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2010 HV Battery - never full?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by orlywon, Oct 19, 2016.

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  1. orlywon

    orlywon Member

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    I recently purchased a used 2010 from a private party, second owner with 85k and I noticed the HV battery meter never reaches 100%. The HV meter in my 2005 would turn green when it was at 100%.
    I'll probably be buying the Prolong Battery Charger Kit from Jeff, but wanted to get some feedback from other members first.
    Is this normal for the 2010?

    Thanks!
     

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    #1 orlywon, Oct 19, 2016
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  2. jadziasman

    jadziasman Prius owner emeritus

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    The maximum state of charge cannot reach 100% during normal operation - Toyota does not want the HV battery fully charged to maximize its life. Full green SOC in a Gen 2 is approximately 75% - never was 100%

    upload_2016-10-19_18-57-51.png
     
    #2 jadziasman, Oct 19, 2016
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  3. Aaron Vitolins

    Aaron Vitolins Senior Member

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    That's a good problem to have The more and quicker the battery fills up, the lower capacity the battery has. When ever I drive a Prius I'm hoping to never see a full battery. Old high mileage Prii will charge right up to full after a couple of stops. That's a bad
     
    #3 Aaron Vitolins, Oct 19, 2016
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  4. orlywon

    orlywon Member

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    Thanks for the replies. I was just wondering if the indicator in the display ever showed 100%. I guess it's normal then, and I just have to stop worrying about this too much.
     
    #4 orlywon, Oct 19, 2016
  5. Aaron Vitolins

    Aaron Vitolins Senior Member

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    Yes the Prius is good at taking care of itself. I do try to not cycle the battery as much as I can. I try to prevent sitting for more than a few minutes with the AC going as that will deplete the battery pretty quick. Putting more cycling on the battery, And most importantly use a lot more gas in the next few minutes of actual driving to change the battery back up to six or seven bars
     
    #5 Aaron Vitolins, Oct 19, 2016
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  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    it should operate similarly to your gen 2. my 2012 fills up with light green bars occasionally. if you're sure it hasn't happened and will not happen, something is wrong.
    don't be confused by 'full bars' and 100%, they are two different things.
     
    #6 bisco, Oct 19, 2016
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  7. orlywon

    orlywon Member

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    That's been my experience with my Gen2. I've owned this Gen3 for only a month and I'm still getting used to it.

    My Gen2 used to fill up with green bars once in a while, most of the time it would stay in the blue bar area, purple if the battery was getting too low (usually in stop and go traffic while using my a/c)
    I haven't seen full bars in the Gen3 yet, it always goes up to full bars - 1. That's what I meant. I'll keep an eye on it, try to test it on a downslope and see what happens.

    Thanks!
     
    #7 orlywon, Oct 19, 2016
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  8. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    The 100% he referred is far beyond the 8 bars of a full display. He is conflating your question about the display with the actual battery rating. Those are separate things. The display just shows the normal working range of the battery, which is a narrower window than the full battery rating.

    For flatland or low-elevation-change driving, it is perfectly reasonable to never see more the 6 or 7 bars. The full 8 bars normally appears only after a significant amount of regenerative braking from substantial downhill grades.
     
    #8 fuzzy1, Oct 19, 2016
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  9. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i have seen 8 full after a few miles of flat 55mph.
     
    #9 bisco, Oct 19, 2016
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  10. jadziasman

    jadziasman Prius owner emeritus

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    It is also possible to get the full 8 bars during the winter when temps drop well below freezing. I have seen 8 full bars more than once when stopped at a stop light with the ICE running to maintain engine temperature after the SOC has reached 7 bars after decelerating off of the highway on my way to work. Nevertheless, eight bars is rare - I've only seen it then. No substantial hills in District 6.
     
    #10 jadziasman, Oct 19, 2016
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  11. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Watch it when going down a long steep hill. Don't shift to B, and use brakes normally. By the end of a long descent, say 1/2 mile, it should get to full bars displayed.
     
    #11 Mendel Leisk, Oct 19, 2016
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  12. orlywon

    orlywon Member

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    I just wanted to clarify that I never was able to see 8 full bars (sorry I wasn't specific in my initial post, but couldn't even count the number of bars on the display). As soon as I have a chance, I'll try taking the car in a nice down long steep tonight.

    I usually drive at 65-70mph when there's no traffic, so maybe I won't see the full 8 bars...

    I usually don't frequent hills on my way to and from work, but there's the 241 freeway I can take to see if I can achieve full 8 bars tonight.
     
    #12 orlywon, Oct 19, 2016
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  13. David Beale

    David Beale Senior Member

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    Pearl S has never displayed "full charge" on the battery charge indicator. Also, on Gen III it's always black and white. ;) Pearl (GII) occasionally would go to "full charge" on the battery charge indicator (and green), and would always do so when descending a mountain pass.
    Sounds like normal operation to me.
     
    #13 David Beale, Oct 20, 2016
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  14. orlywon

    orlywon Member

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    After driving the car down a long downhill, I was able to display full bars!

    Thanks!
     

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    #14 orlywon, Oct 20, 2016
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  15. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    were they black and white?
     
    #15 bisco, Oct 20, 2016
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  16. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Just occurred to me OP's taking pics at 72 mph. :eek:​
     
    #16 Mendel Leisk, Oct 20, 2016
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  17. Phatlife

    Phatlife Member

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    I got it 100% full when going down hill with out the b mode basically your riding down a long Hill with you foot on the brake long enough, it will be full.. it's a safety features I believe to keep the battery to become overhead.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
    #17 Phatlife, Oct 20, 2016
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  18. David Beale

    David Beale Senior Member

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    Click on the image, but yes they are still black and white. Well, shades of gray. ;)
     
    #18 David Beale, Oct 21, 2016
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  19. Aaron Vitolins

    Aaron Vitolins Senior Member

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    I always saw very light green.
     
    #19 Aaron Vitolins, Oct 21, 2016
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  20. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i see light green as well.
     
    #20 bisco, Oct 21, 2016
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