when I got home from work today on my Prius 2012 the battery guage was almost full then I went out hours later it was on half? everything was off outside temp 91, ran A/C home............... Should I be concerned?
The dealer will charge you for the inspection and not find any error codes. "Sorry, but without error codes we have nothing to go on. Please pay the cashier on the way out."
It's normal for the "battery gauge" to vary from reality. It is -very difficult- to actually measure the level of charge in a battery. It's sort of proportional to the battery voltage, but so is the battery temperature. Toyota's system relies on a measure of charge in and charge out, with occasional corrections due to battery temperature, among other things. After you shut it off the battery cooled off, and the gauge measured that, compensating the reading when you next turned the car on. As far as the dealer telling you it shouldn't go below half, run screaming from that person!! There is a moron born every minute! The gauge can vary from one pip (and even in extreme situations 0 pips) all the way to full. That equates to about 30% charge all the way to about 70% charge. No, the traction battery is never allowed to fully charge. You need "head room" for regen. and you -DON'T- want to fully charge the battery for other reasons - one cell could overcharge and loose electrolyte which would eventually be fatal for that cell (and the battery when that happens). Keep remembering the battery is only 6.8 A-Hr, so it doesn't take long to charge or discharge it. It's an accumulator for short term energy, not a battery to run on for long periods of time without charging. Even the PIP can't run for long distances on the batteries.
hmm, I've never heard of this. What dealer do you go to? Keep us posted with what they say. Are you still under warranty?
