1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Lithium Ion battery on Two Eco

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Technical Discussion' started by priusmatty, Sep 1, 2016.

  1. kithmo

    kithmo Couch Potato

    Joined:
    Apr 25, 2010
    2,404
    2,773
    47
    Location:
    South Yorkshire, UK
    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius
    My assumption was that because the battery was very hot initially, it may be that the system was allowing the battery to cool a little before resuming normal operation. IMO the battery meter doesn't seem to be very accurate on the Gen 4 and I noticed it hangs on around 2 bars for quite a while sometimes before it starts going up again, even when the ice is running or the brakes are regenerating.
     
    RCO and alanclarkeau like this.
  2. RCO

    RCO Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 31, 2016
    3,709
    5,183
    0
    Location:
    Cornwall
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Hard to say, no interior thermometer in mine, but it was very hot to me! :p
    Yes, it had been sitting out in the sun on my driveway.
     
    kithmo likes this.
  3. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2016
    11,491
    14,100
    0
    Location:
    Tampa, FL
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Also, keep in mind that, if you're just starting out and the ICE just fired up, the battery is helping the ICE till the ICE warms up a bit, so no charging going on at that point unless you're coasting or braking. The ICE should charge the battery, though, if you get caught by a traffic light before it warms up.
     
    RCO and kithmo like this.
  4. dirt657

    dirt657 Member

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2018
    159
    42
    0
    Location:
    Arroyo Grande, CA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    So my question is has anyone tried to recondition these batteries? In theory a Li-Ion battery can be reconditioned the same way as Ni-MH correct?
     
  5. Rmay635703

    Rmay635703 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 16, 2016
    2,577
    1,600
    0
    Location:
    Somewhere in Wisconsin
    Vehicle:
    2013 Chevy Volt
    Model:
    N/A
    Nope,

    Overcharge a lithium and you get fire

    Overdischarge and you get a paper weigh
     
    Tande likes this.
  6. Ranko Kohime

    Ranko Kohime Member

    Joined:
    Oct 29, 2017
    71
    32
    0
    Location:
    Ohio
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius
    Model:
    Two Eco
    My Two Eco's meter is very consistent, always adding or dropping a bar at the exact same SoC% from the ScanGauge. Granted the top 15% and bottom 20% are basically not represented on that graph...

    It just does do some VERY strange things with the battery sometimes. Much to my dismay.:confused:

    Or as I like to call it, a sacrifice to Hephaestus. :D
     
    #66 Ranko Kohime, Jul 15, 2019
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 16, 2019
  7. douglasjre

    douglasjre Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 13, 2008
    1,760
    616
    0
    Location:
    Orlando, FL
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    ----USA----
    You're not delineating the difference between lithium ion and lithium polymer. most phones used lithium ion and only a few years old lithium polymer. Drones have to use lithium polymer
     
  8. farmecologist

    farmecologist Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 25, 2015
    1,946
    1,785
    0
    Location:
    Southern MN
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    II
    In theory, Lithium Ion batteries also do worse in very cold conditions than NiMH. If I recall, Toyota may have cited the cold weather use case as the reason they put NiMH in the Prius AWD-e version. Of course, that could also just be speculation from the community here..or just Toyota marketing mumbo jumbo. (y)
     
    jerrymildred likes this.
  9. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 24, 2016
    7,041
    7,580
    0
    Location:
    near Brisbane, Australia
    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    TOYOTA made that statement about NiMH in AWD-e - I can't find it quickly.

    But GreenCarCongress said (as did many others): "The AWD-e models use a newly developed compact Nickel-Metal Hydride (Ni-MH) battery that is designed to provide excellent performance in cold-weather conditions. "

    It seems that most countries only have NiMH - that's all we get in Australia, and I think EU too.
     
  10. Mambo Dave

    Mambo Dave Active Member

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2019
    640
    305
    0
    Location:
    33312
    Vehicle:
    2019 Prius
    Model:
    L Eco
    I've heard that, and it made me feel better about getting what I believe to be the Lith Ion in a south Florida hybrid. All we have here is heat. Should be interesting to see if the super-long-lasting battery life of a Prius can really hold up to the heat of south Florida. Normal 12-volt starting batteries tend to die after two years down here.
     
  11. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2016
    11,491
    14,100
    0
    Location:
    Tampa, FL
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    I don't know for sure about the regular Prius with lithium, but the Prime has heaters in the battery to hep it perform better in cold weather. Yes, the heaters use some juice, but it's more than made up for by the better efficiency of the battery once it's warmed up.
     
    farmecologist likes this.