Low charge after backing out of driveway of a morning

It is the reversing that is doing it.

Some questions, how many metres is the "short" driveway? What is the HV battery charge normally indicated when you park up at night?

Is it possible to reverse into your parking spot so that you can drive out in the mornings?

If the HV battery is getting soft, which by rights at 11 years old it should be, you could try starting the car and, before moving off, immediately press the accelerator pedal so the ICE (internal combustion engine) starts. With the A/C off initially, leave the car to advance to stage 2 of hybrid warm-up (see my signature for the link to the 5 stages of hybrid warmup), which takes about 55 seconds. At about 45 seconds, you can hear the VVT reset back to normal as the engine starts to run less rattly and more smoothly. If you are able to do this together with driving out forwards, it will be gentler on the HV battery.

BTW, in which part of Australia are you located?

 

Uh oh! If it was reconditioned, then that's a hope against the odds. If it was a new battery, you would not have these symptoms.

It sounds like the cells are out of balance and you're therefore low on battery capacity. If you can get your hands on a Prolong grid charger, your car sounds like it would benefit. If not, I'd drive it as long as I could and then get a new battery from Toyota. Using @dolj's tips should help you get as much out of it as you can.

 

i think you're fine

 

Was this reversing out or driving out forward?

While that isn't a long time, at least it is not very quick either. I'd be more worried if it recharged within a minute.

This sounds normal.

Unless you test the 12 V battery and it shows it is bad, this will not help.

Just to put things into perspective, nothing you have said is unusual given the way you are driving the car.

The reason your HV battery is going down is the fact that you are reversing up a somewhat steep (more than 45º incline??) driveway, even though it is only 10-15 metres. Why this is so, is because in reverse it is all electric drive. Even if the ICE starts while reversing it is only acting as a generator to supply power for the electric motors and does not directly drive the wheels.

My suggestion to warm up and drive out forwards allows the ICE to contribute power to the drive wheels, thereby reducing the load on the HV battery.

However, there is nothing bad, as such, in what is happening, it is what it is. It is just a fact that this use case will inherently add more charge cycles and will inevitably cause the HV battery to wear out in a shorter period. Does that mean you will need to replace the HV battery at 12 years rather than 15? Who knows? But over that, it is not worth losing sleep. If the topography of your area of Tassie is like here in Wellington, then hilly terrain does not really upset the Prius. It seems to cope.

I do have some concern over the claim that the HV battery was reconditioned or replaced (or is that replaced with a reconditioned one?). As you do not necessarily know what you have under the covers, but again you have what you have. You may or may not benefit from having a reconditioning setup yourself. It does extend the useful life of a battery that is going out of balance and/or reduced capacity. the question is, is the outlay (AU$700 - AU$800) a good investment or should that money go towards your new battery?

Find out how much it will cost for Toyota to install a new battery (I think a fellow Aussie said something like AU$2.600 - AU$2,800??) and make sure you have that set aside for when the time comes. In the meantime, just relax and drive the car.

 

Does 2k1Toaster ship to Australia?

 

Actually you're confusing the terminology here... There's a huge difference between a battery that is refurbished/rebuilt versus a battery that is reconditioned.

A refurbished/rebuilt battery is one that has failed and modules have been replaced and lifespan of the pack is limited to the quality of work the person rebuilding it did.

But if a healthy battery that's never failed have only been reconditioned, that means it's been hooked up to a grid charger like the Prolong system at Prolong Battery Systems. Extending the life of your hybrid. — Hybrid Automotive This means this system has been cycled several times with deep discharges to get rid of the poor conductivity issues inside the batter pack. This is what maximizes the lifespan of a battery pack.

In my Prius I went from lots of bars dropping fast going up hills and in traffic, to rock solid performance and more power going uphill with very little bars dropping. That's because I reconditioned my battery's total capacity from 50% to 96% of brand new. Learn more here: BU-807: How to Restore Nickel-based Batteries – Battery University

 

As long as you don't have any warning lights, it's just a loss of capacity due to aging... It's an easy repair... The equipment is a bit expensive, but maybe you can find others nearby and share the cost. Learn more here: FAQ

 

If you go with the Prolong system that Prius Camper talked about, it cost about 50% of new cylinder cells from 2K 1 toaster.

I was recently in that decision gate, but when my hybrid battery started throwing codes I felt it was too late for the Prolong option. I spent $1600 with 2K1Toaster and his cylinder cells. 1 day of do-it-yourself and Voila, brand new battery pack!

I'm not sure how much you would spend having a mechanic tool about your traction battery. Prius Camper listed your best and least-maintenance option( if your Prius is not throwing codes). Good luck.

 

Somehow I missed that in the original and assumed that it was down like most driveways. Going up would be much more demanding.

Ditto.

Not one bit confused. I know the difference but didn't want to branch into a rambling discussion of terminology. Most people, when they say or hear, "reconditioned," don't know that that's much more extensive than simply "rebuilt." I agree that the distinction is important.

 

Rebuilt and reconditioned battery packs are two entirely different things... Why do you keep creating more confusion by claiming "most people" are confused. Why not clear up the confusion instead?

 

Sorry, but that's a major non sequitur. Pointing out that something exists does not create more of it. You've already cleared it up in your usual "gracious" manner. So ...

 

So, back to the original concern, @ProspectivePriusPeruser expressed, The car seems to me to be showing the earliest signs of an aging traction battery. I would try grid charging to see if that will extend the life, but not sure I'd buy a new grid charger for it. That's always a guessing game. A full kit from @2k1Toaster would cost more, but be a for-sure long term fix. As would a new battery from Toyota.

@PriusCamper is totally correct that a rebuild is not the same as a recondition although it is often part of the reconditioning process. Reconditioning will replace any bad parts like cells (using ones as well matched as possible), wires, sensors, etc. and then rebalance all the cells. A simple rebuild just replaces bad parts and assumes they well play well together. There are lots of rebuilders, but not many people have the patience, tools, and skill to recondition.