Hi folks

After about 6 months and 19K of driving my 4GSh I finally got to see the battery fully charged for the first time - wondering if anyone else has experienced a different frequency for fully charged events - to be honest I'm not sure what triggered this but glad I've seen it once GS 450h battery fully charged

 

I've also just got a 450h and noticed that the battery never goes to the top. Is the intentional? Do I need to perform some kind of battery calibration routine?

 

As far as I understood, seeing the battery fully charged is a fairly rare event - I guess under specific circumstances the regen braking and engine braking combine and sometimes get it fully charged. I think the charge/discharge process is very conservative in general and only uses a small part of the actual battery energy capacity to extend it's life so Lexus can warrant it for 8yr/100k

You shouldn't worry if you don't see it fully charged - 99.99% of time I'm only getting 7/8 bars (sometimes 6/8 bars) tops

I think calibration is available if deemed necessary - that's what the hybrid reconditioning shops do and sell those batteries in good shape at a fraction of the cost of a new one

Cheers

 

I'm a new comer who previous owned a Camry Hybrid 2012. I also used a ScanGauge to track the real battery life. So far the GS450h is showing and responding the exact same way my Camry did. The display on the dashboard really only shows from 55% to 89% of the battery charge. The car just likes to keep it in that range and will actively discharge/charge beyond those values. It takes going down a steep hill to get beyond 85% of the battery charge. Usually by 90% battery charge your brakes pads will be more active in breaking process.

 

Just drove through the Tennessee mountains this weekend - saw the battery fill to the top several times when going down very long grades and regenerating the whole time. I assume after a while it will stop regenerating when the battery is full, and switch to hydraulic brakes to prevent overcharging. Seems to be working!

 

You're right - very likely that Toyota/Lexus keeps the charging algorithms in line between models. If you have a proven track record that works well, sometimes the incentive to change is not there I guess same goes with the NiMh battery, which was not changed to Li-Ion because it gnerally held up quite well

 

Nice - that's proabably proof that your hybrid components including main battery are still in excellent shape

 

I know this is an old topic but I actually have done an official ask of this as I noticed the same thing in both my Auris HSD, 3th gen Lexus and my 4th so the official answer is this.

Breaks are calculated on the car to work together with the hybride system, they can stop the car also on their own but that should not be the rule. Battery charges a lot going downhill (kind of logic) so what Toyota actually did after testing the initial hybrides on different terrains was making sure there still was kind of margin while running down a hill. The battery has no memory effect so toyota charges is depending on your last X km to a level between 85 to 90% the rest is a buffer ... so if you want to have the battery really full ... drive gently for about 100 km, then make sure you drive it until it is charged as far as you can ... then search a long downhill and put it in a lower gear so the car will regenerate more :-) it will full your battery to the max.

This combination calculation is also the reason why on smaller hybrids like the prius, ct, auris, ... you are not allowed to tow more then 400 kg. The car has enough force and torque to do so but going downhill with a lot of weight pushing would give problems potentially overcharging the batteries + break failure as the regular breaks are also smaller on the hybrid models

 

Finally got to see 8/8 bars coming down from Monteagle pass on I24 eastbound in my 08 GS450h.

Someone on FB Lexus page said there is 4 more bars, which until he said I’ve never noticed before. Anyone see the 4 small bars over the 8 be indicated?

 

All pumped about going to pick up my new 450 H+. Going to do a long trip and this thread sounds like, drive normally, the vehicle/system will manage the charging task to keep the battery at full charge? Or do I need to actively manage this?

 

@Tomkitty - Welcome aboard!

Just drive it and let the car's system take car of charging the traction battery. It does the job wonderfully!

Tell us all about the GS 450h you're getting. I'm sure you'll love it!

 

Is my battery (with 7 bars) fully charged in this picture I took of my multi-information display? I don't think it can display 8 bars like the image in the owners manual (see 2nd image below).




This image is from the owners manual which shows 8 bars when the traction battery is charged fully.

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I think your car is missing a row of batter packs I don’t think I have ever counted mine, so this will give me something to check out once I drive it again. Has been a couple weeks now, so she is sitting in the garage. I am sure another one of our fine gentlemen can answer the question though in the meantime.

 

I'll be interested in hearing if other 4GSh owners have 7 or 8 rows in their battery icon image, and the maximum number of rows they have ever seen illuminated (lit up) on their car's battery icon image, indicating the charging level of their respective traction battery.

 

I guess no one knows!