1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

New Prime/plug-in owner question about battery charging

Discussion in 'Prime Plug-in Charging' started by rpcrowell, Sep 14, 2018.

  1. rpcrowell

    rpcrowell New Member

    Joined:
    Sep 11, 2018
    2
    0
    0
    Location:
    Massachusetts
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Premium
    Hello All,

    I am new to Prius owning and this forum.

    My husband and I just bought a 2018 Prius Prime. We've never owned a PHEV vehicle before so excuse the naive question. Most general battery recommendations are to let the battery drain to almost zero before charging for the health of the battery. Is it the same with a hybrid vehicle?
     
  2. Mark57

    Mark57 2021 Tesla Model 3 LR AWD

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2009
    2,945
    2,735
    0
    Location:
    OK
    Vehicle:
    Other Electric Vehicle
    Model:
    N/A
    Welcome to the site and to Prime ownership. That is true of the old camera NiCad batteries that you didn't want to develop a memory but it's not true of your Lithium battery Prime.

    Lithium batteries don't like being at 0% or 100% for very long but prefer some place in between if they're going to just sit around unused. They like being charged and topped off and used frequently. So as it mentions in the manual, it's best to charge right before you intend to use it and then go out and have fun not burning gas. Many of us use the Charge schedule to be charged "by" a departure time, etc. What they really "don't" want you to do is charge it to full and then let it sit at full for days and days.

    I could go into a lot me detail but that give you an idea.
     
    FuelMiser likes this.
  3. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 8, 2015
    10,958
    8,836
    0
    Location:
    New England
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Just to add to @Mark57 comment, the Prime's traction battery is programed not to reach zero as long as you have some gasoline left in the tank and keep driving it. So driving until EV range reaching to 0 miles is perfectly fine. You still have some battery capacity reserved for regular hybrid driving (HV).
     
    Mark57 likes this.
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,571
    48,862
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    congrats and welcome!

    just drive it, toyota has taken care of everything else.

    all the best!(y)
     
    jerrymildred and Starship16 like this.
  5. FuelMiser

    FuelMiser Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 29, 2008
    1,263
    858
    0
    Location:
    Monument, CO
    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    The most important phrase in your reply!
     
    Salamander_King likes this.
  6. ETP

    ETP 2021 Prime(Limit),Highlander HYB Plat,B52-D,G,F,H

    Joined:
    Apr 12, 2009
    2,799
    1,170
    0
    Location:
    Auburdale FL
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Limited
    So will this charge while driving like a normal Prius?
     
  7. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 8, 2015
    10,958
    8,836
    0
    Location:
    New England
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    When driving HV mode, Prime is just like regular Prius. If you never charge PRIME, you basically have the same car minus 5th seat and smaller cargo, as I understood.
     
  8. Starship16

    Starship16 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 8, 2018
    1,348
    1,452
    0
    Location:
    Beach Christmas
    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius
    Model:
    ----USA----
    That's the best darn advice you'll ever get in these forums! :D

    Don't overthink it.... Just drive it.
     
    bisco likes this.
  9. Lucifer

    Lucifer Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 23, 2015
    1,014
    485
    0
    Location:
    Nh
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Plug-in Advanced
    Let’s say you are driving 150 miles, after you use up the pip’s all electric range you are just like a regular Prius, you have a separate supply of electric that constantly charges and depletes, just like a regular Prius, but, if you catch a mile or two miles of steep downhill section and have to ride your brake the larger traction battery will start to charge also, your dash will indicate that you now have a mile or three of pure electric left.

    Also, in the first 25 miles of pure electric, if you go down a hill riding the brake your pure electric range increases.

    I like to save the pure electric for slow flat parts of the drive so I Push th middle button to let the ice (internal combustion engine) run the vehicle, then push the button for pure electric until I hit a steep hill or a high speed section.
     
  10. Mark57

    Mark57 2021 Tesla Model 3 LR AWD

    Joined:
    Aug 14, 2009
    2,945
    2,735
    0
    Location:
    OK
    Vehicle:
    Other Electric Vehicle
    Model:
    N/A
    I applaud the OP for knowing enough about avoiding the memory effect in some types of batteries to ask the question to begin with. Kudos to you and your husband. The whole "just drive it" comments can sometimes come across to a new owner/new user as "don't ask questions, just shut up and drive it". That is not what this site is about. At least it wasn't when I joined over 9 years ago.
     
    Salamander_King likes this.
  11. axle2152

    axle2152 Active Member

    Joined:
    May 14, 2013
    266
    209
    0
    Location:
    Atlanta, GA
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Plus
    Not sure if anyone mentioned this but when you charge your Prime to 100% it's not actually charged to 100%. I'll have to verify the SOC myself but I have heard that the maximum charge is somewhere around 82%. So you're never really fully charged and you never really fully discharge the battery.
     
    jerrymildred likes this.
  12. JasonG

    JasonG Member

    Joined:
    Jan 24, 2017
    71
    50
    0
    Location:
    San Francisco, CA
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Premium
    Exactly, Toyota has thought of this and will not let you overcharge or completely deplete your battery thus optimizing the life of the battery.

    So, just charge when you can and enjoy!
     
  13. axle2152

    axle2152 Active Member

    Joined:
    May 14, 2013
    266
    209
    0
    Location:
    Atlanta, GA
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Plus
    Oh and I did verify that the SOC after a full charge is ~82%, ~13% when it switches over to HV mode. So it's a pretty good spread.
     
  14. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

    Joined:
    Apr 14, 2009
    12,470
    6,862
    2
    Location:
    Greenwood MS USA
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    I have been driving in the North Cascades this month, I often get 10-15 miles of battery charge on the way down hill
     
    jerrymildred likes this.
  15. CraigM

    CraigM Active Member

    Joined:
    Oct 13, 2017
    208
    208
    0
    Location:
    Portland, Oregon
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    Someday I’m going to go up to Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood (about 6,000ft) and see what I get on the guess-o-meter at the bottom
     
  16. axle2152

    axle2152 Active Member

    Joined:
    May 14, 2013
    266
    209
    0
    Location:
    Atlanta, GA
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Plus
    That's a fair bit, what does your EV range typically start out at (so I can guess what your SOC actually is)?

    Been getting close to 30 miles on a single charge, been getting close to 5 miles/kW.
     
  17. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

    Joined:
    Apr 14, 2009
    12,470
    6,862
    2
    Location:
    Greenwood MS USA
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    I am visiting Washington state and using both my brother''s and daughter's Prime, so I am not aware of my SOC long term. Stevens Pass was my daughter's Prime, Rainy Pass was my brother's Prime. Both are blue 2018 Advanced with under 4000 miles. Sorry.
     
  18. axle2152

    axle2152 Active Member

    Joined:
    May 14, 2013
    266
    209
    0
    Location:
    Atlanta, GA
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Plus
    @JimboPalmer No worries on that. I suppose the % value would be slightly more telling. Makes sense though, it is a guess-o-meter in the sense that it is basing range on past efficiency...which is good if you're on a commute to work, can be pretty close.

    So far my EV range is estimated about ~28 miles at 100% and it's pretty much right on. Since I am now able to charge at work, I'm 100% EV which is much more efficient and less expensive than gas. Thankfully I live in an area where a fair amount of the electricity is generated by hydroelectric dams (TVA).
     
  19. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2016
    11,490
    14,095
    0
    Location:
    Tampa, FL
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    I'm glad you mentioned that, Axle. I was going to say the same thing That's why @bisco can say, "just drive it." But it's nice to know WHY you can just drive it. @john1701a has a wealth of info on the Prime and other Prius models at his website. Enjoy your new car. I'm jealous in a nice way. :)
     
  20. konjac

    konjac New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 6, 2019
    1
    0
    0
    Location:
    North Carolina
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    Where is the SOC displayed? I would like to check my numbers.