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Prius Battery Health Query

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by Raja Mehdi, Jun 23, 2017.

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  1. Raja Mehdi

    Raja Mehdi New Member

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    I've recently purchased a used Prius and what I've noticed about the battery is that it will charge fine when I'm on the move and the battery level will go up, but by the time I park it back in my garage and remember to look at it again, it has gone down to 3 bars. If parked with the ignition on, the battery doesn't deplete rapidly from this point on. When it does go down to two bars, the engine turns itself on to charge it up back to three bars.

    Is this rapid depletion to 3 bars normal, or is something wrong with the battery?
     
    #1 Raja Mehdi, Jun 23, 2017
  2. Aaron Vitolins

    Aaron Vitolins Senior Member

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    Sounds like your battery has lost some capacity, still sound pretty normal. Especially if you're running AC on high or something.
     
    #2 Aaron Vitolins, Jun 23, 2017
  3. Raja Mehdi

    Raja Mehdi New Member

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    I run the AC at 24°c with fan speed on 3. Any solutions for restoring the battery capacity apart from changing the whole ruddy thing?
     
    #3 Raja Mehdi, Jun 23, 2017
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    sounds normal to me, how many km on her? if it's old you can get a prolong charger to recondition it.
     
    #4 bisco, Jun 23, 2017
  5. Raja Mehdi

    Raja Mehdi New Member

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    Around 55000.
     
    #5 Raja Mehdi, Jun 23, 2017
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    and 2014? it's probably fine. has your petrol use gone up?
     
    #6 bisco, Jun 23, 2017
  7. Raja Mehdi

    Raja Mehdi New Member

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    Yes, 2014. And I've only had it for a week with minor usage so I'm still judging the petrol consumption; it seems about alright so far. I wasn't sure if this battery behaviour was normal and that worried me.
     
    #7 Raja Mehdi, Jun 23, 2017
  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    the only significant battery behavior that indicates an impending problem is the gauge going from full to empty repeatedly.
    btw, congrats and welcome!
     
    #8 bisco, Jun 23, 2017
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  9. Raja Mehdi

    Raja Mehdi New Member

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    Yes, that hasn't happened, which is a relief. Thanks and thanks buddy, I was worried but you've been a great help.
     
    #9 Raja Mehdi, Jun 23, 2017
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  10. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    all the best!(y)
     
    #10 bisco, Jun 23, 2017
  11. FuelMiser

    FuelMiser Senior Member

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    It is unclear to me that your battery drops to 3 bars immediately upon arriving at your garage. You don't state that you monitor the battery level all the way home, and then suddenly it drops to 3 bars when you pull in. You seem to say above that upon arriving at your garage and "remember" to look at the battery, it has dropped. So my next statement assumes that you are experiencing a gradual drop in charge during your drive home, and that you simply neglect to monitor the battery level all the way to the garage...
    A normal battery will deplete (lose bars) only during prolonged uphill driving. In level driving, the battery will stay constant and in downhill driving, the battery will increase bars. So, I'd say your symptom is normal only if your drive back to parking in your garage contains sustained uphill driving. This assumes moderate accelerator input, generally in the ECO range, not in the red Power range. In other words, a battery that loses bars for "no good reason" is not normal. Sustained uphill driving and/or sustained acceleration in the Power range are the only good reasons for the battery to lose charge.
     
    #11 FuelMiser, Jun 23, 2017
  12. RyanM

    RyanM Member

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    2010 with almost 242k miles (390k km) and I can have the A/C on for about 10 minutes from a full charge before the engine turns on.

    Original battery.

    Hope this helps.
     
    #12 RyanM, Jun 24, 2017
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  13. Roger T

    Roger T Member

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    In the summer especially parked under the sun, my battery can fall from 7 pips to 2 pips in less than 10 minutes. I have the scangauge, the AC is MAX at 1800W. and the current from the battery is about 10 amps.
     
    #13 Roger T, Jun 25, 2017
  14. Jkan2001

    Jkan2001 Member

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    Do you mean all the way empty to all the way full?
     
    #14 Jkan2001, Jun 27, 2017
  15. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    around 1 or 2 bars to 7 or 8, fairly rapidly. a known symptom of impending doom.
     
    #15 bisco, Jun 27, 2017
  16. Jkan2001

    Jkan2001 Member

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    Hrmm how do you define rapidly? Mine generally hovers are 2-3 when it's on the lower end and up to 6 or 7 when it's more charged.
     
    #16 Jkan2001, Jun 27, 2017
  17. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    every few seconds. yours sounds normal.
     
    #17 bisco, Jun 27, 2017
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  18. ATlam

    ATlam Member

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    this is great info! my battery don't last long with AC running but I guess that is just normal according to this thread.
     
    #18 ATlam, Jun 27, 2017
  19. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    yes, the battery isn't designed to run the a/c for long periods of time. just when the engine shuts down at stoplights and etc.
     
    #19 bisco, Jun 27, 2017
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