Not Regenerating. Wonder What Has Happened?

[wstr75]

Our neighborhood is on a high hill. The battery usually gets to green after going down the hill. Yesterday noticed it did not appear to go into brake regenerating mode while going down the hill. I repeatedly got off the accelerator, waited a while and then applied the brakes and still no blue. On the way home after driving through town the consumption record showed the green 50W symbols which relate to brake regeneration. Something is amiss and a call to the dealer is necessary.

Anyone else experience the no-blue, blues?

[mehullica]

Will be affected by the state of charge of the battery and the speed at which you're traveling. If the S.O.C. is high and battery temp is high, you won't regen.

[wstr75]

Mehullica, thanks for your comments. The state of charge was 3 blue bars. The battery temperature should have been normal. Yes, it was a 90 degree day here in NC but there will be lots of 90 degree days over the next four months, so you got to think Toyota planned for 90 degree days as being normal operating conditions. So why the no-blue blues?

I forgot to respond to your third comment about braking speed. I tried it at all speeds and the indicator went to the bottom of white but never into the blue, yet it showed regeneration symbols on the consumption display. The brakes felt normal. I may try driving over a bumpy road while braking to see if I get the brake release and re-engage feeling that occurs when the car suddenly moves from regeneration braking to pad braking as the car jogs over a sizeable bump in the road.

[bikeandsail]

My Rx400 h with over 28,000 miles on it has periodically stopped regenerating for no obvious reason, batery not fully charged, not hot etc. Has never lasted more than I day, usually just to the next "start" IE ignition off and then back on. It has done it 4 or 5 times total in over a year. It also always stops reginerating after hitting a hard bump untill I reapply the pedal. I have often wondered if it is a loose connection computer glitch or something else. I beleive it will impossible to diagnose unless it persists. I have decided it is not worth worrying about.

Ron

[wstr75]

My Rx400 h with over 28,000 miles on it has periodically stopped regenerating for no obvious reason, batery not fully charged, not hot etc. Has never lasted more than I day, usually just to the next "start" IE ignition off and then back on. It has done it 4 or 5 times total in over a year. It also always stops reginerating after hitting a hard bump untill I reapply the pedal. I have often wondered if it is a loose connection computer glitch or something else. I beleive it will impossible to diagnose unless it persists. I have decided it is not worth worrying about.

Ron

Thanks for sharing your experience. Makes me feel better. I agree with your logic regarding the shop not being able to find something that only happens periodically.

[Statman]

My car has never had the green bars at the top (energy monitor screen) come on. Is this also "typical"?

[katzjamr]

yes it is normal to almost never have the top green bar showing. I have only seen it once briefly after a long descent down a steep hill when the battery was almost full at the start of the hill.

[mehullica]

What if you decel in "B" mode on the trans? Will the power meter dip into the blue?

[skyfish400h]

What if you decel in "B" mode on the trans? Will the power meter dip into the blue?

No, B mode will not recharge the bat. It uses engine compression to provide resitance.

[markatty]

I get the same thing and it is irritating, because it makes me doubt the rest of the infomation feedback systems in the RX-400. I'll brake but the energy gauge shows no charging, but then a few minutes later the center info screen shows the 50 watt charging pips. So what is correct?

(One thing I thought of as I type this is to use the energy display to see if current is flowing into the battery even thought the electric meter shows no charging.)