Hey everyone! I just wanted to say that I love reading the information on this site! I just picked up my 2014 base prius plug in last Saturday and I am loving it so far! I just have a few questions (If they've already been answered please direct me to the correct thread). First, when I drive in EV mode and my fiancé puts on the heat/defroster, the ICE goes on. I know this is what happens since I've read it here, but I was wondering if I am still running off of EV? or am I basically in HV mode since the ICE is running (EV is outlined, but not colored in). Second, I noticed that when I have no EV charge left and I am running in HV mode, sometimes the EV mode gets colored in to the left of the vertical bar in the HSI. I am able to drive on the EV up to about 30mph. How is this possible if I have no EV miles left??? Any answers would help! Thanks again everyone! I hope I can stop being confused and get my MPG up (its only at 53 right now). Regards, Rock87
congrats and welcome! read through the faq sticky for a lot of good info. when you are in ev and turn on the heat, the pip will use up your battery and supplement with extra ice power. if you switch to hv, it will maintain you ev by using ice to keep battery charged as well as power vehicle. in either case, it's doing a nice little dance between the two sources to try to achieve your preference. after you run out of ev miles, you may still run on ev at times when the hv 'portion' of the battery is adequately charged. at these times, the icon will fill in, letting you know. please add your location so we can be more helpful in the future. all the best with your new pip!
OK Thanks for the info! So basically I'm running in EV just with the ICE creating the heat for the cabin. If Im running in HV, it charges the battery a little, and if enough is available I can use EV for slower speeds. This is different than full EV mode since I don't have any available miles left and cant go up to the 62MPH without the ICE turning back on. Is this correct? Thanks!!
Rock87, Welcome to PriusChat and congratulations on your purchase. Enjoy your learning experience. How do like the mpg's 53 is a greatly start, it will get better.
Potorap, I absolutely love the PIP. I traded in a 2011 Venza that I had because I was only getting about 20 MPG. The PIP is definitely smaller, but the gas mileage is out of this world. I just need to keep learning to get it in the 60's or better!
If you are in EV and you do something such as turn on the heat, then the ICE comes on and you are now in a blended mode...or EV Boost as some call it. The ICE will come on and warm up, as required to provide heat. When it is warm enough it will drive the wheels. Once it is warm enough that it stops, for example, when you are stopped at a red light, the ICE will cycle on/off but you will mostly be in EV for low demand driving. Mike
