Prime w/77K only gets 17.4miles readout for full battery...AND...where it used to readout how many miles of battery on the small upper screen and those little bars that indicate how much regen from braking or if your ICE is running etc, it now only says "service required, see dealer". Is that just my battery aging as expected? I only recently stated using the small screen that gives estimated MILES, I'd always previously used the big lower screen that only showed how many tenths of battery was charged up, so maybe if my battery was worn it would show "full" even if it was 75% of what a new full battery would be. Are these just the standard Oil Change reminder messages and I just need to figure out how to get back to the right screen? If there is REALLY a reason to visit the Dealer, will I get a REAL warning message and what does that look like? Anyone BESIDES a Dealer have the equipment to look into the bowels and innermost feelings of a Prius Prime, in the SF East Bay Contra Costa area? Should I invest a $100 or more into a GOOD OBD II scanner that works with Hybrid Assistant (or other app) and any recommendations and instructions? View attachment 240296
17 miles is about what it does on EV. Is a 1/3 reduction in Battery storage at about 80K miles and 3 years par for the course or I'm I supposed to get Battery "groomed" or re-hab? I've not heard of that while Battery is under 150,000 and of course no Dealer will offer any useful info over phone accept "Bring it in and get ready to pay us whatever we demand for things we wont explain". UPDATE: at least I got back to useful screens showing battery charge levels, will take on semi-scientific test drive to real world measure distance on EV at sane speeds on mostly level ground from "full" charge. It says in Manual that you can help Battery stay good by NOT driving at near peak EV speed (86mph IIRC) but was unclear on if doing that in HV or CRG mode would count. I tend to do a lot of fast commuting but normally in HV or CRG modes and if I know for instance I'll be doing my regular UPHILL freeway onramp I'll make sure the motor has been warmed up.
they are talking about ev mode, because the large drain on the battery can reduce life if done continually. there are no reports of major drops in ev range that i've noticed, except for seasonally related. i don't know if that screen is just the 5k maint. reminder or something else. the best way to check battery health is to find a public charger that reports kw and compare to what others are reporting. maybe you have a dragging brake or something?
I wouldn't worry too much about it and I'm pretty sure it's the hills that you need to climb or being on the freeway in EV. That 17 mile calculation is an estimate of past driving behavior. If your mashing the pedal a lot to get position in heavy traffic, that'll also force your estimates down. You should be able to see that on your eco meter. You can test my theory by placing 200lbs in your trunk for a month and watch that estimate go down even further. Remove the extra weight and watch the calculations go back up.
I did a mildly scientific test drive jotting down mileage from when CRG turns off and going EV then taking mileage when ICE kicks on and got 19.5 miles doing average of 64mph with about 600lbs including me in the car, with roof racks on top and big tool box in tool tray on back. So I guess thats not too bad. I figure if the car was factory streamlined with no excess junk in the trunk and I weighed 98lbs and was doing Jimmy Carter 55mph it would be closer to the 26mile EV range advertised when new. I assume to do the Public Charger test you start off with "EV mode not available" then check after full charge. Any data on what is normal for Prius Prime? With all the bells and whistles of the 792pg owners manual, with extensive Charging Scheduling etc, there is no basic "this many watt-hours soaked up in this charging session"??? Seems like one of the most basic things, as well as a great selling point. You take your new Prime to your buddies house to recharge and he is bitching about how much its gonna cost thinking in terms of gas station fill up and you can show it was about $.50 and toss him to quarters.
Yep, it usually takes 6.0-6.5 KwH to charge from "empty" - so 6.5 times whatever PG&E charges for a KwH of power.
Driving in EV mode on the freeway drains my battery rapidly. You can watch the range drop. Around town it is more in line with estimated ranges.