2015 Prius Main Battery Charge Question

that is pretty normal, full charge indicator only in specific conditions. questions:

1) did you drive the 2008 the same way?

2) how many bars when you put her away?

3) you should be more concerned with the 12v battery.

4) all the best!

 

Yes, this is normal. The battery won't deplete fully and it rarely fills fully. It's basically a buffer that stores electricity when you coast or lightly brake, and it expends that energy as soon as you accelerate. The only time it completely fills, I think, is on a long downhill grade.

 

System is designed to keep battery between 40% and 80% of charge as much as possible, in order to provide longest battery life. The one bar short is 80%. Find something else to worry about.

 

All the Prius i know of, the lighter socket is dead unless it is in ready.

 

A solar panel might do the trick, directly wired to battery though, since cig lighter plug in is dead when car is off. Or smart trickle charger. Every two or three days you'll be ok, that's our situation. But steady week or two downtime will be hard on 12 volt.

 

You want something called a battery tender. They're available at auto parts stores.