Hybrid battery

My battery level on my hybrid never gets 100% charge . There is at most 2 open slots to full drove over 200 miles highway and it never went to full? why

 

The only time! after going downhill for 20 minutes

 

You'll need to drive down a long grade that requires continuous light braking in order to fully charge it. I'm talking probably 5-6 miles (maybe more?) of steep, downhill grade with your foot on the brake pedal and then you might fully charge it. The battery only charges when braking, so driving 200 miles on what I assume is a fairly flat highway will never charge it.

Also, hybrid batteries tend to operate at less than fully charged states. Batteries work the hardest in the lowest 20% and the highest 20% of capacity, so they can be made to last much, much longer if the charge is always kept in that 20-80% range. Maybe even 30-70% depending on the vehicle. There are options in electric cars to set the max charge to 60 or 70% if your typical daily commute never needs more than that, which allows the battery to last several hundred thousand miles.

 

You’ll never get it 100% full nor 0% drained. By design. 20-80%.

just like plug in EV’s optimal charging max is 80% . If you recharged to 100% constantly you’d wear out the battery quicker

 

If its anything like my wife's 22 Highlander Hybrid, the gas motor will charge the batteries as well, not just braking.

 

Are you sure it’s not just charging it to a minimum level after it’s been extremely depleted? It defeats the purpose to charge it from the motor and not from regenerative braking.

 

So 2022 tundra hybrids have regenerative braking?

 

So if the optimal use of the battery is between 20 and 80%. The user probably sees 20% as 0 and 80% as 100%. The computer should manage the real battery charge in the background.

 

Well that makes no sense

 

We had a 2006 Camry Hybrid, and have a 2015 Prius & a 2020 Camry Hybrid. I have never seen more than one short of all the bars, usually, they sit about 3/4.

 

ALL hybrid assisted drivetrains use regenerative braking. Every single one. That’s how it works, instead of losing that kinetic energy in the form of friction and heat in your brake pads and discs, hybrids attempt to use the motor-generator to slow you down, which produces a voltage and charges the battery. Then, when you start accelerating again, it uses the stored energy in the battery to propel you (in part) with the motor-generator. Rinse and repeat. That’s how hybrids maintain efficiency, especially in stop-go driving. In non-hybrid power trains, accelerating uses a ton of gas and braking wastes energy.

 

Nearly all hybrids stay at around the half point on the battery charge. This is for durability purposes. It will charge up more if you do a lot of braking due to the regenerative braking. Also if you deplete it by sitting with the AC on, the engine will kick on to charge up the battery.

 

Mine spends most of its time from 2-5 bars never is full. My display is different from yours.

 

Correct it doesn't fully charge but only when it gets very low and only to the bare minimum charge

 

You can adjust the display settings for gauges. I believe the one in the picture is called the "tow/haul" gauges or something to that effect as it displays a visual for transmission and oil temps.