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Thoughts about hot weather on battery

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by Roger T, Oct 2, 2017.

  1. Roger T

    Roger T Member

    Joined:
    Feb 5, 2014
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    Location:
    MA
    Vehicle:
    2014 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    I moved around country to Florida.

    Hot weather totally has a toll on the battery. The Prius NiMH battery heats up itself after i park the car at 60%+ battery charge.Sometimes the battery temperature can surge to 120F (Like when i park the car at 70% battery charge). The car will seems sluggish and regen won't work well.

    This is due to high self discharge rate of NiMH batteries.

    The Gen 4 lithium battery will do better in hot weather. As you see in the picture, the lithium only has 5 % in 24 hours. The hotter the battery is, the higher the self-discharge rate is.

    Prius is still awesome. The car handles this hot weather situation well. The battery always cools down quickly after i turn the car back on.

    I would also drive more on EV before i park to have a lower state of charge before i park.
     

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    #1 Roger T, Oct 2, 2017
    Last edited: Oct 2, 2017
  2. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 22, 2017
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    Location:
    Wilkes Land
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    Wish my HV battery can cool down just only turning engine on. Mine needs engine + all windows up + turn AC for cool air to enter the HV air intake to right of rear passenger seat.
     
    Roger T likes this.
  3. Roger T

    Roger T Member

    Joined:
    Feb 5, 2014
    198
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    Location:
    MA
    Vehicle:
    2014 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    I need to do the same sometimes to make cooling faster. I think as long as the car is on, the battery fan will be on to cool down the battery. Passing cooled air through the vent just make thing faster.

    Sometimes i hope Prius has liquid cooling for the battery lol.