Battery power loss when idling

Ditto what Evan said. The battery screen you see is actually showing anywhere from a 40-80% state of charge (SOC). The car's system will NEVER allow the battery to be completely depleted; even if it gets down to the last bar or 2, consider that you still have at least 40% SOC left in it. When it does get that low, the car's gas engine will simply come on to send more juice to the battery and 'fill it up' a bit more, so to speak.

There have been a handful of Priuschatters who have gone camping in the Prius and slept in the Prius overnight, with the heater on. The engine would simply cycle on and off throughout the night as needed to keep the battery charged up~personally I think that's pretty neat!! Just make sure you have gas in the car if you're planning on sitting with it powered on for an extended period of time, because obviously if it runs out of gas the gas engine isn't able to recharge the battery.

Happy motoring!!!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dulcimer @ Aug 21 2006, 03:32 PM) [snapback]306945[/snapback]</div>

Don't see why not! We sat in 100 degree temps for over a half hour yesterday waiting for my ex to get to the dropoff with my daughter, and after the battery level dropped enough the engine would kick in for about thirty seconds or so every three or four minutes. Probably should have paid more attention to it, just for curiousity's sake... Anyway, we stayed nice and cool, though we lost a bit over a half mile per gallon on our average for that tank. Believe me, we considered it a fair trade! Once things cool off after sunset, the engine would need to kick in less frequently, so the tank would last longer. Cool car, huh?

 

There are a few overnight/camping mentions here in the Sleeping In Your Prius thread.

And here's another (very short) camping thread.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dulcimer @ Aug 21 2006, 12:42 PM) [snapback]306894[/snapback]</div>

There's been discussed in other forms, like using the Prius for the Drive-In; ie will the 12-volt battery last for a double feature, or leave it in the Ready mode.

 

Your subject line says it all: a Prius doesn't really idle. In a situation where a "normal" car would idle, the Prius shuts of the ICE, so anything running is running on battery power. Obviously that takes charge from the battery, which eventually will get pulled down to where the ICE will kick back on to recharge.

Just like The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the Prius manual should come with large letters on the front saying "Don't Panic". Just drive it as you would any other car and it will work just fine.

Tom

 

just drive the car and dont worry about it. the Prius is more than capable of taking care of itself, dont try to second guess the technical operation of the vehicle, youll enjoy it more.

 

One could let it run all night to enjoy the A/C. The only risk is running out of gas. That would be very bad in this situation because it will drain the main battery, which is a whole lot of trouble to fix.

But waiting for a train to pass, or indulging in heavy petting during a double feature at a drive in? No problem; just check the gas gauge at intervals.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dulcimer @ Aug 21 2006, 03:11 PM) [snapback]307054[/snapback]</div>

There's even been discussions about adding an AC inverter so if you have a power outage at your house you could use your Prius as an emergency power system.