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Hybrid Battery Sometimes Goes Down to Two Bars: Is This Normal?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by fosta, Jul 11, 2014.

  1. fosta

    fosta New Member

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    I'm a new Prius owner and don't know if this is normal. Sometimes after being parked for a while and restarted, the icon shows the battery is down to 2 bars. It charges back up after a mile or so of driving. Also if I sit and idle for a while, the battery will drop down, and once going thru a car wash (car in Neutral), a message came on the screen that the Tractor Battery was in trouble (I don't remember the exact words). When I put the car in gear and drove off, the message disappeared and the battery charged up. What's the deal?
     
    #1 fosta, Jul 11, 2014
  2. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

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    I urge you to not use N. The car cannot recharge the big battery in N. (I also urge you not to use ACC but always be in READY, but that is to protect the little 12v battery)
     
    #2 JimboPalmer, Jul 11, 2014
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  3. fosta

    fosta New Member

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    Message Received, Jimbo! I'll never use N again! But the first part of my question still stands. The battery goes down (sometimes) when the car is in Park and turned off for a while, and also (sometimes) when in P and sitting still. Normal?
     
    #3 fosta, Jul 11, 2014
  4. qdllc

    qdllc Senior Member

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    I've seen it go that low. I consider it the bottom range at which point the ICE needs to start a charge cycle.
     
    #4 qdllc, Jul 11, 2014
  5. ibmoses

    ibmoses Junior Member

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    Car has to be in N going through Car Wash.
    Mine does the same as you describe, I hope its normal.

    Once I had to leave it running for an hour or so in direct sunlight in P with AC on full blast.

    ICE would kick on, charge to three bars, ICE kick off till the two bars were purple for a while then ICE back on...repeat....
     
    #5 ibmoses, Jul 11, 2014
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  6. DoubleDAZ

    DoubleDAZ Senior Member

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    #6 DoubleDAZ, Jul 11, 2014
  7. drysider

    drysider Active Member

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    As noted above, the system will try to keep the battery above 2 bars. During warmup, it will continue to charge the battery even above 3 bars. It will also charge at higher speeds when the engine has excess capacity.
     
    #7 drysider, Jul 11, 2014
  8. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Low speed driving, especially up an incline (think parking garage), will run it down to two bars for us, without fail.

    But if you're parking with semi-high state of charge, and coming back to it depleted, not sure.
     
    #8 Mendel Leisk, Jul 11, 2014
  9. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

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    #9 JimboPalmer, Jul 11, 2014
    Last edited: Jul 11, 2014
  10. Okinawa

    Okinawa Senior Member

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    No longer than it takes to go through a car wash, putting in neutral should not be a concern. I do it all the time with no warning lights and no problem.
     
    #10 Okinawa, Jul 11, 2014
  11. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    In hot conditions with heavy AC use, the AC can drain the battery quickly. If too hot to shut off the AC, then look at the battery meter before entering the car wash. If it is too low, either skip the wash, or do something to boost the battery charge first. If you don't want to drive around, then Search for threads about 'forced charging'.

    In the 'frontwoods', that system (stationary car, moving apparatus) lacks adequate throughput for the local market. Here, the apparatus remains stationary, while the assembly line of cars is pushed through on a moving track.
     
    #11 fuzzy1, Jul 11, 2014
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  12. phoenixgreg

    phoenixgreg Senior member

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    OP: 2 bars is very common here (desert driving) since the electric compressor really sucks the juice out of the HV battery. Your car's regulator (ECU) will take care of it and should just run the ICE until more bars appear. If not, get a dealer to check out the systems.
     
    #12 phoenixgreg, Jul 11, 2014
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