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Prius Battery Charge 2012

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by s2kinfinite, Dec 13, 2015.

  1. s2kinfinite

    s2kinfinite Junior Member

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    Hello all...I notice when I drive to work sometimes and right before I shut my car off I see 6 bars or 80 percent full on battery. After work I start the car and I see a strange 2 bars!!!! Where did 5-6 bars disappear to? I never left any lights on or anything.

    Does anyone notice this? I still have warranty but would like to know. I also recently have rarely seen it go FULL charge like image below.

    Your experience is greatly appreciated.

    [​IMG]
     
    #1 s2kinfinite, Dec 13, 2015
  2. FuelMiser

    FuelMiser Senior Member

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    The traction battery is disconnected when you power off, so even if you left lights on, this would not take charge off the big battery. All I can think is your traction battery is nearing end of life. How many miles on your car? The 39.7 MPG on your HSI is pretty low for a Gen III. From this brief description, your car is not running as efficient as the Gen III should. Perhaps you need a visit to the dealer to have it diagnosed, codes, etc.
     
    #2 FuelMiser, Dec 13, 2015
  3. David Beale

    David Beale Senior Member

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    It's "normal", as in it happens to all of us to some extent. I suspect it has to do with the temperature change. Keep in mind, there is NO WAY to really -know- the charge level in a battery. It's an estimate only. The HSD in the Prius uses calculation of charge taken out vs charge put in. They do some temperature compensation etc. but they can't compensate for all factors (charging efficiency, for example).

    Also remember, all bars lit is just about 80% actual charge -estimated- and no bars lit is actually about 30% charge -estimated-.
     
    #3 David Beale, Dec 13, 2015
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    how many miles on her? how long have you owned? when did you first notice?
     
    #4 bisco, Dec 13, 2015
  5. s2kinfinite

    s2kinfinite Junior Member

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    I have 46602 miles on the car....

    Thanks for your input.
     
    #5 s2kinfinite, Dec 14, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 14, 2015
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    doesn't seem right to me. park it at the dealer at the end of the day. have them note the battery level, then meet them in the morning to look at it.
     
    #6 bisco, Dec 14, 2015
  7. s2kinfinite

    s2kinfinite Junior Member

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    46602 miles and I've noticed it for a while just notice my mpg is still good so decided to ask your experiences. I still have warranty so maybe will take it in for a diagnosis.

    Thanks Bisco for the suggestion. I think I should arrange it.
     
    #7 s2kinfinite, Dec 14, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 14, 2015
  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    we've seen reports here of one or two bars lost while parked. i don't recall more than that.
     
    #8 bisco, Dec 14, 2015
  9. FuelMiser

    FuelMiser Senior Member

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    So you think 39.7 MPG is "good"? I did note your average MPH is 47, so that's pretty fast. Maybe you do a lot of highway driving which keeps the MPG lower.
     
    #9 FuelMiser, Dec 14, 2015
  10. s2kinfinite

    s2kinfinite Junior Member

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    Thanks for the feed back.

    Sorry I forgot to state my consumption is actually normal 47 - 52 mpg. It's just the battery is very strange.
     
    #10 s2kinfinite, Dec 14, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 14, 2015
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