Now that my 2008 Prius is ay 158K I watch the hybrid battery indicator like a hawk. i know i shouldnt but I do. I drive 80% hwy, avg about 48-50 mpg. It seems today with my commute to work 60 miles the battery indicator has been green the majority of the time. It was full blue on the hwy and as soon as I exited the hwy ramp and came to a stop it was green and even hit full green. I've never seen full green until today. Is this an indication that my battery is starting to behave erratically. Should I be looking for evidence sucha as higher greens and lower blues on the battery indicator screen. Thank you for any input.
You never saw green? I'm not sure how that even possible. 7 bars is normal behavior. Anywho, the thing to watch is your MPG results. Even with 8 bars, the battery isn't actually full. It's only at 80% total capacity. So, there likely isn't anything to worry about. Purchase an aftermarket gauge if you want to see that value and learn more about what the system is actually doing behind the scenes. The Bluetooth adapter & Phone app option only costs about $25.
Hi Vince. It's not uncommon for most of us to see green bars SOC. If your battery was failing then you'd likely see very low SOC (red bars) too, along with relatively rapid swings between the two. One simple thing that could worth checking is the rear battery fan/vent, to make sure it isn't clogged up. I've noticed that when the battery temperature gets a little too high that it becomes reluctant to use the EV power and as a result you tend to see more green. Maybe not as likely to cause the symptoms, but also check that your inverter coolant pump is running as this is a very easy test and a fairly common failure.
Thanks Uart & John1701a.......i will check those items. I was concerned because I know the habits of my car and I've never seen 2 bars green, just one if i drive correctly. I did the inverter pump recall 10k ago. car has been a dream since day one. I would not hesitate to replace the hybrid battery if need be in the future. Be well
Once you get out of the warranty zone, I can understand the concern. But my advice would be just try not to worry. Just keep driving it and enjoying it. Someday, the battery will fail. Maybe it will give you some warning in the form of erratic behavior and/or deteriorating MPG...or maybe it won't. But since you have enjoyed your vehicle, and since you state you wouldn't hesitate to replace and continue...I'd say just relax. This is easy for me to say right now, as my Prius battery is almost brand new, and well under warranty, but I've already saved a few links to Re-Involt and other battery re manufacturers, and I've already looked up the highest ranked independent shops in my local area that do work on Hybrids. Mostly in anticipation of the day, maybe years and years in the future when I will be forced to face this reality. So I'd say, take the casual time to investigate your battery replacement options, be aware of the costs of these options....then in the meantime just keep driving and enjoying.
