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Toyota Highlander Hybrid Battery Pack Questions
Since I purchased my HH 4wdi non-Ltd vehicle I have noticed that my traction battery status has fluctuated from time to time.
As I read my owners manual, I noticed several apparent anamolies.
1.)my status has never gone higher than level '6'..
2)often when starting up in the morning, my status level has been @ 5 or even level 4....
I have heard a sound from under the hood similiar to a motor whine after shutting down the vehicle.
I do not leave the vehicle in 'N', always in Park and do not leave any lights on.
Why would there be an apparent 'loss' of battery 'status'?? :confuse:
Ken, care to input ?
As I read my owners manual, I noticed several apparent anamolies.
1.)my status has never gone higher than level '6'..
2)often when starting up in the morning, my status level has been @ 5 or even level 4....
I have heard a sound from under the hood similiar to a motor whine after shutting down the vehicle.
I do not leave the vehicle in 'N', always in Park and do not leave any lights on.
Why would there be an apparent 'loss' of battery 'status'?? :confuse:
Ken, care to input ?
0
Comments
1. The traction batteries (3 banks of them btw) are Nickel-metal-hydride, which to clarify for those who think that there is a large environmental impact for building these, there isn't. They are non-toxic and recyclable even with the non-toxic compounds. They are designed to be charged and discharged millions of times in their life cycle. They are not like a "convential" battery in that you don't charge them to "full charge" then discharge them fully. My understanding is that they work optimally between 60%-90% charge and the electronics on the HH and Prius automatically keep it in optimal charge state for life of the batteries. So answering your question, I wouldn't worry too much about not having "a full charge" on the screen as this is what is needed to have the batteries work optimally.
2. NIMH batteries discharge themselves over time and even if your status indicator showed "6" when you stopped, they will slowly discharge just from sitting. Hence the recommendation that you don't leave the vehicle sit for months at a time without starting it occasionally.
2b. The HH is similar to the Prius in that the coolant, once hot, and when you turn off the vehicle gets pumped into, for lack of a better term, a "thermos" inside of the engine compartment. This will keep the coolant hot/warm for a period of up to 3-5 days from my understanding. The reason for this is that cold starts are the worst time for any ICE (internal combustion engine) for both gas milage as well as emissions, so by pumping the warm/hot coolant into the engine when you start up the vehicle, it GREATLY shortens the time needed for the ICE to warm up, reducing emissions, and improving milage while allowing the engine to shut off sooner as it stays on to get it to operating temps as soon as possible.
What you're probably hearing is either the pump shuttling the coolant, or these vehicles also test for "evaporative emissions" from the gas tank and there is a mechanical noise, normally several hours after it is turned off when it's doing that test. This is common on most Yotas, and if you go onto the dealer lot, look on the shift lever of vehicles which have just come off the truck and you'll notice a white tag on an elastic band explaining this for the customers as it can be disconcerting if you haven't heard it before.
Hope this helps.
Ken
Thanks so much !!
Valuable info that I did'nt know before.
Especially enlightening was item 2b...
This vehicle is truly a tecnical marvel !
Thx again
Al :shades:
Ken
You'll have to speak with Toyota corporate on this item; it is their own charts that show the higher pollution costs to manufacture the Prius over an ICE car, though they don't break down the reasons. One would assume it is the batteries, though I suppose it could be the electrical components...
"he HH is similar to the Prius in that the coolant, once hot, and when you turn off the vehicle gets pumped into, for lack of a better term, a "thermos" inside of the engine compartment."
I have read in these forums that the HH does not use the "thermos" system, for some reason.
Ken
should never have to jump start it! I traded a Landcruiser for this HH and not once did I have to jump start it! I don't know if this has been a problem for anybody but it sure sucks! :lemon:
Now if the "traction battery" pack starts the motor,then I could see using just a tiny battery for "other stuff".
What circuit runs the electric steering?I know the regen brake energy is sent to the battery pak.Does the battery pak run nothing but the wheels??Where does the electric steering get power?Same for the AC fan?Is the AC compressor run by an electric motor-?Does the major electric drive motor "run" anything else-you know,like driving a compressor like a gasoline motor?
Lot of questions.Just let me know what works the starter and the power steering?Thanks.Charlie
(ps - I never park it and leave it in a 'run down' state)
The traction battery is used to power the vehicle when moving, the A/C, the PS motor, etc.
Because the 12V battery does so little on the hybrids, they use a smaller one than in the conventional ones. Leaving the lights (headlights or interior) in most vehicles will drain the battery within 8-12 hours anyway, it takes about the same amount for the ones used in the hybrids. No difference there.
Ken
The only way I know of to discharge the traction battery below the safe range is to park it for a very long time in a "run down" state.
Ken
Thanks
Ken
Back to your question, there are probably better folks who can answer this, but I've heard numbers ranging from the hundreds to the thousands. who knows, if you own the car beyond the warrenty period, that price might go down in 10 years should it become an issue.
Hope this helps resolve some of the questions.
Ken
"Sanyo supplies nickel-metal-hydride (NiMH) hybrid batteries to Ford and Honda, while Toyota receives its batteries from Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd.—reportedly the largest NiMH batter supplier."
I believe thats Panasonic..
Fullest charge we have seen is 1 bar below completely full. Color becomes green.
Lowest charge we have seen is 2 bars left and color becomes pink.
Most of the time, 80%, we are somewhere between 4 and 6 bars, color is blue.
We achieved "Fullest" (1 bar below full) after long descent of more than 3 miles down mountain passes.
We achieved "Lowest" (2 left) charge after a long electric-only run of close to 2 miles over a dirt track at low speed.
The car computer automatically maintains sufficient charge for normal use, so there is no need for concern.
Thanks for your answer. With only 1 week under my belt, I have a lot to learn about this new technology. It seems as if Toyota would engineer the battery so it would except closer to a 100% charge more of the time. In traffic, a battery with a fuller charge would "call" for the gas engine less. But, I'm far from an expert and they build a wonderful car/SUV. I saw another helpful post about "normalizing" the sunroof of the Highlander. I'll be doing that before the next rain. BTW, this is the 3rd SUV with a nav that I've had and the one in this is far superior to the others. Thanks again.
How much energy does the battery hold-20 or so KW Hr??
How much energy does the Prius battery hold?
Thanks.Charlie
27Kwh battery. So I would guess HH being a little heavy will get a little below
3 miles on 1 Kwh charge.
The HH battery holds only about 2-3 Kwh.
The Prius battery is 1.5 Kwh.
Making these batteries 10-12Kwh and allowing them to be
plugged in will solve most commuting needs without any use of gas.
The software needs to be changed so that ICE dose not come on as
soon as speed reaches 35mph. Maybe it should come on at 65mph.
IG
You ae right-if you could get about 3 times that you would have a decent 35 mile range-and be able to spurt to 60+ for minutes at a time.Most folks probably commute 20-35 miles.Electricity was about 10 cents KWH in New Orleans beforethe flood-.A 35 mile commute for $1 would be a winner!!A normal V-6 Highlander would cost 2+ gallons-$6+.The HH would probably cost 1.4 gallons-$4+.
Yep,a Hybrid with plug in capability and 35 miles worth of KWH(10 KWH) battery power would be a winner.If the electricity came from something clean-Nuclear-hydro-wind-solar,it would really be a winner.Thanks.Charlie
I got in and put it into Drive to pull into the garage. It came up with the "Don't put it in Neutral, it will run the battery down" message came up on all displays. I put it back into Park, then Drive again. Same message. I drove it into the garage with the message still showing and then Park and shut down.
If it happens again, I'll be contacting the dealer.
Anybody else see that?
The last time I used the HH was Labor Day Sept 5 when I parked it in the garage until yesterday Morning Sept 20th. I had no trouble starting it and went on 3 short stops of about 2 miles each. I was a little worried that it might not start after I stopped, because it was running about half the time on the batteries. but no problem with it at all.
Brought it to work tonight without a problem.
There are no unimportant glitches. Report it to the dealer, or Toyota will never know it needs fixing...
It's clearly not a safety issue (the only real important glitch). Not a biggie to me.
So if we are going to be away for more than two weeks we ask the house sitter or a neighbor to take turns using our cars. It's worked out in the past.
mmreid
I have not seen it on the HH yet. I will look.
kdhspyder
Panasonic is the other supplier as well.
As an earlier post suggests, no known problems with Prius' batteries yet. I know people who have kept their old Prius for 4 years and all is still well so far. A Canadian automotive magazine reported an incident where Toyota bought back a Prius taxi that survived 200K+ miles. Toyota wanted to take apart the car to learn what went so right.
The HH has 2 places to show battery charge, the NAV screen and the small status screen under the speedometer. My best guess is that if either display shows the battery unable to hold a charge, it is time to check the system. Either batteries are dying or something else is wrong. In either case, they have to repair or replace within the warranty period. This is the one time when owner and mechanic can "see" what is wrong with a car.
I believe the batteries come from Panasonic, the metal case NiMH version. Panasonic claims the battery is able to maintain 80% of its performance even at the tail end of its life. Hopefully, this is not just a boast.