Maximizing battery health - Heat and State of Charge

I would guess they do, and that they know orders of magnitude more about hybrid battery performance than either of us.

 

Here are some additional examples from the manual where a specific number is not provided for a predicted change. They don't put numbers or charts in there because there is no single number or chart that will apply to all drivers and driving conditions.

"Under-inflation also reduces fuel efficiency and tire tread life, and may affect the vehicle’s handling and stopping ability."

"The EV driving range will vary in accordance with conditions such as vehicle speed, the amount of charge remaining in the hybrid battery (traction battery) and the usage of the air conditioning system."

"Restrain your speed as much as possible. The distance that can be driven in EV/EV auto mode will reduce considerably at high speeds."

"Avoid repeated acceleration. Repeated acceleration consumes hybrid battery (traction battery) power, resulting in poor fuel consumption."

 

I have a slightly different thought on all of this, I sometimes "Drive It Like I Stole It".

Then someday in the future, maybe at 100K to 150K miles I will sell it and buy my next Drive It Like I Stole It car.


Rob43

 

that's why i haven't bought a used car since i was a teenager

 

I just try to do what the manual says, as often as I can. The car will protect itself as well as it can and I try not to make that any harder for it to do than necessary in the "Sunshine State."

So, I park in the shade where I can. I use a sun shade if not in the shade. I keep the tonneau cover in place. I use the timer and the climate control whenever possible. And then I drive it even though, if I really took the manual literally, I'd never get it out of the garage. Everything has a lifespan and most of us want our stuff to last, but in the final analysis, it's meant to be used and enjoyed. I enjoy the heck out of mine.

 

These cars are like anything in life, if you can't enjoy them...

One of my favorite things to do with my Prime: When it rains I always look around for V8 Mustangs & Camaros (or similar), then if possible I get besides them at a traffic light, when the light goes green I take off HARD & top out to about ~40 mph. This throws the drivers of these RWD higher HP cars into fits, all I hear behind me to the next traffic light is high RPM sound & wheel spin.... I Laugh & Laugh & Laugh.


Rob43

 

I'm with you. Cars are meant to be driven, but if there are things I can do to extend their life, then I do them.

 

Stopsign drag racing in a Prius. Who would have guessed. Do you have your pink slip on the dash?

 

It's really not done often, but on that rare occasion it sure is fun.


Rob43


PS, most of the time I hyper mile just many of us.

 

Can't endorse it, but I can laugh about it.

 

You guys reminiscing reminds me of this old story about the co founder of Apple being being fined $700 for being caught speeding in a Prius and clocked at 104 mph . Below is the link to the story

Woz gets $700 speeding ticket for doing 104 MPH in Toyota Prius – MacDailyNews

 

No doubt that both of those statements are correct.

The problem often IS......that the people who are writing the manuals are not the ones who know about the real world performance.
I can't help but get the feeling that somebody at the factory said: "Get some information about the batteries and put it HERE." And that's what the manual writer DID.

Kind of like people who post PAGES of real information in answer to questions posed here.......that may or may not actually be related to the original question.

Also......since the information is really about LI batteries, some or most of it likely does NOT apply to all hybrid models.

 

It sounds like you don't want to believe what's in the manual concerning battery life. If you are looking for specific numbers for degradation percentage in the manual, you aren't going to find them. Putting numbers in there could be construed as an implied warranty, and that's not going to happen.

Are there statements in the battery degradation section of the manual that appear to be technically incorrect?

 

No. But if they are technically insignificant, what's the point ?
Except maybe to make it look like they are are imparting some great wisdom to the owner.

Life is too short to worry about crap like that.
You get a better understanding of that as your time winds down.

I quit.

 

sam spade 2, I get what you are saying. In the scope of my life concerns, the future health of my plug in battery would not even make the top 100.

 

here's a challenge - talk to your Toyota sales critter & ask him, "what % of capacity loss is considered to be a warranty issue?" The sales Critters' eyes will either glaze over, or he will baffle you with BS - or if they are honest, they'll say, "what do you mean?" .
Most plug-in traction pack warranties simply refer to catastrophic failure, & not relatively quick or slow capacity loss. Of course this becomes the biggest issue when you live in States like New Mexico, Nevada, Texas, Central Valley California, Florida, & other southern states that often get 100° summer temps. Coastal Washington State? No big deal.
The non-disclosure of this dynamic was what led to the 1st couple years of Nissan Leaf Vehicles getting a nominal class action remedy for premature capacity loss. Nissan knew it would happen, and never told the owners - of which I was one.
Toyota is doing a disservice to its loyal customers by not letting customers understand what happens when you place a plug-in traction pack on 150° hot black asphalt. So unless a plugin is capable of being actively / thermally cooled - it's at the owners own peril, because minimal thermal management will certainly diminish ones capacity range much quicker.
Burying the traction pack thermal management dynamic in the manual is a really chintzy way of letting owners understand what's going on with their expensive battery.
Revisiting this old thread below - it'd appear hot Southern States might expect about a 15% capacity loss/degradation per year, presuming they are charging in hot areas during the day.
Battery issues with 50% loss after 2 years | PriusChat
So - RTFreekingM people!

.

 

Rather than anecdotal opinions I like to talk facts when discussing battery performance
Here is my experience:
Our new Toyota 2008 Prius gas mileage = 45 to 48 mpg.
Our 2008 Prius mileage after 12 years and 150,000 miles = 52 mpg.

The Prius battery pack must have gone through untold thousands and thousands of charge and discharge cycles in that time. Environment was the Southeast United States that is similar to a rain forest in Summer, scorching heat and constant humidity. Car was housed in a garage even in the hottest part of summer. Car never had a single hybrid battery or hybrid system failure in the entire time we owned it.

Toyota battery engineering is rock solid with decades of real world experience in this area of automotive technology.

My worry with Toyota or other automaker battery technology based on my experience = none.