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Maximizing Battery Charge

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Surfinbird, May 18, 2005.

  1. Surfinbird

    Surfinbird Junior Member

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    I've had my new 2005 Prius about three weeks and love it! I'm still learning the best ways to drive to maximize mileage (So far avg. about 54 mpg over the three weeks.) But I still haven't gotten the battery to charge over 9 bars.... usually runs in the 6-8 area. Is it important to get a full charge? Is it a function of how much the gas motor runs?

    I commute from the Burbs to downtown Chicago, about 25 miles one way, with all the usual slowed traffic. That's when I love to see that 99.9 Mpg! But I have done some longer trips with cruise, and while recharging regularaly, the battery has never been maxed out.

    Just wondering if this is par for the course.

    Surfinbird
     
    #1 Surfinbird, May 18, 2005
  2. kidtwist

    kidtwist New Member

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    The battery almost never gets over 9 bars. I never seen it in mine, and from what I've read, few people have. I think you'd have to go down a very long slope to see it.
     
    #2 kidtwist, May 18, 2005
  3. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Of course it won't go to 9 bars. There are only 8 bars!
     
    #3 Tideland Prius, May 18, 2005
  4. jeromep

    jeromep Member

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    There is no need to worry about the battery. The computer system will maintain the charge at an approrpriate and battery life maximizing level. You usually only get green if you are going downhill for an extended period of time.

    On my daily commute I basically go downhill and by the time I pull into the garage at work I have 7 bars and green. When I go home I return to 5 or 6 bars and blue.

    Also, the top of the battery graph no screen is only about 80% of total charge and a fully empty battery graph is about 40% of total battery charge. The vehicle likes to keep battery charge around 60%. This is all part of Toyota's goal of running these Nimh batterys for the life of the vehicle.
     
    #4 jeromep, May 18, 2005
  5. raybon

    raybon New Member

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    I get to see a full bank of green bars every day... You will only see them on a pretty long steady downhill. Seems like the Prius likes to stay about 2 bars down from full for me.

    Getting to the red bars is easy, leave the air conditioner while stopped in neutral, or go up a really long hill.

    My commute is about 7.5 miles up hill, 7.5 miles down hill, and 20 miles relatively flat each way.

    Glenn
     
    #5 raybon, May 18, 2005
  6. DanMan32

    DanMan32 Senior Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(raybon\";p=\"90647)</div>
    You don't have to be in Neutral. Being in park is sufficient. ICE will start at low end of 2 bars.
     
    #6 DanMan32, May 18, 2005
  7. GeekyDragon

    GeekyDragon New Member

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    I thought I read in the manual that the battery won't recharge when the car is in neutral... Was I wrong?
     
    #7 GeekyDragon, May 18, 2005
  8. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Yep, it won't charge. Try it. Go down a hill in D and watch the green arrows point to the battery, then shift into N and watch the arrows disappear.
     
    #8 Tideland Prius, May 18, 2005
  9. Surfinbird

    Surfinbird Junior Member

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    Great feedback.... Thanks everyone. I was looking thru this site yesterday and got even more answers to my questions. The discussion on regenerative braking was very useful. I tried it out this morning!

    Stuck in rush hour traffic, I find I am able to run on battery a good portion of the time. Doing so, I was down to about two bars on the battery. Using a light touch on the brake, I saw the battery bars going up.... even better than just coasting. Impatient drivers aren't real thrilled with my driving technique, as I am not zooming up to keep everyone from cutting in my lane. BUT the big payoff I see is 67.7 mpg over driving 85 miles or so on this last tank.

    My conclusion is, it everyone had a Prius, and actually cared about energy efficiency and dwindling gas reserves, there would be less accidents. Down with road rage!

    Surfinbird
     
    #9 Surfinbird, May 19, 2005
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