on ocassion, on the power generation screen, I see jus the motor applying power to the wheels. this only lasts about 2-3 seconds and I can't see any pattern to it (speed, going down grade, cold, warm etc). is this normal?
Yes. The prius has determined that it only needs to take power from the engine, it doesn't need to re-route anything to MG2 or into/out of the battery. Mine seems to do this at low throttle on a mild decline. It never lasts more than a couple of seconds, since if power demand is really that low the engine will soon shut off.
if you mean motor as in electric motor, thats how the car works if you take off slow and the car is warmed up it can only use the battery to power the car slowly or it can hold lowers speeds on flat ground or downhill. or do you mean motor an in the ICE or gas engine? If this is what you mean i have noticed this too at highway speeds, for a second or two the ICE powers the wheels and nothing else, and the electric motors are doing nothing, but it goes right back to charging the battery or pulling from the battery.
If you mean the ICE (internal combustion engine) only, I see this all of the time on my daily commute. 60 mph and on level ground or a slight downgrade the ICE seems to be in its sweet spot at this speed and grade. I see the power flow from the battery to the MG2 and from MG1 to battery stop for short periods of time, maybe a couple of seconds at a time. The HSD is just doing its balancing act.
yeah sorry for the Kornfusion, I did mean the ICE. for me it seems to happen around 30 mph going down a slight grade.
Hi All, When I noticed this happening, I was hoping it would be an effective indicator of what hypermilers call SHM (Super Highway Mode). If you can hold the car in this state for long stretches of highway, you can get in excess of 70 mpg for that time. The indication is too sensitive to be used practically, however. The Gen II Prius did not do this at all. So, the Gen III MID action to display when engine-only operation is interesting, but still a work-in-progress...
