratulations on your new Prius.

Robert, one other thing (and this was a very sensitive issue): If your wife or SO drives your car, you may see a significant drop in mileage. Of course the trick is tactfully explaining to them how the Prius requires a different style of driving to obtain maximal mileage.

A lot of the techniques to gain gas mileage are useful for any car, but the MFD will show you exactly how to drive for mileage. I personally believe the economy screens of the MFD should be required in all new cars.

If you do a reset of the mileage frequently at first, you'll get a better picture of where you're losing/gaining mileage. After you've got a couple of hundred miles on the screen it's a bit harder to tell how you've done on a recent jaunt because of averaging. But explain to anyone else who drives the car that they should take it as a challenge to bring the Prius back with no less an average than when they took it out. My wife and I sort of have a contest going. I can still beat her (I drive it more) but she's learning fast!

You know, it never fails to amaze me what makes into manuals sometimes.

Moving an aquarium with water in it is bad news for any number of reasons....it does make me wonder exactly what happened....

Robert,

Congrats on the new ride!

I guess someone already the old "it's a lemon, but I'd be happy do help you out by buying it" ploy....

Like efusco said, everything you described is really normal. There's a bunch of good things around here about driving the car for mpg and just generally how some of the features work.

Two of the best are:

http://priuschat.com/forums/fuel-economy/14701-new-owner-want-mpg-help-read-first.html

http://priuschat.com/forums/newbie-forum/48705-what-every-newb-should-know.html

Those are good places to start. There's other stuff that you'll find on your own.

John1701a's site is also very information rich:

John's Stuff - Toyota Prius and more