[PureSpeed1]

Is there a break-in in period for the battery to get to full? I had this car for about a 2 weeks now and i notice the battery bars either stay on the mid to low fluctuating.. My car is brand new and was wondering if i need a certain amount of miles to have the batteries recharged to the fullest.. Is this normal??

 

[frenchie]

Yes, this is normal. There is no break-in period for the battery... but you will never see it full if you go on driving like this ! :wink:

Not because there's something wrong with your driving style (which I don't know), but because the normal behavior for the battery is to never be full in usual driving conditions. Only after long descents when you will be driving across mountains will you have the opportunity to see a "full battery" icon.

It's easy to understand why : the purpose of the battery is to provide some supplementary power when necessary (therefore it must never be empty) and of course, the symmetrical situation, to store some energy that otherwise would be wasted (therefore it must never be full).

You can't put water any more in a full bottle of water...

PS : the "full" and "empty" icons actually don't correspond to a full and an empty battery. They represent the limits above which the hybrid system will never go in order to keep the battery young and healthy.

 

[PureSpeed1]

Thanks for the relief!! Sometimes I also worry because at times, the battery goes all the way to where it has that warning color of two battery bars left before it recharges.. It makes me want to drive normal again to the point where i monitor it making sure it is recharging again.. Please tell me this is normal as well.. thanks in advance!!

 

[frenchie]

Don't worry PureSpeed1 ! 8) There is no "warning color" on the display, but only different colors to make it easier to read. The "classic" Prius always displays battery level in green. Recharging occurs not only when the battery level is low, but all the time, depending on driving conditions. If you do a lot of city driving your battery will be used more often to avoid engine operation in its unefficient RPM zone, and therefore will be a little more depleted. But everything is OK and the system will NEVER harm the battery even if you work hard for it !

 

[PureSpeed1]

Thanks for the relief!! I feell more confident now in owning this car..