Fresh 2010 Prius owner here I observed that ICE kicks in with any application to the throttle when the speed is over (approx) 80km/h which: 1. makes it impossible to get electric-only propulsion at that speed range and 2. sometimes causes very short ICE operation intervals. Is this possible to fine-tune/change? If not, is it possible to prevent the engine from turning off on-demand for a short period of time?
No. I mostly find my self cruising on electric on city streets when I slow down from highway speed and the car has exceess energy to burn off. I suspect you are under the delusion that you would improve MPG in electric. All electricity in a (non plug in) Prius comes from running the gas engine. The computers are optimizing as best they can,
Welcome to PriusChat. Your car will get the best mileage if you don't worry about trying to maximize EV driving. Above about 42MPH (70KPH) the ICE will run regardless; and no, it is not something that can be changed. Keep your tires properly inflated, be sure to use the correct oil, avoid quick starts, and watch the road ahead to avoid hard braking and your find that the Prius will do its best to give you outstanding mileage. There are numerous threads on PriusChat offering driving hints that can help you learn more about your new Prius.
1. This is not a real electric car, it is still a gasoline (petrol) car, albeit more efficient that previous gasoline models. The car itself is already very good at making the tradeoffs about when to use electric. For neophytes, it is difficult to 'game the system' with more electric use to reduce overall fuel consumption, but very easy to do it wrong and inadvertently increase consumption. Drive it 'normally' for a few tanks to get a baseline fuel consumption before trying to outperform the computers. This is the only way you can know whether or not you can do better. 2. The ICE is built to handle this, so don't worry about it in normal operation. The only known issue is when it happens on a cold engine, at a time when operation will not continue long enough to warm up. The leftover moisture has sometimes (but infrequently) caused very rough startup the next time.
The engine will run any time the speed is over the threshold of around 74 kmh. At lower speeds, if you have sufficient charge, ie, higher than 2 bars: the engine is warmed and you're load is modest (say steady driving on level roads), the car will slip into electric-only. It'll stay there as long as the Hybrid Synergy Indicator display is to the left of median: (the yellow highlighted zone) You can often drop the car into electric-only by lifting off and then gently reapplying the gas pedal. This is described in the Owner's Manual. Still, I'd heed Jimbo's advice: don't aggressively strive to maximize electric-only. The worst case is when it the HSI indicator is almost to the median (right end of highlighted area). This will eat up the charge fast.
Thanks for the replies and the welcome guys! I've been lurking around for a good few weeks already and have read plenty of material. Most of the things I didn't know, and made me want the car even more! Is this the knock on engine start that I've read about? Is the only problem the rough start on the next time? This one feels awesome. Just sliding along with zero instantaneous fuel consumption.
Not all electricity came from the gas engine . When going down hill,electricity is generated from the effect of gravity .Also when applying the brake. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
Did you push it up the hill or did you use gas? Did you push it up to speed or did you use gas? The Prius uses several innovative ways to conserve energy, but it all comes from gasoline. (Plug ins and manually pushing the car excepted)
After one year driving my Prius, I can tell my foot is now much more educated to maximize fuel mileage WHEN I WANT. I tested driving with all indicators OFF and it's very relaxing cause you don't pay attention to hybrid stuff and just enjoy the ride. Plus fuel mileage was very good at 4.7L/100. from this consumption point I played with all indicators ON (HUD, HSI, central display...) and I managed a 4.2L/100 on same roads, average. That's with ALOT of anticipation, P&G techniques, etc...to gain not so much considering efforts...but it's funny ! Regarding ICE, with some experience you can feel/hear when it shuts off without looking the displays &/or lifting off completely the foot from the gas pedal, without radio ON of course it's easier And yes, the goal isn't to maximise EV usage, the goal is to minimize ICE running WITHOUT using battery, IE using roads configuration & inertia as much as you can. ANTICIPATION is the key if you want to reach the best fuel mileage. in theory, you have to accelerate the minimum possible to reach the point you want without braking at all. That is theory, but you have to put it in real world as much as possible depending on your driving environnement.
