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To plug or not to plug?

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by Ayerscreek, Sep 12, 2012.

  1. Ayerscreek

    Ayerscreek New Member

    Joined:
    Jul 22, 2012
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    Location:
    Newberg, Oregon
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    This is my situation: I make a 19 mile round trip into town a couple of times a week. There is a charging station right outside the store, VERY convenient. When I arrive I usually have 3 or 4 EV miles left and when I leave I usually have 10 or 11 miles to get home. I do my entire trip in EV with a couple of miles to spare. If I don't charge up at the store, the last 4 miles is in HV.

    When I first got the car, I would not charge up at the store and my overall consumption was about 102 mpg. But this month since charging there it's made a big difference in my overall consumption, more like 130 mpg with all the other driving I do.

    Do I worry about the health of my battery because I am not depleting it entirely between charges? The manual doesn't seem to address this, only not parking in the full sun while in full charge, not using EV above 62 mph, not too much accelerating, braking, etc. Nothing is mentioned about charging while the battery is warm nor anything about completely draining the battery between charges.

    Would you sacrifice EV efficiency for potential health of the battery? Is this knowable at this point or do we just have to wait and see? And if we wait and see, how do we really know what driving conditions have depleted the EV range of the battery?
     
    #1 Ayerscreek, Sep 12, 2012
  2. bielinsk

    bielinsk Gremlin

    Joined:
    May 4, 2012
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    Location:
    Anaheim
    Vehicle:
    2013 Chevy Volt
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    Charge it at the store. Do not worry about the health of your battery. These batteries do not form "memories"

    I have found that if my battery is dead, I can plug in for 30 minutes and get 6 miles of charge. 45 mins give 8 or so. An hour and I have about 10 miles. Those last few miles take a LONG time to charge. The first 80% or so charges quickly.

    Charge it any chance you get.
     
    #2 bielinsk, Sep 12, 2012
    Woolf likes this.
  3. CharlesH

    CharlesH CA HOV Decal #5 on former PiP

    Joined:
    Nov 27, 2005
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    Location:
    Roseville, CA
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    The issue with rechargeable batteries potentially being damaged by partial discharges applies only to the old NiCd (nickel cadmium) chemistry. It doesn't apply to the lithium batteries used in the plug-in, nor the NiMH (nickel metal hydrid) battery in the other Prius models.
     
    #3 CharlesH, Sep 12, 2012
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    108,695
    49,397
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    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    plug it in, have fun and stop worrying! :)
     
    #4 bisco, Sep 12, 2012
  5. chesleyn

    chesleyn Active Member

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2012
    596
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    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    You are not fully depleting the battery. Toyota only allows us to take the soc of the batteries between 25-85% thus increasing the lifespan of the battery pack. Have fun with your new car and plug it in!


    iPhone ?
     
    #5 chesleyn, Sep 12, 2012
  6. mwbprius

    mwbprius Junior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 21, 2011
    22
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    Location:
    Connecticut
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Advanced
    Great App. I just checked it out. You can login to Entune on your computer and change your cars name. That way on the app you will see your cars name instead of the generic 2012 Prius Plug In
     
    #6 mwbprius, Sep 12, 2012
  7. ultraturtle

    ultraturtle Newb

    Joined:
    Nov 24, 2011
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    Location:
    Peachtree City, GA
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    Think of it this way - during stop and go traffic, the battery is constantly charging (through regenerative braking) and discharging. The system is designed for a tremendous number of charge/discharge cycles at any point in its full range of useable battery charge.
     
    #7 ultraturtle, Sep 12, 2012
  8. rockfeller

    rockfeller Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 20, 2009
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    Location:
    CA
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    In my view, you should worry about how much you pay for your electricity.
    This could vary based on time/tier like in CA. Otherwise Toyota has made sure your LiIon batter in PiP is charged and discharged between its 20%low to 80% max to keep its life running at least up to 15yrs . Otherwise Toyota will pay and fix battery through warranty exchange if it looses its performance to certain level.
     
    #8 rockfeller, Sep 12, 2012
  9. ukr2

    ukr2 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 5, 2007
    1,009
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    Location:
    Victor, NY
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius Prime
    Model:
    XLE
    What do you mean "I have found that if my battery is dead"?
    Is it fully charged after 2-1/2 hours?

    Looks like it is charging, just now linear. Maybe they're Not linear.
     
    #9 ukr2, Sep 12, 2012
  10. PapaSB

    PapaSB Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 9, 2012
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    Location:
    UK
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    N/A
    If its any help. Be aware that there is constant on off recharge when you drive. Breaking or hard acceleration will trickle the charge back in. A plug in charge will do no harm.
    It can only do good, as you will use less gas (petrol as us brits call it)...
     
    #10 PapaSB, Sep 13, 2012
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