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Prius Plug in Accepting less power

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by Goks, Jun 1, 2014.

  1. Goks

    Goks Junior Member

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    I have a Prius Plug in 2013. My prius is not accepting its full capacity of power as a result a full charge is showing only 9 to 10 miles on an average these days.

    I charge my car at ChargePoint stations and I always get this alert:
    "We wanted to let you know that your vehicle, which is charging at XXXXXX / XXXX HQ, is drawing very little power. Typically, this means it's fully charged, however, it may also indicate that your vehicle is configured for delayed charging."

    I took my car to the Toyota service center and they say there is nothing wrong with the car but have not been able to give me a valid explanation.

    Anyone has any advice/thoughts on this?
     
    #1 Goks, Jun 1, 2014
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i think we need more info. have you any records of full ev driving distances and comparisons historically? for instance, you say, 'full charge is only showing 9-10 miles these days'. we see a huge fluctuation in ev range estimate, based mostly on temperature. and some of us only see 9-10 max, while others see 17-18. in the winter, i can only drive 11-12 actual ev miles on my commute, but in the summer, i can drive all 15 miles and have a mile left over when i get home.
     
    #2 bisco, Jun 1, 2014
    Last edited: Jun 1, 2014
  3. Jeff N

    Jeff N The answer is 0042

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    That ChargePoint alert is normal. As you noted, it just means your car has stopped drawing power probably because the battery is full.

    ChargePoint will tell you how much power was used for each time you plugged in and started a new session. You should log on to their website or use your ChargePoint smartphone app and see how much energy was used and by looking back at your previous records you can see if there is a trend or difference in how much energy your car is using to recharge the battery from empty to full.

    The amount may vary depending on the battery temperature so try to compare records based on similar temperature conditions.

    Others have more experience with this, but I would expect a full charge to take between 2.6 kWh and 3.0 kWh on a ChargePoint station using 240v.
     
    #3 Jeff N, Jun 1, 2014
  4. Goks

    Goks Junior Member

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    Hi Jeff & Bisco. Thank you for your responses.
    As suggested, I went and checked the ChargePoint records and found that on an average the car has been taking in between 2.8/2.9 Kwh. Even during last summer it had actually around the same and only during winter it kind of went down to 2.6 kWh. But what is worrying me is that during last summer despite the car taking in the same amount of charge was able to run unto 12 miles on EV. But this summer, it is taking in the same amount of charge but running lesser miles on EV. Am not sure if several factors such as the speed at which i am driving on EV plays a role in how much EV gets consumed. I mean if am at 60 mph, may be it consumes more EV for lesser miles vs me driving at 30 mph.
     
    #4 Goks, Jun 2, 2014
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    absolutely. you would have to drive the exact same route you drove last summer, at the same speed on a similar day to see if ev distance was going down. air temp, hills, acceleration and speed have a huge effect.
     
    #5 bisco, Jun 2, 2014
  6. ny_rob

    ny_rob Senior Member

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    There is no doubt about it... as you increase speed- air resistance (and to a lesser extent tire rolling resistance) increases which produces more drag which consumes more power from the battery.
    There is a significant difference between the power required to maintain 30mph vs 60mph.
    FWIW- I checked my Chargepoint records from this time last year my 2012 PIP consumed 2.96 kWh @ 240v for a full charge from empty.
     
    #6 ny_rob, Jun 3, 2014
  7. GregP507

    GregP507 Senior Member

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    I could be wrong, but I thing the computer estimates the EV range based on recent performance. If you have not been getting good EV range for various reasons; hills, aggressive driving, etc., perhaps the EV range is consequently displaying a lower number.
     
    #7 GregP507, Jun 5, 2014
    Kurt Weiske likes this.
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