PiP 'burns' EV range in HV mode (not regen)

As I understand it, if the traction battery in the Prius (plug-in or standard) gets depleted below that magic threshold, like can happen when driving when out of gasoline, that it takes special (expensive) charging equipment to resuscitate it.

 

that didn't happen to me when i ran out of gas in my gen II, so i wonder if there is protection built in. i believe the car quit and the dashboard lit up when i hit 2 purple bars.

 

good point on the time of use benefit, but i'm pretty sure the manual states to "finish charging just before using when possible." so there must be a benefit to that as well.

 

No interpretation necessary. We've known since before rollout. They said it was for BOTH.

Cold soak (rest time before recharging) helps with longevity.

So, it's a win-win to wait.

 

Worst thingfor longevity is to leave it sit for hours fully charged in direct sun of a hot day.

 

Hi Everyone,
This is a great conversation and thanks to all to for this discussion. I am looking for the info regarding the length of time I leave my PiP fully charged, what page in manual? My habit is as follows; get home at midnight and plug in and leave it charged until I leave at 1 pm the next day which is about 10 hours of sitting in the fully charged state. I then charge at work and it sits for about 2 hours in fully charged state. Is the 10 hours too long to sit and will it reduce my battery life? Do I need to make a change?

 

too long. your best bet is to learn how to use the charger.

 

Is the 10 hour limit mentioned in the manual? I remember Toyota's admonition not to leave the car fully charged on a hot day. If ten hours is too long to sit, even in winter temperatures, is it then advisable to "drive off" some of the full charge before the ten hour sit so the battery is no longer fully charged? If so, drop it just 2-3 miles maybe? Is a fully charged battery sitting at 25-30 degrees for hours in the same predicament as the same sitting in the summer sun?

The daily commute during the week is easy to plan in order to have the battery full just minutes before your regular departure time. It is the weekend that's difficult to plan for. There's no guarantee you will use the car Saturday morning after the usual early morning charge you're in the habit of doing during the week. Same goes for Sunday. Our weekend trips are often spontaneous, and I'd like to have a full charge in place and waiting to go. Perhaps the solution is to not charge at all for the weekend, only for the weekly commute, but this tends to defeat the purpose of having a plug-in.

 

Keep in mind that "fully charged" is actually only 85%.

So when consulting with generalized information about lithium batteries, it doesn't apply directly to the plug-in Prius.

Nonetheless, there is still reason to avoid leaving the battery-pack in a "full" state for an extended amount of time.

 

I always charge as soon as I get home, if I don't use the car until the next morning so what, that's why I lease!

 

Thanks john1701a. I guess that until I have several years of battery experience under my belt and can feel easier about how to treat it, I'll always wonder just how long "an extended amount of time" is. I'd like to think it's measured in days and not in hours.

 

That amount becomes obvious when you get in your Prius, after it having sat in temperatures over 100°F baking for a few hours.

It doesn't take any special knowledge or equipment to determine room temperature is clearly not as hard on the battery-pack.

 

That's a relief to hear. Thanks. I'll conclude then that as it sits at present in my 25 degree garage fully charged for the rest of the weekend it is nothing about which to be concerned. In this region of the country, as in yours, we'll have to wait quite a few months before hot, sunny days are a concern.

 

At 25 degrees you could leave your PiP plugged in indefintely. Cold weather really doesn't do anything bad to a battery.

 

i have the same problem on weekends. so, i got an L2 charger. i charge it for an hour, and when i find out i have to leave, it's only a half hour to fill up. and if i have to leave right away, at least i have 8 or 10 miles.

 

that's the great thing about the pip, we don't have to follow the rules to enjoy a great vehicle!

 

Yup, efficient with either fuel.

 

I have to say that, though I appreciate all the advice given by the really knowledgeable people here, and can (just about) follow the logic, I am also convinced by the random scheduling argument. Fortunately we rarely get what you would consider extremes of weather over here, and on the rare occasions we get periods of unbroken hot summer sunshine forecast I might be a bit more careful, but otherwise the unexpected journeys I make in the evening are almost always ones that I can do most or all EV if charged, so it has to be worthwhile - especially since it only takes me 90 minutes for a full charge anyway.

Edited to add: I am pleased to say that I'm way past the stage of having to do a nappy (diaper) run for my children. I suspect, however, that I may be doing them for my grandchildren within the lifetime of this car...

 

Back to the PiP "burning" EV range in HV mode, I noticed something that I wanted to ask about. I have a relatively short drive to the freeway in the morning, and where I get on I can get up to 65 for a while before hitting traffic.

At first, I would run EV mode until on the freeway ramp, then switch to HV mode. However, I would notice that with the gas engine running, my EV range would go down quite quickly for 1 or 2 miles on the "range". Is this because the car is still using EV while the gas engine heats up, or just recalculating the range based on my speed? I started just turning on HV in my driveway in the morning to allow the engine to heat up before getting to the freeway, and no longer notice the drain when getting on the freeway with a warmed up engine.