Prius Driver Needs Tips to Maximize Hybrid Battery Life

On the 2008 a little warm-up may help...you wait a minute and the engine comes on and then it goes off. Then you go.
Don't run the HV battery empty (if you run out of gasoline)
Be sure keep A/C on in heat as it helps cool off the battery due to blower fan in the backseat.
Make sure batt blower fan is clean (Gen2 it gets lint especially if dogs are in there a lot)
Dont park in the heat with all the display bars in the Green...rather get down a few bars into the blue (the batt can heat up when parked) this is usually not an issue but some folks have a huge downhill that gets the battery fully charged and then they park it like that.

 

Don't we all.
It is mostly a crap shoot and about all you can do is keep up with the routine maintenance recommended and try to keep the car (battery) out of extreme heat as much as possible. Then trust the car's programming to treat the battery good.

Don't worry; be happy !!!

 

I bought a Scangauge II and programmed it to monitor Battery temperature (BT2) and the state of the Battery Fan Motor (BFM) from 0 (off) to 6 (maximum). When the battery temp is ramping up past 40 degrees Celsius and the battery fan is going to level 3 or above, I start taking any possible actions to cool the battery raning from reducing speed, increasing air conditioning, or increasing air flow in cabin in cool weather. Also be careful not to block the cooling air intake for the HV battery or parking it when battery temperature is high as the cooling fan cuts off immediately and the battery temp can increase dramatically. Good luck!

 

batteries die. sorry, but there you have it.

 

Not sure how it works in the prius, but when most battery packs "die" usually it's because only one of the cells actually dies. It is then possible to disassemble the pack and replace the individual bad cell.
For increased reliability I assume that the Toyota engineers have some way for the pack to disconnect individual bad cells. But there is a limit to how far that will help and the pack "dies".

 

Er, no, the cells are connected in series so one bad cell will in fact kill the pack. You can disassemble the pack and replace individual cell assemblies, but to do that well is quite involved. The battery ECU is sensing voltage differences among cell assemblies and will post warnings and finally quit if those differences become too large. Priuschat has threads on that HV battery disassembly process, but the voltages and amperage involved are quite dangerous, so the process is not for the faint hearted.

 

Top ten ways to get long HV battery life, by priority

1, 2, 3, 4, 5) Use the A/C. If you are warm, the HV Battery is warm. The whole reason it is in the passenger compartment is to get A/C.
6, 7, 8)Drive like a normal car, do not do tricks to stay in EV.
9) The EV mode button is not your friend.
10) Drive your car at least every 3 months.

 

Since you're from Texas, don't park in sun. Don't discharge the HV battery if you can help it (ie. high acceleration on cold engine, excessive EV driving, excessive "idling", etc).