I got my new 2006 prius last week and now drove about 500 miles, I notice that the battery meter on the consumption info screen was never showing full charge, from 2x purple bars charge up to 6x blue bars is quick but seems stuck at 6x blue bars afterward, I saw it shows 7x green bars one time only within the 500 miles driving experience. any advise or comments??
By the way, my first tank record about 40MPG, is it within the normal range for a new prius still in break-in period.
thanks much..............

 

It is not a problem. The battery is not a primary source of motive power, like gasoline. It primarily provides power as needed to operate the CVT and EV modes. One of the secrets of long battery life is the Prius never overcharges the battery.

The real question is how your MPG is doing since that often tells more about maintenance and driving style. Let the car take care of the battery automaticly.

Bob Wilson

 

This is normal. This method of never fully charging or discharging the battery is what allows the battery to last the lifetime of the car. It is computer controlled. Just drive and relax and enjoy the high mileage, comfort and safety you now have.

 

Go to:

www.privatenrg.com

for an extrmrly detailed explanation of this and most other
pieces of Toyota's hybrid system.

 

I've had my Prius 2 weeks now. My battery has had all the charge bars full only 3 times, and only after I've glided down my local mountain.

 

Exactly Priusnut. This is by design. See my previous post in this thread

for the link that will explain all. Near the bottom of the not fancy web site is
the battery pack State Of Charge section.

 

For those of you that want to understand what the charge indicator on the dash really indicates, here it is.

The top of the battery display is about 80% of total capacity. The bottom of the display is about 40% of battery capacity. The individual bars in the display do not indicate any specific percentage of battery charge. They are representative only of overall battery function and give only a general indicator of battery charge level.

The reason that the battery will last so long in these cars is because it is never fully charged or discharged; the battery is always operating in its sweet spot. The battery has its own computer monitoring system and as such the vehicle is constantly managing battery charge levels to both collect energy for future use and to prevent any activity which might cause damage to the battery.

The best advice has already been given. Drive the car and enjoy, the battery level indicator is not a precision display of battery behavior, as such only use it to understand the general operating conditions of the entire vehicle.