I'm new to Prius world and waiting for mine at the end of July Maybe a basic question but haven't find an answer: when the Prius is moving in EV mode (or we are gliding/regenerative braking), do the pistons continue moving?. I undertsand no fuel is injected in such cases but not clear if the pistons are somehow "disconnected" when the wheels are moving. Any help will be appreciated
The Prius (Gen 1, 2, and 3) has a power split device (planetary gear set) which allows it to move at slow speed (up to 40 mph) with the internal combustion engine off - the crankshaft doesn't move. Pretty cool! Toyota Prius - Power Split Device
Gen III up to 46mph. But it depends on the SOC/terrain, etc. Above that and you can still be moving the pistons but no fuel ignition, like down a hill.
At low speeds, no. At higher speeds the engine needs to turn to keep MG1 from over-speeding. This is because MG1 must spin backward to keep the ICE from turning. On the Gen III the threshold is around 46 mph. Tom
The pistons aren't moving if ICE RPM is at 0. You can monitor it via tools like ScanGaugeII : Linear Logic - Home of the ScanGauge or the Torque app for Android and the appropriate OBD2 to Bluetooth adapter.
This new EV symbol just introduced with the 2012 model indicates when the engine is not in motion: Both the v and plug-in models have it too.
No. During warp stealth the EV light is off. The only way to be certain you are in warp stealth is to monitor fuel (GPH), closed/open loop, and or RPM (0,960,992) via SGII or Torque.
Here is a pic I took of Torqu running on my phone using an OBD Bluetooth module. MG1 is motor/generator 1, MG2 is motor/generator 2, and ICE is the gas engine with pistons. You can see in the pic that one motor gets to -446 RPMs, the second motor spins at 1401 RPMs and the Engine never moves. This is a great link that shows how it all works. Toyota Prius - Power Split Device
