Exactly does the hybrid battery get recharged while I am driving the car? My battery almost never goes beyond four bars and there seems to be quite a bit of time I can’t be on the battery when I think I should be at low speeds. I assumed that whenever the ICE was running, whenever the engine was running that the battery would be charging but that doesn’t appear to be the case. Can you tell me what driving techniques charge the battery the most please. THANKS

 

What hybrid, 350 or 450

 

There are two MGs. MG1 and MG2. When the hybrid battery gets low the ICE spins one of the MGs to act as a generator and charge the hybrid battery.

 

The battery charge status is just for general viewing. It's not for the user to think about, monitor, worry about, or adjust. The car, starting back with the first Prius in 2002, is so extremely intelligent, it does everything it needs to, on the fly, with zero human intervention. You just drive it like a normal car. as far as how it charges, it does it by using the force of rolling down the roads which spins magnets as a generator for charging. braking does this too. then the car will step down dc to dc for 12V accessories, charging the 12v battery etc. it's a whole song and dance computers take care of full time. it will never involve the driver. all automated.

Further, the # of bars you see has almost nothing to do with the actual state of charge. The battery will more or less charge between 20% and 80% not below and not higher, for safety and longevity--regardless of how many bars are shown. So for example if it shows 5 full bars, that does NOT mean behind the scenes the battery is fully charged. your car would set itself on fire if that was the case LOL. But FOR The casual driver/viewer, it shows you the bars just to be cute and give you something to look at.

Long story short? you just get inside the car, put it in drive, and go. zero.thinking.required. =) the car will manage itself how it sees fit. full time 24/7.

 

Thank you for responding, the reason I am asking is it seems to take quite a while when I first start the car before I can use the battery to drive and frequently when I would think the EV would come on at low speeds it does not come on as often as I would hope.

I am going out of my way to try to get 40 miles per gallon in town and I can almost never do it no matter how slow and carefully I drive, and on the highway I get less, which I know is supposed to be the case.

I love using dynamic radar cruise control so that I do as little pedaling as possible, but when I do use that my mileage is much worse of course.

Don’t get me wrong, I love this car, I just wish I could get a little better mileage. I have read what all the tricks are and I try them, before I did that I was lucky if I got 32.

 

Keep the battery around 60% is how you make hybrid lasting forever. On the 350H, regen braking is what charge the battery the most.

 

If you've read the tricks I'll try not to repeat them here. I'm waiting for my 350h but I've had an RX450h for 5 years now - one of the best tricks is to maximize your use of the regen braking. It's a fairly normal habit to maintain speed until the last minute and then brake for a light. When traffic allows, I start that process WAY back from a light or a stop. Coast as long as you can (and safe to do so). Accelerate slowly. Maintain constant speeds when you can. As mentioned, your engine will charge the battery if that's the only option.

Other big factors: gas that's 10% ethanol usually reduces my MPG by 1-2. And for me (without starting a big unnecessary gas debate) using 87 versus the recommended 91 also cost me 1-2 mpg. If you are in CA where you run the AC all the time, that can play a role as well.

Overall I manage to get 30-31 in my RX, but that's with the right gas and I have a station here where I can get ethanol-free premium. And WA is milder weather too.

 

Thanks, I do those things now even to the point of not using adaptive cruise control which I absolutely love because I know how it’s going to detract from my mileage.

I use 87 Costco California.

Going to use 91 next time just to see what happens.

 

You'll pay more money and get the same mpg

 

Your results may vary for sure. There is a thread in the 4th Gen RX forum that has discussed this to death. Some notice a difference, some don't. I'm just one of the ones that do - particularly if I do a lot of highway driving. I recently did a 1200 mile round trip where I had four 300 mile legs and due to prices and availability some legs were at 87 and others at 91. The legs on 87 were 25-26 mpg and the ones at 91 were 27-28. This is going about 75 mph.

But, it's always worth it to find out if you are looking for MPG. I'm assuming the NX recommends 91. If it doesn't, and recommends 87, the higher octane won't help. But if it recommends 91 but says 87 is OK, then there is a possibility.

 

I show the most charging when braking. Nothing else shows more charging.