I just finished my Winter with the plug-in and temperatures are starting to get in the 50's and 60's again. I have two questions or observations about the winter: 1. Naturally my ICE turns on as I leave my garage and runs for a few minutes. I have a 5 mile downhill commute that I normally stay in EV in during the summer months. Aside from the fact that the ICE would occasionally turn on in VERY cold temps after warming up as I coasted (under 61 mph) downhill in EV, I noticed that if I stepped on the brake causing more than 1/2 of the charge bar to illuminate - the ICE would turn on. I tested this every day on my downhill commute to work as I live at the acme of a mountain and found it to be true when the outside temperature was below 45 degrees. Now that it is getting warmer, it is back to normal. Why would depressing the brakes cause this to happen? 2. I did not plug-in at all over the winter due to the ICE running virtually all of the time. My trip data on the bottom of one of the displays showed in November (when I last plugged in) " Fuel Saved by Charge" was 26.8 gallons. I assumed this data represented an approximation of the gas saved by the watts of electricity put in the car. Now after a few months of now plugging the car in, the number has dropped to 26.1 gallons. I'm confused as to why this number dropped even after not plugging in for 6 months. Thank you.
1) battery won't accept the regen in the cold weather. 2) it depends on what trip meter you're using.
If you 'fill' the battery, then braking cannot further charge it. Engine braking takes over. In summer, you are not filling the battery by running heat just keep the cabin warm.
