Quote:
Originally Posted by mpg_numbers_guy
Great work! I've been able to manage 70+ on many trips but my lifetime is still in the low 60s, due to cold winters. How healthy is your hybrid battery?
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Not sure as to the health of my hybrid battery, but it is the original one since it was imported from Japan. It would be 10 years old this year. It had a couple of instances recently where the state of charge plummeted from full to empty over a few seconds whilst not doing anything. Priuschat said it may be a sign the battery's bus bars need cleaning of corrosion. I started shopping locally around for quotes to get the hybrid system inspected and cleaned.
This June to August will be my first winter since starting to practice hypermiling driving techniques. Due to colder ambient air, it already takes a few more seconds for the engine and hybrid system to reach Stage 2 at 40°C to enable EV mode. Normally it reaches this stage before I exit my 30km/h housing development neighbourhood onto the 60km/h suburban main road that takes me to work. It could be worse. I park inside my garage, unlike many people in NZ, so the engine already warms up from double-digits Celsius. Grille blocking with a length of hot water pipe insulation has definitely helped.