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Optimal charging level leaving Prius Prime parked for long periods

Discussion in 'Prime Main Forum (2017-2022)' started by BChoAss, Jun 18, 2022.

  1. Gokhan

    Gokhan Senior Member

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    The best is to ask Toyota about this.
     
  2. blizzardgal

    blizzardgal Junior Member

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    I don't really have any input as to what is the optimum charging methods, but I have never ran any type of schedule. I charge most of the time when I run out of battery charge, but at times I may charge after just a couple of miles, when it is half depleted or what ever and after 3 years I have not noticed any degradation of the battery pack. Seems to be just as good as when I purchased it new. Great car. I would have to say it is probably the best automobile that I have ever owned. Sure is a blessing now with fuel costs and we rarely have to purchase gas maybe once every couple of months 3/4 a tank.
     
  3. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    The point is that system is designed to use the battery in a manner for longest life. Otherwise Toyota is on the hook of warranty fees. The hybrid manuals never had any guide lines about battery SOC for storage, and the majority have never had any issues. For those that did, it seemed to be cases of the cars not seeing regular use. Sitting means the battery charge can drop below the ideal charge range, and turning the car off when the battery is at its lowest SOC means getting a deeper discharge then, and spending more time at that low SOC.
     
  4. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    Well, whatever the rationale Toyota had to put that sentence in the manual, it is hard to believe that it was an "error" on their part. If it was, they had 5+ years to fix it and so far nothing has changed in the manual. Yeah, for those who must store a PP for a "long time" whatever that period means, it is a big dilemma. Should you follow Toyota's direction or generalized caution, or follow your intuition. I basically stopped worrying about it. Currently, I don't drive the car every day, but I don't keep it parked for longer than at most for a week at a time. I just charge my car whenever I can and drive it as often as I need to. It usually sits with somewhere between 0% to 100% SOC shown on the MID... And that's good enough for me.
     
    #44 Salamander_King, Jun 20, 2022
    Last edited: Jun 20, 2022
    jerrymildred and Gokhan like this.
  5. Gokhan

    Gokhan Senior Member

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    LOL
     
  6. Washingtonian

    Washingtonian Senior Member

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    What I have learned from reading these 45 inputs is that for normal driving where I just drive it 15 to 25 miles from home to shopping and back, don't worry about it. Plug it in when I get home and unplug it the next morning when I think about it. For those times when I am cruising for 60 days or so, don't leave it completely depleted when I leave home; have some charge left in it. Otherwise, as one of our wise contributors said "Just drive it!".
    There is one improvement that Toyota could make, though. After I have been out shopping and am a block or two from home, and the HUD says that I now have zero miles left and the ICE is coming on, I would like to have a button to push to give me an additional 2-3% traction battery usage. I hate to have the ICE come on for two minutes and then have to shut it off.
     
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  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i've been asking for that for 10 years. other mfgs have added that feature. toyota is too conservative
     
  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    it was there in 2012, so they've had 10 years :cool:
     
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  9. Gokhan

    Gokhan Senior Member

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    There is the reason behind it!

    It was meant for the original plug-in Prius with the smaller, 4.4-kWh battery. The 0% SOC on the MFD would correspond to about a 30% actual SOC, which is reasonable for storage. I don't think that sentence about leaving the car at the 0% SOC applies to the current generation with the larger, 8.79-kWh battery, as it only corresponds to a 14% actual SOC, which is probably too low for storage to have a prolonged battery life.

    By the way, part of my job is to write technical manuals for a living. I appreciate that it's a difficult task.
     
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  10. BChoAss

    BChoAss Junior Member

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    Reading through the multiple post I was curious and decided to check the Prius PHV Japanese manual and apparently the Japanese manual state the same recommendations as the U.S. manual:

    トヨタ 取扱説明書 | プリウスPHV | トヨタ自動車WEBサイト

    6/2021 Manual pg.142
    Translation:
    6/2021 Manual pg.82
    Translation:
    I also stumbled across this Japanese article:
    (電気自動車用バッテリーの寿命はいつ? 交換や値段、仕組みについて解説 - EV DAYS | EVのある暮らしを始めよう)

     
    #50 BChoAss, Jun 23, 2022
    Last edited: Jun 23, 2022
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