Prius Plug-in 2012-15 :: ICE Always Comes On When Going Downhill At Any Speed
Apr 1, 2013
I'd like to stay in EV mode when driving my sons to school, but we live on top of a hill, and with a full charge, no matter what speed I go down that hill, the ICE always comes on. I've tried braking to limit my speed to 35 mph or 45 mph or just coasting, in which case I get up to 53 mph. It's usually about 60 degrees out and I don't use seat heaters or A/C. Is there anything I can do to stay in EV? I'm guessing the battery gets too full from the coasting and/or braking on the first half of the downhill and that's why it switches the ICE on halfway down. I sometimes wonder if I should use the timer to prevent the battery from charging up all the way...or just drive around the block a few times before going down the hill to "free up some space" in the battery for the energy I will get going down.
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I've been mostly content with my Prius Plug-in for nearly a year now. But, as a driver very consciously aware of what my car is doing, I have many complaints concerning the internal combustion engine igniting when not needed, or remaining on for far too long. I do my best to work around them, but I feel the need to enumerate my complaints and vent about them. Note I live in southern California where cold weather is extremely rare, and I consciously don't use the heater or AC.
ICE ignites when braking downhill on a full charge. I've heard users say this is necessary because if the battery is full, regenerative braking will overcharge the battery.
ICE ignites if I step on the accelerator ever so slightly too hard. I understand that Toyota claims it needs to use ICE to deliver the extra power to the wheels asked for by the driver, but I just don't believe that. The engine usually simply idles and does not power the wheels at all when this happens, meanwhile the wheels are still running on 100% EV power. I know this because I've become in tune to exactly when the ICE powers the wheels and when it's not. The easiest sign of ICE actually powering wheels is when the accelerator begins to vibrate and I hear the ICE rev up. The second sign is by watching the MPG meter. If you're cruising at something like 50 MPH, and the ICE is idling, you'll see it getting about 80-90 MPG. When it actually supplies useful power, it suddenly drops down to 50 or below.
ICE ignites if the car moves faster than 65 MPH. This seems totally arbitrary to me. For example, it does not matter if you're accelerating steep downhill in neutral, or on a level highway just very slowly accelerating past 65. You can watch the power meter the whole time, and even if it doesn't get anywhere near the (power) section to the far right, the ICE still ignites as soon as you hit 66. In those situations, why does it even think it needs any extra power? And to top it all off, all it really does is idle for at least a minute anyway.
The ICE runs only momentarily, but here's the kicker: If you immediately let go of the accelerator, decelerate to below 65 MPH, or even come to a full stop at a red light, the ICE still continues to run for at least a minute or two. Worse still, it idles for about a minute regardless of speed or power, then suddenly decides that it should power the wheels for a few seconds even if no variables have changed, and it does this for about 30 seconds more before finally deciding to suddenly pop back into pure EV mode. How you work around all of this? Stop at a red light, shut off the car, and restart it. As it powers on, it stays in EV mode, proving to you that it never needed to be sitting there idling in the first place.
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Just curious, is the low speed electric acceleration in *hybrid mode* generally, seat of the pants, noticeably more robust than that of the 'regular', 3rd gen Prius? By low speed, I mean starting off from stop lights in normal driving.
Why do I ask? In 3rd gen Prius, electric acceleration lasts only a few seconds from a stop, maybe up to about 15 MPG roughly with light acceleration. With heavy throttle, gas engine comes on about right away.
How does the PiP behave under moderate acceleration from stop in hybrid mode? Could we say PiP accelerates on electric drive in HV about 6 MPH per second +/-x up to 25 MPH +/- x on level ground, etc....?
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2012 Prius with 10K miles.
One of the features I really like over the '06 Prius is the ability of the cruise control to hold the set speed on downhills (until the battery fills up and it switches to compression braking "B" mode, but that's a different topic).
After taking it in for the 10K mile service, it no longer engages regenerative braking on downhills with cruise control set. This is on the same hills where previously it would hold speed.
Did Toyota do a software upgrade that disables this feature?
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After my 25k service it seems the timer scheduler when the square button is pressed/held flashes at 7am. When i press the H button the hour advances to 12am then closes. I want to start the charge at 12am and finish at 5AM. The timer windows closes when i move the finish hour to 12am and then my regular clock hour changes. It used to be when i pressed/held the timer button the start time would show at 12 am and after setting it would go to the finish hour.
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I have 4kw eng. kit now planning to add one more to it. (parallel) How I can increase my EV speed to 52.
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I am about to finish up my graduate studies here in Ohio, after which, my wife and I will be headed back to California. We are in desperate need of a second car, but have decided to wait until we move to get one. My wonderful in laws have said that they are willing to split the cost of a new car with us. With that said, we have already decided that we want to get a Prius, but we can't decide which one. We both really like the V. We love how roomy the car is. This is very important to us because we are going to start a family soon. However, we also like the regular Prius and the PiP. I really like the PiP but am a little concerned about the new batteries, and I am not sure that I want to pay the early adapter premium assuming one is even available. But, only paying half for a PiP sounds rather tempting. Considering all that I just said, if you were in my shoes what car would you get and why?
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Just wondering, is there a recommended procedure or speed range to shift in or out of EV mode while operating, or should it be done while the car is stopped?
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New to the Prius family. Bought a 2014 PIP advanced last week strictly as an economic play. Am noob when it comes to driving techniques, currently average 72 mpg on 90 mi. trips with one charge, so doing better than I expected. I did read up on the Pulse and Glide techniques for the standard Prius and the 'verification' of the glide portion for those is the lack of any power arrows emanating from either the ICS , MG2 or battery on the MID. I have been unable to replicate this on the PIP. In other words, when I am 'gliding' on my PIP, the ICS is off but there always seems to be a green charge indicator flowing back to the batteries from the front wheels.
Keep in mind, my foot is on the accelerator slightly, there is no 'white' bar protruding into the CHG area or the ECO area and I know I am 'gliding/coasting' as no matter how long I am in this sweet spot, even though the charge arrows are active, I DO NOT top up the battery at all, which says to me the car is indeed 'gliding' without the regenerative brakes or ICS in play and it certainly FEELS like I'm gliding as with over-inflated tires (44/42) the PIP seemingly coasts forever. I'm thinking this is a different behavior from a standard Prius in this 'glide' sweet spot, as, at least on my PIP, I can never get the MID to blank out in terms of energy flow. I.E. have you managed a 'pulse and glide' in a PIP getting the all energy flow arrows to disappear .
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I am thinking of upgrading to a pip. I work in my car and was wondering if I plug it in can I still have the a/c running while it is plugged in or not? i read somewhere that if you turn the car into ready mode the systems won't allow it.
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We just picked up our PIP and are super excited......except that the GPS is locked on Kentucky? It does not locate us here in Sacramento, CA and the dealer said if we can't get it working, they obviously will be fixing it.
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New car. I think I could toggle between EV (green light) and HV (red light). Now instead of HV the car does switch between EV and EV/ECO. Am I doing something wrong. I want to avoid a trip to the dealer.
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When I get in to go somewhere in the morning sometimes the EV sign in the car is lit up and sometimes it is just the silhouette of the car on the right side. I know I am driving in Ev and it says Ev in the light on the left side but why the difference. Am I making any sense??
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This morning it was COLD !!! I had the Fan on, with No Defog (Defrost), with the Air Direction to the feet and windshield and Temp Control at 68 degF.
Before I got to work I pressed the Temp Control OFF button.
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Can you drive in EV mode with the A/C or heater running to keep you cool in summer and warm in winter? If so, how much does it change the range from the normal 13-14 miles of EV?
I'm trying to determine how short of a commute I would need to have to not use gas while still driving normally and not giving up climate control use.
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My 2002 v6 camry is shaking while braking on a downhill at highway speed 60mph. This started yesterday. Afterwards on level surface and lower speed no shaking. Late yesterday, again on highway downhill, more shaking.
I live on a mountain and do not notice the shaking coming down at 30mph, including yesterday.
A couple of months ago the pads were 75% and the rotors were resurfaced approx 4000 miles ago. And the rotors are the third pair if i remember correctly.
I bought the car new and it has 121000 miles on it.
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I have no speed control going downhill with CC at all. Dealer says this is normal. I've had two other Lexus GS models and when going downhill they would downshift and use the engine to maintain a constant speed. My Mercedes does the same thing when going downhill it downshifts to maintain a relatively constant speed. Is this normal with the RX? if so, what a disappointment.
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I have a 2012 Hyundai Elantra and have noticed that my cruise control doesn't slow me down when I am going downhill, is this normal?
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short of getting a fill-up which I don't plan on doing for 6 mos.
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Any experimentation with MPG loss for using the Air Conditioner (with a charged battery)? I've heard that the PiP isn't affected as much by using the AC due to the larger battery, but I don't have any sources for this and would like to find out if it's actually true.
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Twice I've come into the garage and (after getting over the shock of seeing a new PiP) heard a fairly faint buzz or hum seemingly coming from the car. At first I thought it was the fluorescents overheard, but after turning them off and walking around the Prius I believe it to be coming from the rear of the car. (Next time it happens I will go find my old stethoscope and better localize.) The car was off and not plugged into the mains. I got in and hit the power, and the sound quit.
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