Hi All, I am the happy owner of a new blue 2014 Prius 2 which is approaching 2k miles. So far I've been getting about 60 mpg (based on actual fill-up, not MFD) with only modest effort. One thing I haven't gotten used to yet is how frequently the ICE starts and stops. It seems particularly annoying when I'm at a light, and when the light turns green the ICE turns on for a couple seconds when accelerating from a stop, then off while turning at the intersection, then back on to accelerate down the side road. This is in rush hour traffic, so creeping towards the light on electric power is not a neighborly option. When driving under 40 mph, it seems that the engine is turning on and off at least several times every mile. I know the engine is designed to avoid start-up wear, but this is orders of magnitude more start-ups than I'm used to. Is this normal? That is, when owners have 200+k miles on their cars, has the engine been cycled on/off up to 1 million times? (assuming 5 cycles per mile) Any experience from long-time owners would be appreciated.
It's normal for the engine to be on the majority of the time. When the engine's off, it'll usually stay off as long as the the bar graph in the HSD stays to the left of the center mark. That's the horizontal bar display, if you haven't found it yet. Looks like this: Also, when you're at a stop, and the engine's shut down, you can predictably turn it back on, just by raising the temperature setting on the heater. The threshold is around 21.5 C. Turn temperature back down and the engine will again shut off. Just to say, there are several factors controlling when the engine runs. I would not chase engine off driving too far, the car is designed to run a mix of off/on.
Thanks, but not quite what I was asking. It seems that if you "just drive" a Prius, there will be situations where the traffic, terrain, and intersections cause the engine to turn on and off a lot. I'm wondering if this is something to "worry" about. For example, is it better to use "B" mode when traffic is unpredictable and causes a lot of engine on/off cycling in D? Some days it just seems that the engine turning on causes the car in front of me to hit the brakes unexpectedly.
You have the right to worry about whatever suits you, I am not trying to stop you. Toyota has warrantied the Prius for at least 8 years/100,000 miles everywhere in the US, (you may not be in the US, you failed to fill out a Location) so it would seem that this is mostly their worry. The car is designed to work this way, the Prius is up to speed and has oil BEFORE the computers add fuel. Toyota has been making Prius since 1997, and importing them to the US since 2001. If this were an issue, it might have manifolded itself by now.
Barring extremely long downhill runs, there's no need to ever use B mode. It's only use is to reduce battery charging.
Welcome to PRIUSchat!! You will LOVE your new blue 2014 Prius!! It sounds like your Prius is doing what it was designed to do. .... Do not worry about it!!
Actually, the "CHG" indicator can still fill all the way up under B mode - it doesn't limit or reduce how much of that bar fils up. B mode engages engine braking above 16 mph-ish, so your engine also assists in braking. (Can be useful if someone or if a traffic light cuts you off.)
Yes, it only reduces the percentage of braking energy being regenerated, it does not eliminate regeneration, just adds engine braking. The Prius PHV has different B rules. You only need B for long steep downhills, but that does not prevent drivers from misusing it.
The engine starts differently than in a conventional car. In most cars, the starter spins the engine at a few hundred RPMs until it starts. In the Prius, the engine gets spun up to about 1000 RPM almost instantly and only starts getting fuel after it reaches that speed, so much of the normal start up wear is prevented.
all normal and part of what is helping you get 60 mpg. you'll get used to it, although, my wife's hairdresser traded hers in because it freaked her out. she mostly hated it when at a light and the engine shut off. she just couldn't get past the feeling that the car wouldn't go when the light changed.
I'll get used to it, no problem. Got stuck in traffic the other day in my wife's car. A 6-speed auto gets very busy when driving 0-20 and back to 0 again. Kept thinking "the Prius would do this all electrically".
In these situations, B mode serves only to waste energy that could otherwise have been saved and put into the battery. It doesn't provide more braking force, nor more total regeneration, than regular D mode with the regular brake pedal.
When stuck in stop & go traffic Prius behavior is most annoying as the engine spins up just enough to charge the battery past the minimum. Not much you can do about it--cut back on the climate control & turn off the radio. It's normal & won't cause problems.
