I drive 2010 Prius and love my car. Im living currently in Canada. So my 12V battery in the back failed the battery test but my car still starts normally. My question is am I damaging the big main battery by not replacing the 12V battery?
Thanks for the information! Where are you located? I am looking to buy a new or used Prius... but I have a lot of concerns of used cars that was neglected...
@@carhub2178 my Prius 2018 has 500,000 k miles and I live in a hilly area where charges my battery all the way this doesn’t apply to Lithium Ion Lead Acid most definitely don’t let them over charge and follow there direction. Keep those battery air filters and blowers is also very key and not parking in open hot spots crack those windows in the summer and reflective car covers help to. Mine is always parked in a garage most the time ~Chad James
Came to watch this video after having just replaced the hybrid battery in my 07 Camry Hybrid since I wanted to lengthen the amount of time before I experience issues again. Turns out, I just wasted my time. Some pointers for those of you new to or unfamiliar with hybrid cars; ignore what he’s saying about battery fluctuation. Battery fluctuation is an inevitable thing. The cars are designed in a way that utilizes the batteries for higher efficiency. They also combine with the engine to churn out a little more horsepower. Along with that, they also allow electric-only driving in cases of low speeds, i.e. traffic, parking lots, etc. In every case where your vehicle is moving, the hybrid battery has a say in it. Another thing, your engine is effectively a generator for the battery. When your battery gets low, the car knows to turn the engine on to charge the battery. The battery will also recharge when you coast or are braking. You also do not have to worry about overcharging the battery, as the cars computer would never let that happen. There is no “over-charge” indicator. Drive your car as you would normally. Yes, avoid heat, and yes, be sure to clean the cooling system for the hybrid battery. I should also add; if you need your hybrid battery replaced, go on “besthybridbatteries.com” Toyota was going to charge me $4500 to replace my battery. I only paid $1850 ($1500~ before shipping) at the end of the day, and installed the battery myself. Not sponsored, just a recommendation.
We had to replace the HV battery on our second gen Prius about four years ago. We were quoted $4000 by Toyota dlr, which is kind of stupid. I found a small business in Boulder Colorado called “Boulder Hybrids”. We (very carefully) drove up from Denver and they swapped in a brand new genuine Toyota HV battery for about $2600. Couldn’t have been happier. I haven’t checked if they are still in business but if you’re in the area I’d highly recommend them.
Japanese maker designed that battery indicator to make people think it's full or empty but it's already engineered and implemented the 40-80 percent rule to prevent damaging the battery cell quicker. Without 40-80 percent rule, the battery will degrade fast in less than 5 years.
For real, Toyota has one of the best battery management systems in the world, although I agree with the video on 1-4, I fear that somebody is gonna get killed looking down at the dash to put it in neutral to keep the battery from overcharging in the green…when the system is already doing that adequately. Just saying…
I'm with you on this. Why would toyota make something that would keep you distracted like that putting the car in neutral and all that nonsense. If people really had to do all that, then toyota wouldn't be successful in the hybrid market. I started to think I didn't want a hybrid after watching this video but then the comment section knocked me back into reality. Only thing I can't compensate for is having shade everyday for the car, but I can do tinted windows that reduce heat by a lot and a sun shade
Get an odb 2 reader. The Prius "full charge" is actually 80% and the lower bounds (2-1) bar are 40% to 20%. The engineers at the time understood battery chemistry and controlled for longevity. I like did the shade tips as i noticed my battery gets quite hot under certain conditions (too long to specify) but other than that there's isn't much you can do to mitigate the heat. These are all I've found to work (after religiously looking at the battery temps). than leave the car on to run the hv battery fan while parked, using ac to keep cab cool, driving on a highway (fast) to create negative pressure around the right rear quarter panel helping to vacuum out hot air from the battery area (as the system is designed to do). Because driving on the highway it is only part of your route the next best thing is leaving your car on for roughly 15 minutes after parking to keep that hv battery fan running. Honestly, i wish i didn't even learn this stuff as it's made my life less convenient and likely doesn't affect the battery enough to matter.
These are good tips if you really want to get the most years out of your Toyota Hybrid battery but I don't think Toyota Hybrids let their batteries charge over 80% or go below 20% under any circumstances so people shouldn't stress too much about the battery, the car does a good job taking care of the battery for you. However if you're not gonna drive the car for a long time then it is best to leave the battery at 50% because that's the battery's "happy zone".
@@carmenceballos3397 The internal combustion engine might take on a greater load to simultaneously move the vehicle and recharge the hybrid battery, but Toyota knew what they were doing when they programmed these vehicles. As long as you have gas, your hybrid will never allow the battery to die even if it is being used to drive the vehicle and power accessories like the air conditioner. No need to sweat the health of your vehicle too much under normal operating conditions like driving with the A/C on.
Switching on and off neutral and drive while driving can be taxing on the transmission for the 4 cylinder engine though which can cause issues when it actuates and deactuated the clutch in the housing. So it's good to monitor battery and what not, but being obsessive about it can cause damage in other areas....also it can cause you to wreck from staring at the battery monitor.
Brother you said exactly what I was thinking about. Saving money on battery then spending on transmission. If I'm not wrong, once I was reading on a forum (Reddit) about a transmission engineer who told us to use the car most of the time in Drive, even when waiting at traffic lights just to prevent premature usage of the transmission.
I found that avoiding heat is a great practice for any kind of battery. Looking for shade, tinting car windows and avoid the use of braking shift with uses electric motor to break and charge battery at the same time (B shift). Last one because lot of amps comes into battery when charging in this mode heating it as a result.
hubby and I are new to hybrids. We bought him an '05 about a year ago and me a 2021 sienna last month. I am watching so many videos about hybrids now. This is so informative thanks for taking the time.
You did well to cover the main areas of the hybrid battery! Though there is one more that should be strongly considered and that moisture with the 2nd gen! Always keep the area of the rear hatch seal area clean and clear of any debris especially where the hatch shocks mount to frame, also check the small compartments in rear for water any sign of water should be removed and dry immediately! I seen new dealer installed hybrid batteries failure in less than a year because of moisture!... Retired hybrid tech Thanks Nate
These are interesting points. I have a 2008 Honda civic hybrid. From what I know about hybrid batteries they have one thing in common with their ev counterparts they can't get overcharged as the hybrid system manages the state of the battery so that when you see 100% on the gauge it's really 95% also the system doesn't allow the battery to go to zero as the engine will kick in before it drops to the lowest bar on the gauge to recharge it. In short just drive your car normally and you'll be fine. My car 148k miles battery still perfect.
Not true. Just watched a video where someone was on their 3rd hybrid battery in their Prius. Turns out their regular brakes at all 4 corners were gone, so the regenerative braking was doing 100% of the cars braking sending too much juice to the battery and overcharging it. Granted that person is an idiot, but it is possible.
Toyota engineers have done a great job of making the car pretty foolproof. I own a 2010 with the original battery with 100,000 mi and it still has 80% capacity left.
@@ccarniver Dr Prius app does a test that shows how long your battery can support all the load at idle with the engine off, Longer it can go without the engine the more capacity it has
Same here with my 07 with 160k , interestingly though my 08 with 98k only has 60%. The 08 was purchased used from southern Nevada where it gets quite toasty in the summer, 07 is from central Idaho where it's more mild.
You have to drive your hybrid car at least three times a week and exercise the battery. If it just sits there and watch TV, it will put on weight and get diabetes.
Nice video! Hits the key points. I was always a bit frustrated that our Lexus ES300h battery indicator never showed a full charge. Now I know that's a good thing!
Yur cars computer does all this by itself there is no need to distract yourself from driving worrying about the hybrid battery. The import thing about a hybrid is always to use the car. Its healthy for the hybrid battery to see a charge when your braking. Stay safe and focus on the road.
@@carhub2178 In that case, the car can use the MG1 to rotate the ICE (without fuel going into it) to burn the exceed energy. You cannot overcharge the battery when driving it but you can drain the battery if you shift in neutral.
I am on my second Prius and contrary to those who say it is too stressful trying to keep up with the state of your hybrid I enjoy doing so. I worked for 30 years as an electronics technician so I am enjoying toying with the car to maximize both battery state and mpg. I sort of feel like the flight engineers of days gone by that managed all the aircraft electrical, fuel and engine systems while the pilots were concerned with just flying the plane. I am interested if there are any other technical types/engineers who feel like I do about the Prius.
I did an experiment with LiFePO4 upgrade. Since I let it ran on NIMH BCM it failed prematurely at about 50k miles after install. If I could somehow put another BCM or rewrite the programming to accommodate the LiFePO4 you are looking at 20 plus years of life
@@calicoesblue4703 here is the information 140 cells at 10 cells per block or 5 per module. But the BCM monitor per block so I’m sure you can figure it out as an electronic tech
I’m going to balance this advice with common sense. I use my car to commute on a highway in Florida. I want my battery to “last forever” but I also have other priorities in my love beyond monitoring the battery and optimizing my acceleration and deceleration every trip.
I find that if I just drive with a light foot on the gas, it solves most of this automatically. The other trick to using only the battery (to improve mileage) is to accelerate fairly rapidly to the speed you want, then take your foot completely off the gas for a second. The ICE will turn off. Then press the gas lightly as needed and the ICE will stay off until the battery is discharged enough for the ICE to come back on and recharge it. Again, this is fairly automatic once you get used to it.
In my Gen 3 Prius #4 is wrong, the engine will start up and charge the traction battery regardless of how long you run the AC for in park. #5 can not avoid fluctuation, it is part of how the system works.
Since I live in Southern Arizona where it gets a tad warm 8-) I do several things for my 2017 Prius 2. > It's kept under a carport in the shade. > I make sure there is nothing on the the rear right passenger back floorboard where the air intake to the big battery is located. > When it's super hot I even keep the passenger dash vent aimed low and to the rear where it at least pushes cooler air toward that air intake to the big battery > Lastly I'm checking and usually replacing that filter at the air intake about every six months cuz it gets a bitty dusty here too. That's cheap insurance if you think about it. Conclusion: You take good care of your vehicle and it will take of you.
@@carmenceballos3397 Not exactly sure what you are asking, sorry. I'm not out when it's real hot avoiding where I might get caught up in traffic. I do keep a Garmin on the dash and if I see congestion I look at the GPS then take a side street. I'm never in a hurry. 😁 Carmen, does that answer your question?
Got a 2020 KIA Optima Hybrid that has 185,000 miles on it, never followed any of these recommendations, and haven’t had a single problem with it so far, I guess these steps are for previous generations, the new hybrid cars are pretty much bullet proof.
Using the energy monitor is something I have struggled conceptually with. I will definitely be watching this again. ...when I first had my new used prius, I took it into the high desert near the border (military, border services, wildland emergency response, in addition to major new urban infrastructure utility and telecomm systems: a lot of electrical interferences ). The car went into the orange and shut off. It was one of my first jump-starts on the hybrid and it freaked me out so bad that it took me a whole two+ hours just to jump it, flipping thrpugh the user manual and the Chilton and everything... I really appreciate the layman's input from a fellow home-mechanic (I mean, I know u prolly are a mechanic, but kno you probably also do your own work) t.y.
Many good points here but toyota already has a good BMS. I have never had to put my prius phev 2020 in neutral and i have put 25,000miles on the car. The BMS decides the best action, will turn on the engine when the battery is full. Also, your driver style matters alot. If you are gentle on the accelerator and drive within speed limits, it helps to preserve battery life.
Also, the meter on the dash is probably not representative of the actual charge of the battery. Like the low charge would mean maybe 30% and max maybe means 70 or 80%
That's not entirely accurate, I checked the state of charge of the battery using the torque app and the lowest the % battery reaches is 59% (1 bar) and the highest is 67% (fully charged).
This isn't quite correct as I understand it. The display doesn't show "empty" or "full" - just the middle 75% of whatever charge is possible. This is what gives the battery a long life - the management system in the car. Mine won't allow me to drain the battery flat or charge it so that it's full. A battery is never going to be completely dead, it would be ruined and not take a charge. It would explode or melt if it were completely excited or "Full". The graphic we see displays a sizable middle range of charging and at best guides us as to more or less available energy.
I live in the desert so avoiding the heat is impossible. I park in the shad as much as possible and when I’m driving the car I keep the ac as cool as possible. This is important because the batteries are cooled by taking air from the inside of your car and directing it to the battery pack to keep it cool.
Good tips thanks! after a few months of observation, whilst driving my 450h, it's like I understood the algorithm that manages the hybrid system; Feeling and observation are key to enjoying the ride of a hybrid.
Thank you so much. it really helped me. I removed the battery orange clip and forgot to press the clip when I putted back. as a result the car was not starting. after watching the video I double checked and the problem is solved.
As a hybrid technician I think the corrosion prone nature of NiMH battery pack is inevitable, but there is a way to maximize the life of a NiMH based older prius. One is avoid idling. When you subject hybrid batteries to low voltage the weaker ones becomes worse. Sometimes to the point where it throws a code. Another is avoid constant hard driving with successive hard acceleration. This causes batteries to heat up rapidly . The best way is to drive normally and only idle when you have to and avoid unnecessary idling.p
Interesting info but doesn't ICE come on at idle at sufficient Rpm when hybrid battery needs charge? So if idle Rpm is 1000 then alternator is enough to charge hybrid battery.
@@JeanPaulFernandes Actually when the AC lower the battery charge, the car will start the regular engine and charge the battery, so its not a problem to use AC all the time,.
So, when do I get to just drive and pay attention to the traffic ? It seems too much work and attention devoted to the battery and very little to the most important thing "driving". I don't think this practical or realistic. Ill check with the Insurance company to check if they like me to constantly take my eyes of the road. Thanks for the advise.
You could also feather the gas pedal going down a hill instead of putting it in neutral if you don't want to overcharge the battery and if you want to mitigate your speed you can put it in [B] which will let the car do some engine breaking.
holy crap that prius must have small hybrid battery.. like a hand held flashlight... just got my self a KIA optima plug hybrid and its not that big range but its 60 km (37.5miles) so it does not charge and drain that fast i see in clip.. hm... still i will try keep it centered.. i work on a ship as engineer and we charge with 3MWatt .. but we stay between 30 - 80% range on the 2 huge battery banks. At 30% the diesel engine starts to charge and you not allowed to land charge untill battery are 30% or more again... at 10% they disconect from the main power supply. .. then its very hard to get them charged again... as they refuse to connect to the powerlinesupply main line.. so we never let this happen :) Still this is my 2nd Hybrid.. i had a prius 2004 but only for 1 month it it annoyed the hell out of me.. i felt bad for the engine that had to start and stop all the freeking time:)... still prius feel much more expensive then they are to drive: :) their good cars.. but i prefer my 2nd and new KIA Optima 250hk aprox
@@carhub2178 do you happen to know the the voltage range? For example in lithium ion batteries their full charge state is at 4.2 volts and fully discharged voltage at 3.0. I have a battery management system that charges the battery to 4.0 and discharges it to 3.2. It allows my batteries to go through more cycles by limiting both charge and discharge voltages by 20%. I’m assuming this is the same for the Prius, so the batteries technically will never overcharge, if that is the case. Thanks for reading.
Thank you so much for this video, I realized not only am I not responsible enough to have a kid or a cat it turns out I don’t have the energy it takes to own a hybrid car.
With all the good things you said I think in the fluctuations is not to worry about much and it don’t affect the battery much, manufacture recommends that as long as you are driving to keep gear on drive mode which make sense. The computer system and cells are much scientifically smarter to operate in this point
I have a 2019 Toyota corolla hybrid in Easter Europe. I've had it for four years or so. Only few days ago, I found out that optimal speed for these cars are 80km/h or 55 mph. Around at that time I almost ran out of fuel because I'd always measure my fuel consumption, got that fuel at BP for the first time, not Shell last four years, all of sudden I started getting much better consumption. I don't know why that is, is it because of better fuel quality, or better speed which is now 55 mph. I would always drive 60/70 km/h or 40 mph and would get 4 liter or 55 mpg, now I'm getting freaking 3.2 to 3.5 liters which is 75 mpg. I would normally drive slow for the sake of less wind resistance to save fuel, but I noticed driving right around 80 kmh-55 mph also helps charge the hybrid battery faster. If it keeps doing this I don't know what I'm going to do with all these money that's being saved now.
I drive 2016 prius. If I drive 60 mph the MPG achieve the best, around 55-60. But if I drive faster 65-70 mph, then the MPG will drop to 248-50s. I drove 2010 prius before. If I drive 60 mpg, the MPG can achieve 50 max. But if drive faster 65-70, the MPG will be much less, 42-47 only
@earthtojupiterjourney7566 If I'm not mistaken, my car at 60 mpg either doesn't turn on the ev mode or turns to ev mode but less often. If I'm going down the mountain it'll turn its ev mode even at 70 mph. But at 50 mph the engine turns off much more often then at 60 mph.
I don't know about the Prius, but with the Lexus hybrids (400h and 450h models), the engine will turn on automatically to make sure the 12V battery (not the hybrid battery) continuously charged, so that you can have your AC, radio, etc., still working should you are in a traffic jam -- note that you are in DRIVE gear not neutral. I don't think the hybrid battery is the one that works the AC's compressor. It's the 12V battery.
If your battery get fully charged full green and let say you are going downhill for a long time. the ICE engine will come on automatically and act as discharge accumulator to prevent the battery to come to overcharged situation. and you have no control over it the computer does it automatically for you. Dont put your car in neutral because the battery will remain overcharge and you may blow some battery cells.
In the Gen 4 and Gen 5 Toyota Priuses where they're giving you standard 10-year 150,000 mi warranties on the battery and even selling you an extended 20-year 300,000 mile warranty in the battery. They definitely have those cars tuned to try to keep the battery in the middle to make them last long without much manual driver input. I usually do a lot of around town driving on cruise control in my 2021 Toyota Prius L. Eco and usually it stays somewhere between 4:00 and six bars of charge. Occasionally getting down to three bars of charge and even occasionally making it up to seven bars of charge. But considering that car can go into straight EV mode at 60 mph on cruise control when the battery gets really high, it will kick over into EV mode as long as you are going slow enough and don't require too much power and take some of that unnecessarily high charge off of the battery to keep it in a happier state of charge it's really nice because my Gen 2 Prius was really good at battery blending but when climbing hills it was not uncommon. Especially the really big hills but usually bigger hills that the battery would run really low and get down to two bars of charge and when going down really big hills it was not uncommon that you would get that battery charged up to seven out of eight bars of charge, sometimes even eight out of eight bars of charge and even in that really high state of charge, even at City speeds, it was fairly easy to get the gasoline engine to kick in and run in the Gen. 2. Prius where is my gen 3. Prius liked to lean on the gasoline engine a lot to try to avoid discharging the battery too much and was fairly good about using the electric motor to draw from the battery to help itself. But the Gen 4 Prius does a much better job at all of that automatically as well as getting much better fuel economy than the Gen 2 or the Gen 3 Prius just because the Gen 4 Prius can go into pure EV mode at speeds of up to 70 mi an hour matching many of the competitors out on the market such as the Hyundai Elantra sonata and ionic hybrids as well as the dual motor Honda hybrids such as the 2014 and newer Accord. So Toyota had to do something to bring their car back into the competitive market again and when not using cruise control and using proper throttle modulation on a Gen 4 Prius. You can actually get it to drive an EV mode down the highway at 65, even 70 mph if you are careful but I generally find that my particular driving as a full-time rideshare driver. My 2021 Toyota Prius L. Eco typically averages somewhere between 60% and 70% of it's driving in EV mode that is according to what the car's computer tells me cuz it has a little segment in there where I can actually see the EV driving ratio and it regularly and easily. If I'm not doing too much highway or interstate driving gets above 50% easily of its driving in EV mode or the EV ratio.
stress is waking up everyday wondering where your ev battery level is at and having to constantly think about where to charge it and how many miles do i have left till i run out of battery. forget planning a long distance trip! i'll take my 550 mile range 5 minute fuel fillup convenience of a hybrid over a full ev everyday and these quick and EASY tips to help maintain the hybrid battery
I let my original 2005 prius sit a number of times for many months each time... my HV battery lasted 19 years, just replacing it now. So, sit time does not have a dramatic negative effect on the HV battery (non lithium anyway). Also, I've seen several people state that a Prius doesn't not like to be left in neutral for long periods of time, I forgot why.
I have been researching and reconditioning few packs of hybrid battery cells from 2nd and 3rd generation prii on chargers, roughly testing them for two years, the BMS wouldn’t allow hybrid battery cells to be fully charged, so what you said fully charged on the screen is typically only 80% of max capacity to last ni-mh hybrid battery, or I would have to go through more than five cycles to max out discharge and charge capacity before last balancing step. Just relax and not overthink while driving, there are plenty of taxi prii over 500K miles with original hybrid battery packs, few even over 600K miles. I don’t know if lithium cycles last as long as ni-mh but those worked pretty well on my 2016 too. Another thing is that cold temperature doesn’t make hybrid battery cells work efficiently, it takes 10 to 15 minutes to warm up in winter especially those newer lithium batteries before getting 56+ mpg. In some cases, I still got 60+ mpg after 228K miles.
My shop upgrade the NiMH to LiFePO4 system. As you know LiFePO4 last 2-3 times as long and it’s new so you are looking a 20 plus years of hybrid battery life. The only problem is the BCM needs to be programmed for the LiFePO4 to last it’s maximum otherwise running it in NIMH setting will cause premature failure which is about 3- 4 years.
@@kevtn8 Its still in the research phase. The BCM firmware would need to be upgraded as well. As of now they only last a few years due to the harsh condition
Thanks for the tips. My 2013 Insight still going strong with original IMA battery NiMH. Just changed brake pads for the first time after 10 years & 130k km. Hot tropical country Malaysia
Keep your hybrid battery out of the heat?!?!?!? Now you tell me!!!!! I live in Arizona. The daily temperature 3 months out of the year is between 100 and 115 degrees, peaking at times to 120 degrees! Ha! But I do park it in the shade at night.
Then whats the whole point of it being hybrid and having a marker line to empty as if we can use the battery when we run out of gas? I have a Toyota Camry Hybrid
I have 2011 Prius, and when I'm getting close to home (say 0.2 miles) and driving slow, I can discharge the batteries a little bit by going into EV mode.
i hear 'go faster' stripes are a cheap easy way to improve performance.... but in the words of the great old wise 'jeremy clarkson', if you want to tune something to go faster- you really need it to be pretty fast to begin with'
Hi, I have maintenance questions and you might be the best person to ask. 1. how long is your hybrid battery life experience? shortest and average? 2. how much do battery replacements cost 3. Are battery replacements hard to find/acquire for old models? Worried batteries of new cars now will have no stock in the future. Btw, thank you for the tips. I am thinking of buying a Yaris Cross Hybrid, but worried about those maintenance questions. Hope you can help me with my questions. Thank you very much!
new toyota hybrids come with a 10-year warranty, but they can last much, much longer. the battery in the current corolla costs around $3k to replace, but, again, they can last 20+ years!
Soon as the battery of my RAV4 starts to drain below 40%, the engine starts to compensate the drain and it will charge the battery upto 50-60% then stop. This works in Park as well, so it doesn't really matter if I keep the AC running, cause the system will compensate. Only in Neutral it won't do that. Same goes for driving. The system will not allow the battery charge to become too low or high, so ... what are you talking about? Can't imagine Toyota uses an inferior system in the Prius.
Excellent program! Thank you very much. i subscribed to your channel. These 5 points are all new to me. By the way how often should I clean the hybrid fan and how much should I pay to clean the fan in my 2005 Prius?
I set it my 06 Prius many times for hours with the AC on that's one reason why I got the car I enjoy the AC on, I work out of my car so I need to have it on and the battery has been just fine
@@carhub2178 Bro you would have to idle for YEARS even with the ac on. Like are you saying these people idle with no gas in the tank? If so the issue is the low gas... Like with a full tank i could probably run my Camry Hybrid for over 24 hours.
@@carhub2178 I feel like its no different than using your battery any other time. Like the car going in and out of ev mode while you coast, it is recharging the battery as it is used with the ICE.
Really just need to keep the filter for the battery clean to keep it from overheating. Toyota designed this well. In general, people don't do any of these things and the Prius after 2010 all get 300k miles with reg maintenance
my 2014 prius just had the 12v battery die. almost made 10y... way longer than I expected...and hybrid battery seems to be going strong. 207k miles and almost 10y.
Hey do the 2nd gen Prius hybrid battery use the same cells as in the 2012- Camry and Avalon hybrids ? I wanted to use those to replace my dying battery pack
Hi .. pretty impressive .. more Prius’s than anyone else in No. America! I have a Gen3 2010 and always seeing a ⚠️CheckHybridSystem. Recently, I aired out all the ducts and watching temp as much as possible. Simple everyday driving up and down the St. Thomas steep hills. ❤Question: If I keep it in B on the shift lever, will that help cooling the battery? Or do they have no relationship?
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I drive 2010 Prius and love my car. Im living currently in Canada. So my 12V battery in the back failed the battery test but my car still starts normally. My question is am I damaging the big main battery by not replacing the 12V battery?
@@abhiabhi85 no that will not affect your main battery
Thanks for the information! Where are you located? I am looking to buy a new or used Prius... but I have a lot of concerns of used cars that was neglected...
@@reuzito southwest Missouri! Where are you located? We have many options of Prius’s for sale
@@carhub2178 I am in Utah, do you have a listing of available cars?
Today's hybrid vehicles have sophisticated battery Management Systems, so just relax and enjoy the ride.
The models I showed need what I said
@@carhub2178 you said your advice was for any generation and any year?
@@torsten9628 yes but the newer model haven’t had hybrid batteries start to go bad yet but rules still can apply
@@carhub2178 my Prius 2018 has 500,000 k miles and I live in a hilly area where charges my battery all the way this doesn’t apply to Lithium Ion Lead Acid most definitely don’t let them over charge and follow there direction. Keep those battery air filters and blowers is also very key and not parking in open hot spots crack those windows in the summer and reflective car covers help to. Mine is always parked in a garage most the time ~Chad James
Untill you get a defective cell made in China😂
Came to watch this video after having just replaced the hybrid battery in my 07 Camry Hybrid since I wanted to lengthen the amount of time before I experience issues again. Turns out, I just wasted my time. Some pointers for those of you new to or unfamiliar with hybrid cars; ignore what he’s saying about battery fluctuation. Battery fluctuation is an inevitable thing. The cars are designed in a way that utilizes the batteries for higher efficiency. They also combine with the engine to churn out a little more horsepower. Along with that, they also allow electric-only driving in cases of low speeds, i.e. traffic, parking lots, etc. In every case where your vehicle is moving, the hybrid battery has a say in it. Another thing, your engine is effectively a generator for the battery. When your battery gets low, the car knows to turn the engine on to charge the battery. The battery will also recharge when you coast or are braking. You also do not have to worry about overcharging the battery, as the cars computer would never let that happen. There is no “over-charge” indicator. Drive your car as you would normally. Yes, avoid heat, and yes, be sure to clean the cooling system for the hybrid battery.
I should also add; if you need your hybrid battery replaced, go on “besthybridbatteries.com” Toyota was going to charge me $4500 to replace my battery. I only paid $1850 ($1500~ before shipping) at the end of the day, and installed the battery myself. Not sponsored, just a recommendation.
Thanks
Where did you buy the battery?
Thank you! How expensive and how difficult was it to replace the battery pack?
We had to replace the HV battery on our second gen Prius about four years ago. We were quoted $4000 by Toyota dlr, which is kind of stupid. I found a small business in Boulder Colorado called “Boulder Hybrids”. We (very carefully) drove up from Denver and they swapped in a brand new genuine Toyota HV battery for about $2600. Couldn’t have been happier. I haven’t checked if they are still in business but if you’re in the area I’d highly recommend them.
Thank you
Japanese maker designed that battery indicator to make people think it's full or empty but it's already engineered and implemented the 40-80 percent rule to prevent damaging the battery cell quicker. Without 40-80 percent rule, the battery will degrade fast in less than 5 years.
Wow! Running 200 cars every couple of days and keeping them out of the sun must be a full time job!
Most are used for parts. But yeah you are right it is!
EXACTLY SMH
For real, Toyota has one of the best battery management systems in the world, although I agree with the video on 1-4, I fear that somebody is gonna get killed looking down at the dash to put it in neutral to keep the battery from overcharging in the green…when the system is already doing that adequately. Just saying…
Correct but these are things proven to work
I'm with you on this. Why would toyota make something that would keep you distracted like that putting the car in neutral and all that nonsense. If people really had to do all that, then toyota wouldn't be successful in the hybrid market. I started to think I didn't want a hybrid after watching this video but then the comment section knocked me back into reality. Only thing I can't compensate for is having shade everyday for the car, but I can do tinted windows that reduce heat by a lot and a sun shade
Get an odb 2 reader. The Prius "full charge" is actually 80% and the lower bounds (2-1) bar are 40% to 20%. The engineers at the time understood battery chemistry and controlled for longevity. I like did the shade tips as i noticed my battery gets quite hot under certain conditions (too long to specify) but other than that there's isn't much you can do to mitigate the heat. These are all I've found to work (after religiously looking at the battery temps). than leave the car on to run the hv battery fan while parked, using ac to keep cab cool, driving on a highway (fast) to create negative pressure around the right rear quarter panel helping to vacuum out hot air from the battery area (as the system is designed to do). Because driving on the highway it is only part of your route the next best thing is leaving your car on for roughly 15 minutes after parking to keep that hv battery fan running. Honestly, i wish i didn't even learn this stuff as it's made my life less convenient and likely doesn't affect the battery enough to matter.
Also it's illegal in most states to put your car in neutral on a public road way
to be fair, you're driving an ancient prius, not a modern toyota hybrid.@@carhub2178
These are good tips if you really want to get the most years out of your Toyota Hybrid battery but I don't think Toyota Hybrids let their batteries charge over 80% or go below 20% under any circumstances so people shouldn't stress too much about the battery, the car does a good job taking care of the battery for you. However if you're not gonna drive the car for a long time then it is best to leave the battery at 50% because that's the battery's "happy zone".
Mine drops if it's hot and I use the air conditioner. Will it switch to gas only? And will it mess up the battery?
@@carmenceballos3397 The internal combustion engine might take on a greater load to simultaneously move the vehicle and recharge the hybrid battery, but Toyota knew what they were doing when they programmed these vehicles. As long as you have gas, your hybrid will never allow the battery to die even if it is being used to drive the vehicle and power accessories like the air conditioner. No need to sweat the health of your vehicle too much under normal operating conditions like driving with the A/C on.
Both Honda and Toyota hybrid have a management system that takes care of these issues for you at least here in australia
Switching on and off neutral and drive while driving can be taxing on the transmission for the 4 cylinder engine though which can cause issues when it actuates and deactuated the clutch in the housing. So it's good to monitor battery and what not, but being obsessive about it can cause damage in other areas....also it can cause you to wreck from staring at the battery monitor.
Brother you said exactly what I was thinking about. Saving money on battery then spending on transmission.
If I'm not wrong, once I was reading on a forum (Reddit) about a transmission engineer who told us to use the car most of the time in Drive, even when waiting at traffic lights just to prevent premature usage of the transmission.
I found that avoiding heat is a great practice for any kind of battery. Looking for shade, tinting car windows and avoid the use of braking shift with uses electric motor to break and charge battery at the same time (B shift). Last one because lot of amps comes into battery when charging in this mode heating it as a result.
So should we never use B shift?
@@agenorzc not really. It’s useful when just going downhill. I must said as a every time breaking habit. I did that and it suffered.
Thanks for the tips. I just got my first hybrid and happy to have it so I wana make her last a lifetime! 🎉
Don't worry we are not lifetime anyway
hubby and I are new to hybrids. We bought him an '05 about a year ago and me a 2021 sienna last month. I am watching so many videos about hybrids now. This is so informative thanks for taking the time.
No problem! Here to Inform and help!
For anything Toyota check out youtuber CARCARENUT he’s a toyota master mechanic (hybrid specialist) just opened his own shop in Chicago suburb
I bought a Prius last month for DoorDash and have been watching videos about hybrids too lol
You did well to cover the main areas of the hybrid battery! Though there is one more that should be strongly considered and that moisture with the 2nd gen! Always keep the area of the rear hatch seal area clean and clear of any debris especially where the hatch shocks mount to frame, also check the small compartments in rear for water any sign of water should be removed and dry immediately! I seen new dealer installed hybrid batteries failure in less than a year because of moisture!... Retired hybrid tech Thanks Nate
Can i aske you a question about my Hyundai sonata hybrid ..
These are interesting points. I have a 2008 Honda civic hybrid. From what I know about hybrid batteries they have one thing in common with their ev counterparts they can't get overcharged as the hybrid system manages the state of the battery so that when you see 100% on the gauge it's really 95% also the system doesn't allow the battery to go to zero as the engine will kick in before it drops to the lowest bar on the gauge to recharge it. In short just drive your car normally and you'll be fine. My car 148k miles battery still perfect.
Not true. Just watched a video where someone was on their 3rd hybrid battery in their Prius. Turns out their regular brakes at all 4 corners were gone, so the regenerative braking was doing 100% of the cars braking sending too much juice to the battery and overcharging it.
Granted that person is an idiot, but it is possible.
What mileage does ur civic gives u?
@@alyankhalique888 in the summer I get 48 mpg (lots of highway driving with some local trips). In the winter I get 44 mpg.
@@MichaelWilliams-mo1vv wow that's an impressive average.
@@alyankhalique888 motorway journeys it's in the 50s
You forgot one - to clean the blower filter ( Specially if you have dogs ). in my prius c its under the rear left seat.
Toyota engineers have done a great job of making the car pretty foolproof. I own a 2010 with the original battery with 100,000 mi and it still has 80% capacity left.
How do you know the remaining capacity?
For laymen how to know battery capacity? What are those indicators to figure out the percentage 80% left or 40% ?
@@ccarniver Dr Prius app does a test that shows how long your battery can support all the load at idle with the engine off, Longer it can go without the engine the more capacity it has
@@appleoranges9772 I just replied to someone else on here look at that comment
Same here with my 07 with 160k , interestingly though my 08 with 98k only has 60%. The 08 was purchased used from southern Nevada where it gets quite toasty in the summer, 07 is from central Idaho where it's more mild.
The battery management will control so tht it will charge only up to around 80% but you see it as 100% on your monitor
You have to drive your hybrid car at least three times a week and exercise the battery. If it just sits there and watch TV, it will put on weight and get diabetes.
Nice video! Hits the key points. I was always a bit frustrated that our Lexus ES300h battery indicator never showed a full charge. Now I know that's a good thing!
Yur cars computer does all this by itself there is no need to distract yourself from driving worrying about the hybrid battery. The import thing about a hybrid is always to use the car. Its healthy for the hybrid battery to see a charge when your braking. Stay safe and focus on the road.
Correct but at some points your battery don’t need a charge
@@carhub2178 In that case, the car can use the MG1 to rotate the ICE (without fuel going into it) to burn the exceed energy. You cannot overcharge the battery when driving it but you can drain the battery if you shift in neutral.
I am on my second Prius and contrary to those who say it is too stressful trying to keep up with the state of your hybrid I enjoy doing so. I worked for 30 years as an electronics technician so I am enjoying toying with the car to maximize both battery state and mpg. I sort of feel like the flight engineers of days gone by that managed all the aircraft electrical, fuel and engine systems while the pilots were concerned with just flying the plane. I am interested if there are any other technical types/engineers who feel like I do about the Prius.
I’m a Inventor & I like the Toyota Prius because it is a engineering Marvel & one of the greatest cars ever created as far as it’s performance.
I did an experiment with LiFePO4 upgrade. Since I let it ran on NIMH BCM it failed prematurely at about 50k miles after install. If I could somehow put another BCM or rewrite the programming to accommodate the LiFePO4 you are looking at 20 plus years of life
@@calicoesblue4703 here is the information 140 cells at 10 cells per block or 5 per module. But the BCM monitor per block so I’m sure you can figure it out as an electronic tech
@@calicoesblue4703 ordered LiFePO4 on Alibaba shipping and battery ran me over 300 bucks including shipping
Two things. 1. That Prius is dusty AF. Have you no shame? 2. Your last tips is not practical. Nobody drives like that.
I’m going to balance this advice with common sense. I use my car to commute on a highway in Florida. I want my battery to “last forever” but I also have other priorities in my love beyond monitoring the battery and optimizing my acceleration and deceleration every trip.
I find that if I just drive with a light foot on the gas, it solves most of this automatically. The other trick to using only the battery (to improve mileage) is to accelerate fairly rapidly to the speed you want, then take your foot completely off the gas for a second. The ICE will turn off. Then press the gas lightly as needed and the ICE will stay off until the battery is discharged enough for the ICE to come back on and recharge it. Again, this is fairly automatic once you get used to it.
In my Gen 3 Prius #4 is wrong, the engine will start up and charge the traction battery regardless of how long you run the AC for in park. #5 can not avoid fluctuation, it is part of how the system works.
Since I live in Southern Arizona where it gets a tad warm 8-) I do several things for my 2017 Prius 2.
> It's kept under a carport in the shade.
> I make sure there is nothing on the the rear right passenger back floorboard where the air intake to the big battery is located.
> When it's super hot I even keep the passenger dash vent aimed low and to the rear where it at least pushes cooler air toward that air intake to the big battery
> Lastly I'm checking and usually replacing that filter at the air intake about every six months cuz it gets a bitty dusty here too. That's cheap insurance if you think about it.
Conclusion: You take good care of your vehicle and it will take of you.
Very right!
What do you do if you are stuck in traffic?
@@carmenceballos3397 Not exactly sure what you are asking, sorry. I'm not out when it's real hot avoiding where I might get caught up in traffic. I do keep a Garmin on the dash and if I see congestion I look at the GPS then take a side street. I'm never in a hurry. 😁 Carmen, does that answer your question?
Got a 2020 KIA Optima Hybrid that has 185,000 miles on it, never followed any of these recommendations, and haven’t had a single problem with it so far, I guess these steps are for previous generations, the new hybrid cars are pretty much bullet proof.
Yes haven’t seen problems with the newer ones at all!
Take away :more focous on your battery than on road 🤟
Using the energy monitor is something I have struggled conceptually with. I will definitely be watching this again. ...when I first had my new used prius, I took it into the high desert near the border (military, border services, wildland emergency response, in addition to major new urban infrastructure utility and telecomm systems: a lot of electrical interferences ). The car went into the orange and shut off. It was one of my first jump-starts on the hybrid and it freaked me out so bad that it took me a whole two+ hours just to jump it, flipping thrpugh the user manual and the Chilton and everything... I really appreciate the layman's input from a fellow home-mechanic (I mean, I know u prolly are a mechanic, but kno you probably also do your own work) t.y.
You got to be a good driver to do the steps for number 5. Be careful not to get into an accident trying to fulfill requirements for #5.
"conditioned like to stay healthy" What the hell does that mean. Sounds like advice from a 16 year old. He must have said "like" 20 times.
Many good points here but toyota already has a good BMS. I have never had to put my prius phev 2020 in neutral and i have put 25,000miles on the car. The BMS decides the best action, will turn on the engine when the battery is full. Also, your driver style matters alot. If you are gentle on the accelerator and drive within speed limits, it helps to preserve battery life.
I only use neutral at the car wash.
PHEV has a lot bigger battery, is a lot easier to manage with software or manually
I really would like to thank you so very much for this info. Been doing it wrong but now I understand how my hybrid works. You are awesome.
How about making sure you clean the filters that let air circulation to the hybrid battery pack.
How many degrees in Fahrenheit is to MUCH?
Does being under the back seat not protect the battery from extreme heat?
cars can get over 200 degrees inside in the full sun
Also, the meter on the dash is probably not representative of the actual charge of the battery. Like the low charge would mean maybe 30% and max maybe means 70 or 80%
That's not entirely accurate, I checked the state of charge of the battery using the torque app and the lowest the % battery reaches is 59% (1 bar) and the highest is 67% (fully charged).
@@MonarchsOfBrotherhood They use the same to make the reding, dhaaa
Mine is consistently 40-75% which is still a really smart cycling system 👍
@@MonarchsOfBrotherhoodinteresting info. So hybrid battery never goes below 39% or above 67% for protection?
This isn't quite correct as I understand it. The display doesn't show "empty" or "full" - just the middle 75% of whatever charge is possible. This is what gives the battery a long life - the management system in the car. Mine won't allow me to drain the battery flat or charge it so that it's full. A battery is never going to be completely dead, it would be ruined and not take a charge. It would explode or melt if it were completely excited or "Full". The graphic we see displays a sizable middle range of charging and at best guides us as to more or less available energy.
Yes sounds like good battery engineering
I live in the desert so avoiding the heat is impossible. I park in the shad as much as possible and when I’m driving the car I keep the ac as cool as possible. This is important because the batteries are cooled by taking air from the inside of your car and directing it to the battery pack to keep it cool.
@jeogug4751
How is the battery going with you so far bro?
And how much is the weather degree in your area?
Good tips thanks! after a few months of observation, whilst driving my 450h, it's like I understood the algorithm that manages the hybrid system; Feeling and observation are key to enjoying the ride of a hybrid.
Thank you so much. it really helped me. I removed the battery orange clip and forgot to press the clip when I putted back. as a result the car was not starting. after watching the video I double checked and the problem is solved.
Awesome!!
What removing orange clip would do to the car ? And where is that located ? Plz explain bit more
Hello dude, thank a lot ! I want to buy a Civic 11 and watching video like you help a lot ! Continue helping !
I have a Toyota chr 2023. What can I do if I’m going to travel for 2-3 weeks?
Newer hybrid batteries I haven’t seen a problem with yet
Hello I came across your video RUclips. I just bought a 2015 Honda Accord hybrid with 147K miles should I be worried about the battery?
As a hybrid technician I think the corrosion prone nature of NiMH battery pack is inevitable, but there is a way to maximize the life of a NiMH based older prius. One is avoid idling. When you subject hybrid batteries to low voltage the weaker ones becomes worse. Sometimes to the point where it throws a code. Another is avoid constant hard driving with successive hard acceleration. This causes batteries to heat up rapidly . The best way is to drive normally and only idle when you have to and avoid unnecessary idling.p
Thanks for sharing!!
On Priuses they turn off the engine at stop lights unless the battery is real low. Why would you be "idling"? Using the A/C while parked?
Interesting info but doesn't ICE come on at idle at sufficient Rpm when hybrid battery needs charge? So if idle Rpm is 1000 then alternator is enough to charge hybrid battery.
What about lithium batteries?
What if I'm stuck on the freeway in L.A. traffic on a hot day. I guess the makers didn't take that into consideration
Thanks for the lesson,I have just bought a toyota sienta hybrid 2017,I will use you tips
I also have sienta car but my battery now is at less than 1%
What do you mean A/C on while the car in parked, do you mean the car is running while in park or off while in park?
Advising against Leaving ac on all the time sounds suspect; that’s what the hybrid system is designed for; it acts as a generator.
how does the AC generate power for the battery?
@@JeanPaulFernandes not sure if you're joking? The gas engine is the generator.
@@JeanPaulFernandes Actually when the AC lower the battery charge, the car will start the regular engine and charge the battery, so its not a problem to use AC all the time,.
I think he means parked just using the battery to run it rather than the car being on
So, when do I get to just drive and pay attention to the traffic ? It seems too much work and attention devoted to the battery and very little to the most important thing "driving". I don't think this practical or realistic. Ill check with the Insurance company to check if they like me to constantly take my eyes of the road. Thanks for the advise.
Yeah ask them if they like when you text and drive too!
You could also feather the gas pedal going down a hill instead of putting it in neutral if you don't want to overcharge the battery and if you want to mitigate your speed you can put it in [B] which will let the car do some engine breaking.
holy crap that prius must have small hybrid battery.. like a hand held flashlight... just got my self a KIA optima plug hybrid and its not that big range but its 60 km (37.5miles) so it does not charge and drain that fast i see in clip.. hm... still i will try keep it centered.. i work on a ship as engineer and we charge with 3MWatt .. but we stay between 30 - 80% range on the 2 huge battery banks.
At 30% the diesel engine starts to charge and you not allowed to land charge untill battery are 30% or more again... at 10% they disconect from the main power supply. .. then its very hard to get them charged again... as they refuse to connect to the powerlinesupply main line.. so we never let this happen :)
Still this is my 2nd Hybrid.. i had a prius 2004 but only for 1 month it it annoyed the hell out of me.. i felt bad for the engine that had to start and stop all the freeking time:)... still prius feel much more expensive then they are to drive: :) their good cars.. but i prefer my 2nd and new KIA Optima 250hk aprox
aren't prius batteries hardwired to 80% charge and 20% discharge?
Yes but it can get over charged
@@carhub2178 how does it over charge past the hardwired limit of 80%?
@@jamescomley5510 it doesn't. The 100% driver sees is not 100%. This guy just needs views and comments. I though I'd get some useful info...
@@carhub2178 do you happen to know the the voltage range?
For example in lithium ion batteries their full charge state is at 4.2 volts and fully discharged voltage at 3.0. I have a battery management system that charges the battery to 4.0 and discharges it to 3.2. It allows my batteries to go through more cycles by limiting both charge and discharge voltages by 20%.
I’m assuming this is the same for the Prius, so the batteries technically will never overcharge, if that is the case. Thanks for reading.
@@alagui7894 you should google the voltage range. But id assume the bottom charge is around 20% minimum and the max around 80%.
Thank you so much for this video, I realized not only am I not responsible enough to have a kid or a cat it turns out I don’t have the energy it takes to own a hybrid car.
With all the good things you said I think in the fluctuations is not to worry about much and it don’t affect the battery much, manufacture recommends that as long as you are driving to keep gear on drive mode which make sense. The computer system and cells are much scientifically smarter to operate in this point
Good advice, thanks. Although, in some climates and in some roads is impossible to get this.
Officer, I had to speed up, my battery was nearly overcharged.
Perfect way to get out of a ticket
I have a 2019 Toyota corolla hybrid in Easter Europe. I've had it for four years or so. Only few days ago, I found out that optimal speed for these cars are 80km/h or 55 mph. Around at that time I almost ran out of fuel because I'd always measure my fuel consumption, got that fuel at BP for the first time, not Shell last four years, all of sudden I started getting much better consumption. I don't know why that is, is it because of better fuel quality, or better speed which is now 55 mph. I would always drive 60/70 km/h or 40 mph and would get 4 liter or 55 mpg, now I'm getting freaking 3.2 to 3.5 liters which is 75 mpg. I would normally drive slow for the sake of less wind resistance to save fuel, but I noticed driving right around 80 kmh-55 mph also helps charge the hybrid battery faster. If it keeps doing this I don't know what I'm going to do with all these money that's being saved now.
I drive 2016 prius. If I drive 60 mph the MPG achieve the best, around 55-60. But if I drive faster 65-70 mph, then the MPG will drop to 248-50s. I drove 2010 prius before. If I drive 60 mpg, the MPG can achieve 50 max. But if drive faster 65-70, the MPG will be much less, 42-47 only
@earthtojupiterjourney7566
If I'm not mistaken, my car at 60 mpg either doesn't turn on the ev mode or turns to ev mode but less often. If I'm going down the mountain it'll turn its ev mode even at 70 mph. But at 50 mph the engine turns off much more often then at 60 mph.
I have 2013 Chevy Malibu. How can I know hybrid battery is near to dead. it is can notice of signs or others....
Not as good miles per gallon
My 2014 Honda Fit hybrid battery is drain only 2 left is it ok but every minute it comes back to 3,4 but it never get full… is it normal
Yes it is normal for it to discharge and charge. But if it goes up in down a lot of times In a short period, that’s a sign of it going bad
I don't know about the Prius, but with the Lexus hybrids (400h and 450h models), the engine will turn on automatically to make sure the 12V battery (not the hybrid battery) continuously charged, so that you can have your AC, radio, etc., still working should you are in a traffic jam -- note that you are in DRIVE gear not neutral.
I don't think the hybrid battery is the one that works the AC's compressor. It's the 12V battery.
Its not the engine that charges the 12v battery, its the hybrid battery. and the AC is driven by the hybrid battery. At least in a Prius.
Definitely AC is powered by traction/hybrid battery. If you had the curiosity to have a look over user manual, you should have known that.
I had Honda insight 2010 until now the hybrid battery is in a good condition doing those roles that mentioned.
So what happens when you drive across country, and your battery gets to fully charged?
It mostly does not. The battery helps to accelerate the car, so going over the country will charge and discharge the battery regularly.
If your battery get fully charged full green and let say you are going downhill for a long time. the ICE engine will come on automatically and act as discharge accumulator to prevent the battery to come to overcharged situation. and you have no control over it the computer does it automatically for you. Dont put your car in neutral because the battery will remain overcharge and you may blow some battery cells.
So if your parked in neutral it won't charge either
Doesn't the battery computer control how much the battery charges or discharges?
I'd bet every dollar I have that 0 Prius owners try managing the exact state of charge on the battery all the time, lol.
I know or at least 10 owners personally! So you owe me… probably a couple dollars
Dude! I was wondering why my hybrid battery went from 80% to almost zero in such a short time! Sitting with the AC running! 🥶
In the Gen 4 and Gen 5 Toyota Priuses where they're giving you standard 10-year 150,000 mi warranties on the battery and even selling you an extended 20-year 300,000 mile warranty in the battery. They definitely have those cars tuned to try to keep the battery in the middle to make them last long without much manual driver input. I usually do a lot of around town driving on cruise control in my 2021 Toyota Prius L. Eco and usually it stays somewhere between 4:00 and six bars of charge. Occasionally getting down to three bars of charge and even occasionally making it up to seven bars of charge. But considering that car can go into straight EV mode at 60 mph on cruise control when the battery gets really high, it will kick over into EV mode as long as you are going slow enough and don't require too much power and take some of that unnecessarily high charge off of the battery to keep it in a happier state of charge it's really nice because my Gen 2 Prius was really good at battery blending but when climbing hills it was not uncommon. Especially the really big hills but usually bigger hills that the battery would run really low and get down to two bars of charge and when going down really big hills it was not uncommon that you would get that battery charged up to seven out of eight bars of charge, sometimes even eight out of eight bars of charge and even in that really high state of charge, even at City speeds, it was fairly easy to get the gasoline engine to kick in and run in the Gen. 2. Prius where is my gen 3. Prius liked to lean on the gasoline engine a lot to try to avoid discharging the battery too much and was fairly good about using the electric motor to draw from the battery to help itself. But the Gen 4 Prius does a much better job at all of that automatically as well as getting much better fuel economy than the Gen 2 or the Gen 3 Prius just because the Gen 4 Prius can go into pure EV mode at speeds of up to 70 mi an hour matching many of the competitors out on the market such as the Hyundai Elantra sonata and ionic hybrids as well as the dual motor Honda hybrids such as the 2014 and newer Accord. So Toyota had to do something to bring their car back into the competitive market again and when not using cruise control and using proper throttle modulation on a Gen 4 Prius. You can actually get it to drive an EV mode down the highway at 65, even 70 mph if you are careful but I generally find that my particular driving as a full-time rideshare driver. My 2021 Toyota Prius L. Eco typically averages somewhere between 60% and 70% of it's driving in EV mode that is according to what the car's computer tells me cuz it has a little segment in there where I can actually see the EV driving ratio and it regularly and easily. If I'm not doing too much highway or interstate driving gets above 50% easily of its driving in EV mode or the EV ratio.
These tips may or may not make your battery last long but you will surely not last too long with this stress
Not stressful at all!!
stress is waking up everyday wondering where your ev battery level is at and having to constantly think about where to charge it and how many miles do i have left till i run out of battery. forget planning a long distance trip! i'll take my 550 mile range 5 minute fuel fillup convenience of a hybrid over a full ev everyday and these quick and EASY tips to help maintain the hybrid battery
@@amtrakusa1 exactly same here!
Don’t leave your hybrid in neutral while waiting. Use park instead, the battery cannot be charged by the engine if your car is in neutral.
I let my original 2005 prius sit a number of times for many months each time... my HV battery lasted 19 years, just replacing it now. So, sit time does not have a dramatic negative effect on the HV battery (non lithium anyway). Also, I've seen several people state that a Prius doesn't not like to be left in neutral for long periods of time, I forgot why.
Just make sure when leaving the car for a while that the battery it is charge.
I have been researching and reconditioning few packs of hybrid battery cells from 2nd and 3rd generation prii on chargers, roughly testing them for two years, the BMS wouldn’t allow hybrid battery cells to be fully charged, so what you said fully charged on the screen is typically only 80% of max capacity to last ni-mh hybrid battery, or I would have to go through more than five cycles to max out discharge and charge capacity before last balancing step. Just relax and not overthink while driving, there are plenty of taxi prii over 500K miles with original hybrid battery packs, few even over 600K miles. I don’t know if lithium cycles last as long as ni-mh but those worked pretty well on my 2016 too. Another thing is that cold temperature doesn’t make hybrid battery cells work efficiently, it takes 10 to 15 minutes to warm up in winter especially those newer lithium batteries before getting 56+ mpg. In some cases, I still got 60+ mpg after 228K miles.
My shop upgrade the NiMH to LiFePO4 system. As you know LiFePO4 last 2-3 times as long and it’s new so you are looking a 20 plus years of hybrid battery life. The only problem is the BCM needs to be programmed for the LiFePO4 to last it’s maximum otherwise running it in NIMH setting will cause premature failure which is about 3- 4 years.
Are you sure? Toyota lithium battery warranty only 10 years or 150k miles.
@@kevtn8 Its still in the research phase. The BCM firmware would need to be upgraded as well. As of now they only last a few years due to the harsh condition
Thanks for the tips. My 2013 Insight still going strong with original IMA battery NiMH. Just changed brake pads for the first time after 10 years & 130k km. Hot tropical country Malaysia
Keep your hybrid battery out of the heat?!?!?!? Now you tell me!!!!!
I live in Arizona. The daily temperature 3 months out of the year is between 100 and 115 degrees, peaking at times to 120 degrees! Ha! But I do park it in the shade at night.
I usually park my cars in darkness at night
Then whats the whole point of it being hybrid and having a marker line to empty as if we can use the battery when we run out of gas? I have a Toyota Camry Hybrid
CVT in N? CVT replacement will cost as much as battery replacement, no?
Nope tried this many times cvt never goes bad
And the cooling filters need cleaning or replaced on hybird honda accord
What do you do if you go on vacation? Having to drive the car every other day to protect the battery seems like a design flaw
I have 2011 Prius, and when I'm getting close to home (say 0.2 miles) and driving slow, I can discharge the batteries a little bit by going into EV mode.
no need, just learn the pulse and glide technique...
i agree ,with E10 shell i get less mpg than E10 Esso ,also i find i get more mpg with Redex ,using for 2 years definitely more mpg
I doordash, when I go inside restaurants should I shut the car off or keep it running ?
No, no worries short periods will be okay
It’s okay to keep it running
Then someone going to steal it😂
Keep your car off, you don't want it stolen.
Does visiting in neutral cause problems for the automatic transmission?
What about driving in neutral with automatic transmision? You Save battery to kill gearbox?
Is there any way to modify a 2014 prius' performance?
Small block Chevy?
i hear 'go faster' stripes are a cheap easy way to improve performance.... but in the words of the great old wise 'jeremy clarkson', if you want to tune something to go faster- you really need it to be pretty fast to begin with'
Guess I shoulda kept my '68 Dodge Charger w/440 CID. Well... except for the gas mileage situation.
I have prius 2007 model and I change the hybrid battery at June 2022!!!
Nice!
My 07 indicates 80%, knock on wood. 🙏
You forgot to mention to clean the battery air filters. But nice demonstration
How long is safe to run AC while stopped? What’s a rule of thumb? No longer than?
When it's hot I never turn mine off (07 and 08 Prius) never had a issue.
Is there a indication to show the state of the hybrid battery
Yes on the screen inside
I use my break shift ( B) often when going downhill. My battery is on the bottom 2 line bar. Is that the reason why??? Please help!
if your battery doesn't get past 2 bars when going down hill in B mode, you may have a battery thats not holding charge...
Hi, I have maintenance questions and you might be the best person to ask.
1. how long is your hybrid battery life experience? shortest and average?
2. how much do battery replacements cost
3. Are battery replacements hard to find/acquire for old models? Worried batteries of new cars now will have no stock in the future.
Btw, thank you for the tips.
I am thinking of buying a Yaris Cross Hybrid, but worried about those maintenance questions.
Hope you can help me with my questions. Thank you very much!
new toyota hybrids come with a 10-year warranty, but they can last much, much longer. the battery in the current corolla costs around $3k to replace, but, again, they can last 20+ years!
Is there any problem with the neutral drive to the gearbox when the battery is fully charged?
When In neutral it don’t charge the hybrid battery
Not sure about other cars but my second gen Prius doesn't have a gear box.
I had to learn these about my car THANKS FOR THE VIDEO!
You are welcome!
Soon as the battery of my RAV4 starts to drain below 40%, the engine starts to compensate the drain and it will charge the battery upto 50-60% then stop. This works in Park as well, so it doesn't really matter if I keep the AC running, cause the system will compensate. Only in Neutral it won't do that. Same goes for driving. The system will not allow the battery charge to become too low or high, so ... what are you talking about? Can't imagine Toyota uses an inferior system in the Prius.
In park with AC on, May I ask how often ICE engine kicks in or cycles to charge hybrid battery? Mine does it every 10 mins while in park with AC on.
Excellent program! Thank you very much. i subscribed to your channel. These 5 points are all new to me.
By the way how often should I clean the hybrid fan and how much should I pay to clean the fan in my 2005 Prius?
Not very often but if you have dogs or pets the hair tends to clog it pretty quick
@@carhub2178 Thank you so much for your reply. It shows your kindness. I wish there were more people like you in this world. Best wishes!
2 weeks? What if i go.on vacation for 3 or 4 weeks?
Ac is fine in park as long as you idle bc it will continually regenerate
Yes but Iv seen a lot of people just run them out of gas sitting there which killls the battery
I set it my 06 Prius many times for hours with the AC on that's one reason why I got the car I enjoy the AC on, I work out of my car so I need to have it on and the battery has been just fine
@@carhub2178 Bro you would have to idle for YEARS even with the ac on. Like are you saying these people idle with no gas in the tank? If so the issue is the low gas...
Like with a full tank i could probably run my Camry Hybrid for over 24 hours.
@@bigaaron not saying it’ll destroy your battery but if you just sit there with it in on it’s not good because Prius ac runs off of battery
@@carhub2178 I feel like its no different than using your battery any other time. Like the car going in and out of ev mode while you coast, it is recharging the battery as it is used with the ICE.
You never put your car into neutral while driving. What happens if you need to make an emergency maneuver that requires stepping on the gas pedal?
do you know if a battery module from a 2002 Prius will fit into 2004 to 2009?
Really just need to keep the filter for the battery clean to keep it from overheating. Toyota designed this well.
In general, people don't do any of these things and the Prius after 2010 all get 300k miles with reg maintenance
my 2014 prius just had the 12v battery die. almost made 10y... way longer than I expected...and hybrid battery seems to be going strong. 207k miles and almost 10y.
I just saw video of another Toyota tech who said little battery should be changed every three years. He explained why but I didn't understand. Js
I live in the mountains. Every time I go to work I descend 4000 feet. Neutral puts a lot of strain on the brakes. Sugestions?
The B Gear
Hey do the 2nd gen Prius hybrid battery use the same cells as in the 2012- Camry and Avalon hybrids ? I wanted to use those to replace my dying battery pack
i did check on google ... it is saying ...Max on milege about 150k- 180k for life time on hybrid Battey ....thanks for that info 👌
Hi .. pretty impressive .. more Prius’s than anyone else in No. America! I have a Gen3 2010 and always seeing a ⚠️CheckHybridSystem. Recently, I aired out all the ducts and watching temp as much as possible. Simple everyday driving up and down the St. Thomas steep hills. ❤Question: If I keep it in B on the shift lever, will that help cooling the battery? Or do they have no relationship?