I just purchased a '12 PIP advanced a couple days ago. Love it so far, but I'm confused about why it keeps on switching out of EV mode before the charge is used up. My commute is 6 miles, so I assumed that I would be able to get to my office with no problem, using only electric. Without accelerating quickly or going above 62 mph, the car still switches into hybrid mode numerous times, for no apparent reason, resulting in an average of about 90 mpg by the time I get to work, still with a lot of juice left in the battery. Can anyone shed some light on why this is happening? My dreams of going for months without filling up with gas are starting to fade away.
Why is ICE turning on when there's still battery left? There are any number of factors that can cause this. The manual outlines them on page 40: ●The heater etc. is in use. ●The temperature of the hybrid system is high: The vehicle has been left in the sun, driven on a hill, driven at high speeds, etc. ●The temperature of the hybrid system is low: The vehicle has been left in temperatures lower than about 32°F (0°C) for a long period of time etc. ●Power is needed temporarily, for example when accelerating suddenly. ●Vehicle speed is more than approximately 62 mph (100 km/h). ●The accelerator pedal is depressed firmly or the vehicle is on a hill etc. ●The outside temperature is low (less than 14°F [-10°C]) Bullet points 4 & 6 refer to accelerating so hard that the HSI progress bar reaches into the PWR zone. In addition, it will also turn on when ●You have driven in EV mode with no ICE usage for 200 km (~124 miles) ●When using the front windshield defogger and coolant temperature is too low (more on that below) ●When you are braking/"coasting" and the traction battery is full (see question regarding the B drive mode below) Relevant threads: ICE in EV Mode … Again, ICE in EV Mode, why is my ICE starting???, confused about when ICE should run?, ICE Engine ON Indicator, EV mode and my ICE kicked in., Fully charge but ICE still running?, Is there any pattern for when ICE comes on?, Is the ICE kicking on in EV mode? Read more: http://priuschat.com/threads/the-one-and-only-prius-plug-in-faq.118566/#ixzz2GwIdmDcC
Thanks for this. None of these points seem to apply to me. I'm an eager new owner and have been super careful about doing everything right to maximize efficiency.
So after it switches to HV mode the first time and the ICE warms up, I assume you manually switch it back to EV mode? And then, for no apparent reason, it switches back to HV again? Heater is off, no fan, less than 62 mph, no hard acceleration and battery is somewhat drained and air temp 60F? And your commute is 6 miles. My commute is ~6 miles and I am able to drive in EV only everyday. Today it was 45F. What happened the instant before the ICE turns on? Uphill? Downhill? Mike
It doesn't switch into hybrid mode, the ICE just kicks in, so I don't have to manually put it back into EV mode for it to switch back on... it will do it by itself after a little while. I live in a hilly area, and I've been able to get out of the hills in EV-only without problem. I have to watch more carefully what happens prior to ICE taking over, but I've been avoiding the freeways to test out the EV mode, and driving/accelerating very slowly. Yes, to all of the things you mentioned, except "battery is somewhat drained". The battery is fully charged up for me.
There are a number of threads on this. If your battery is "full" and you are coasting downhill, the ICE may come on to help dissipate the energy being regenerated. Try your route with the battery not completely full to start and see what happens. Mike
Ok, thanks guys. I'll dig through some of these threads and continue watching my driving. I'm sure I'll figure this out soon.
You probably requested more power than PHV battery was allowed to deliver. You didn't have the A/C or defogger running right?
One other thing, make sure you have the HSI display showing on the MID (consult the FAQ for what this means) and stay out of the PWR region while driving.
