Plug In Range..

[richard j s]

Hi

I am on my second Prius and have had a plug in for a year now getting any where from 9.5 miles in the winter to about 11.5 in the summer.this weekend I left door opened in garage for 3 days and drained the Battery (interior light on).today I jump started it which worked ok took it ride to charge Battery. I was surprised to see the range has gone up to 13.5 miles ! Strange because the traction Battery is separate from car battery? Anyone else heard of this?

Cheers Richard

[MEP's Yaris GS]

You may possibly find its due to resetting the cars ECU's etc and it was based upon a default preset and not your previous driving history.

[richard j s]

Jonathan thanks for reply but I never had any where near that when I first charged it from new..I'm sure it was about 11.4 miles

[timberwolf]

Have you achieved the 13.5 mile range or is it just a predicted range?

[MEP's Yaris GS]

But from new it'll still have had some use stored within the cars computers during delivery etc, and I tend to find an 11.8 mile indicated range tends to be about 13.5 actual miles.

As timberwolf has said, it'll be interesting to see how accurate it is, and if it changes with a few days of use or not.

[richard j s]

Had 2 miles on clock when pick it up new ..will check it in next few days to see if any change in true miles..

[Joseph D]

... took it [for a] ride to charge battery. ...

Just as a diversion slightly off topic, you should really charge up your 12V Battery (overnight) with a good modern smart charger capable of charging an AGM Battery. Don't rely on the car's charging circuit to do a good job. It will only do an adequate job of lifting the battery's charge, but you need to fully charge it ASAP with a good outboard charger to ensure a good healthy long life. Most damage is done to a lead/acid Battery by leaving it for any length of time in a discharged/semi-discharged state and not charging up fully after a deep discharge.

My 2p.

[richard j s]

Taken Joseph advice do I charge the Battery from the engine dept terminals all pull floor up in boot to get to Battery ?

[Joseph D]

Taken Joseph advice do I charge the battery from the engine dept terminals all pull floor up in boot to get to battery ?

Either one will work just fine. Use the one that is most convenient to you.

[MEP's Yaris GS]

Any update Richard J S?

[Astolat]

From posts over on one of the mainly US forums, 13.5 is definitely the default preset, and it has gone back to that because the 12 v was drained. The reason you may never have noticed it might be that you always started the car in the early weeks with the blower on - that will knock 10% off the estimated range.

However, much more importantly, again from threads on other forums, once the 12v has been drained it apparently is significantly less reliable. Apparently it is less powerful than a normal car's 12 v because it doesn't need to do heavy duty work like starting the engine. Given that if it goes flat you can't get anything going, you might want to think about whether to replace it. if not, then definitely mollycoddle it a bit - in particular don't leave the car in accessory mode with the radio etc on, put it into ready and park.

[MEP's Yaris GS]

From posts over on one of the mainly US forums, 13.5 is definitely the default preset, and it has gone back to that because the 12 v was drained. The reason you may never have noticed it might be that you always started the car in the early weeks with the blower on - that will knock 10% off the estimated range.

However, much more importantly, again from threads on other forums, once the 12v has been drained it apparently is significantly less reliable. Apparently it is less powerful than a normal car's 12 v because it doesn't need to do heavy duty work like starting the engine. Given that if it goes flat you can't get anything going, you might want to think about whether to replace it. if not, then definitely mollycoddle it a bit - in particular don't leave the car in accessory mode with the radio etc on, put it into ready and park.

The Battery in the Prius will be just as powerful as any other 12v Battery, it's the capacity that is lower, and no heavy discharge cycles is a good thing, not bad, but like you say, as with any Battery, if ever heavily or fully discharged it can cause it to fail prematurely, although if now its been fully recharged and its holding up under a drop / load test then I wouldn't just replace it for the sake of it.

[Joseph D]

From posts over on one of the mainly US forums, 13.5 is definitely the default preset, and it has gone back to that because the 12 v was drained. The reason you may never have noticed it might be that you always started the car in the early weeks with the blower on - that will knock 10% off the estimated range.

However, much more importantly, again from threads on other forums, once the 12v has been drained it apparently is significantly less reliable. Apparently it is less powerful than a normal car's 12 v because it doesn't need to do heavy duty work like starting the engine. Given that if it goes flat you can't get anything going, you might want to think about whether to replace it. if not, then definitely mollycoddle it a bit - in particular don't leave the car in accessory mode with the radio etc on, put it into ready and park.

To reinforce what MEP's Yaris GS has said above, I think maybe you are mis-interpreting what you are reading. The main reason that Prius 12V batteries are failing, from what I can see, is that people do not realise that if they have discharged their Battery, they need to fully charge it (using an external charger) as soon as practical in order to maintain good Battery health.

The design of the AGM used will tolerate several deep discharge cycles. However, after a deep discharge, the Battery should be fully recharged as soon as practical. If this is done, it will be reliable.

My observation is that the Prius (can't speak for other HSDs) is not good at charging a 12V that has been significantly discharged. Even a long 5-6 hour drive will not fully charge a discharged 12V. Therefore it is essential, if you care, to use a good outboard smart charger to bring it back up to a full charge.

My 2p.

[timberwolf]

Leaving the 12V Battery (slightly) under-charged for more than a day or two seems to be bad for it i.e. if you don't use your car most days of the week.

In the past, with less electronics, a car Battery could last 10 years or more. Unfortunately, even when a modern car is dormant, there is a standby current drain on the 12V Battery from all sorts of electronics, the central locking and alarm are probably the main culprits.

[Grumpy Cabbie]

My 12v is 5 years old now and has had a bit of a hard life - running 2 way radios, taxi computer, sat navs etc for hours at a time when I was in the taxi office having a break or between jobs on a quiet evening shift.

It's starting to show signs of failure now in that if I don't drive the car for a week and then use it the mpg's for the first 5 miles or more are really low and then I'm guessing when they 12v has been charged a bit more the mpg's go back up. It never used to do this. Also if I switch my headlights on the mpg's drop and the HV Battery struggles to keep at 6/8 bars, often dropping to about 5/8 or 4/8 when during the day it wouldn't.

They're only £95 fitted so I think it's time for replacement before winter really hits. I'm happy with 5 years. It is said they generally need changing at 5 years/70k miles. I'm at 5 yrs/81k.

[timberwolf]

My 12v is 5 years old now and has had a bit of a hard life - running 2 way radios, taxi computer, sat navs etc for hours at a time when I was in the taxi office having a break or between jobs on a quiet evening shift.

It's starting to show signs of failure now in that if I don't drive the car for a week and then use it the mpg's for the first 5 miles or more are really low and then I'm guessing when they 12v has been charged a bit more the mpg's go back up. It never used to do this. Also if I switch my headlights on the mpg's drop and the HV battery struggles to keep at 6/8 bars, often dropping to about 5/8 or 4/8 when during the day it wouldn't.

They're only £95 fitted so I think it's time for replacement before winter really hits. I'm happy with 5 years. It is said they generally need changing at 5 years/70k miles. I'm at 5 yrs/81k.

I think your Battery lasted so long because although your 12V Battery was running that extra kit on your rest breaks, you must then have spent long hours charging the Battery backup whilst on duty. For a lead-acid battery, it seems to be how long it remains undercharged that shortens the life span, and it is not so important if the battery is used but then immediately put back on charge.

With a regular engine, a 12V battery has to deliver a lot of current to crank an engine, and then the alternator puts it back - without modern parasitic electronics awake when the car is off, the 12V battery in cars used to give many years of reliable service.

[Grumpy Cabbie]

Normally I'd agree, but taxi work kills batteries. In a traditional car would normally last 2, maybe 3 years in that environment.

[timberwolf]

Ah. Tricky things these lead-acid batteries.