Prius Plug-in 2012-15 :: Switching In And Out Of EV Mode While Driving
May 5, 2013
I had my brand new plug in prius for 6 whole days before my house was hit by lightening, while the car was charging. The car has been in the shop for 3 weeks since that has happened and they eventually replaced the "electric vehicle recharge unit". But it still doesn't seem right to me. one of the things that is happening is that the EV switch is not operating while I'm driving.
For instance: I'm driving locally on EV and then get on the highway and when I get to the point that the engine kicks on, I hit the EV switch to turn it off and move to hybrid mode. However, even though the EV light is off, the battery continues to discharge and will eventually completely discharge. To prevent this I do a number of maneuvers like hit the brakes repeatedly or hit every button the dash (EV, ECO) until it stops!
This cannot be normal but then again I only drove the car for 6 days before lightening struck. It also happens the other way. If I'm driving on the highway and get off and then hit the EV switch to turn the electric back on, the electric motor doesn't kick in.Am I imagining this? Is there some fancy way to switch EV and back on the fly?
View 19 Replies
Advertisement
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.
Why this is happening? My dreams of going for months without filling up with gas are starting to fade away.
View 12 Replies
I have noticed that when driving in EV mode when the car switches over to HV mode the Eco icon always lights up! Of course you can select Eco, or Power mode manually, but when it does this automatically, after the EV battery charge is used up, it keeps showing the Eco icon being lite not HV.
View 1 Replies
Many of us HATE the fact that if the accelerator is unintentionally pressed too hard, putting the Plug-in into the Power range and thus HV mode, it stays in the HV mode wasting gas until the engine heats up.
Some of us at the next light, will power off the car, and then Restart it, to get it out of HV and back to EV.
We've asked for a way to get it out of this "Accidental HV mode". Can the Prime be switched out of "Accidental HV mode"?
View 2 Replies
If I'm driving around town and have to accelerate to merge with traffic, the ICE will come on even though I'm in EV mode. I understand why that would/should happen. But why does it stay on for so long after that? It seems like it stays on for several minutes, even if you're driving slow after the the few seconds of acceleration. And I've noticed a few times under the above circumstances that the ICE is clearly on (I can feel it's on) but the dashboard indicator shows it is off. What gives?
View 19 Replies
As I was trying to use up as much E10 before refueling with E0 I was watching the miles to empty and noticed what seems strange, to me. When driving in EV mode, with the ICE off the miles to empty kept falling! Apparently miles to empty somehow includes EV miles. So I checked the MTE both before and after charging and saw no change which indicates EV miles don't count. So now I would like to know what does MTE mean?
View 19 Replies
Obviously this doesn't work if you are out of EV? I figure I am essentially still in EV during the warmup cycle so I'd prefer to have that HSI up instead of the HV one.
View 9 Replies
Yesterday while driving on the freeway in EV mode, my PIP (one of the first delivered to the states) flashed the "Check Hybrid System - Stop the vehicle in a safe place" message. I was near my house so I just went home. My SG2 showed code P0C3E, which is apparently an inverter over temperature code.
Took it to the dealer this morning and they just informed me that the car needs a new inverter, but no other details… "internal fault" is what he said.
While googling, i found this recall notice:
Green Car Congress: Toyota recalling about 701,000 Gen 3 Prius vehicles in US over software issue in inverter assembly
that doesn't talk specifically about the PIP and implies that it is a software problem, but goes on to say if the car is in a fault condition the inverter will be replaced. of course, it's possible that a software problem leads to hardware damage.
View 16 Replies
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.
View 17 Replies
You can put your car in drive, but also, you can put it in the "B" position. What does that do? How do you best use it? And what does "B" stand for anyway?
View 7 Replies
On a long downhill, with EV mode selected, the car goes out of EV mode when one surpasses 65. When slowing down from 70, the car will not go into EV mode until one is down to 62. THen it stays there until one exceeds 65. I wonder if there is any difference in what is happening when one is going downhill at 66 vs 61? Both are using 0 gas. But one counts as an EV mile and the other does not. Here in high Colorado, this sort of thing makes the EV ratio somewhat meaningless.
View 17 Replies
On occasion - not frequently - I'll notice the gasoline engine kicking in when I'm in ECO/EV mode with plenty of EV battery left. Today it happened on a relatively flat street, going maybe 30 mph, without the a/c or anything else on, and about 7 miles left on the EV battery indicator. In less than 30 seconds it went back to pure EV and the gasoline engine never kicked in again.
View 2 Replies
Today I drove my Prius Plug-in from my home almost to the highway in EV mode. When about one minute from the highway, I pushed the PWR mode button twice, on and off, and the ice came on for warmup. All the green symbols above the speedometer were cleared. I then again pressed ECO to bring back that mode.
I believe the vehicle was in what I think of as blended HV mode. This mode blends the extra battery capacity of the Plug in with the ICE. After a 40 mile trip, the available EV miles dropped from 13.9 to 1.2, and the trip meter registered 76 MPG. I went up and down a serious hill which probably reduced the mileage.
View 7 Replies
Is there a difference between full EV mode and the early HV mode where you are in EV (left half of the indicator on the HSI screen)? Aren't you in full electric in both situations? If so, then why would you need to manually toggle between the two modes?
View 3 Replies
I've noticed occasionally my music goes silent for a second or so when the iPod is plugged into the USB port. But then it will play without missing a beat for long periods. what could be wrong? No skips when using the aux plug.
View 19 Replies
I'm convinced this is a real problem with my 3-month-old 2013. When I bring it in for the 5K service, soon, this will be my No.1 issue. When running in EV mode, if you happen to start the ICE it will continue to run when you stop. In fact, it races - it doesn't just idle. I've tested this by being stationery for up to 5 minutes. This occurs not just the first time the ICE cycles on and off - it's every time. It only stops while driving (or by powering off).
View 17 Replies
Wondering if there is another factor involved here...such as the wrong gauge. I'm routinely seeing battery temps in the mid to low 90s even when it is pretty warm weather and I am in EV. Is this possible? On my old Gen3 even when I use the battery just a little bit on warm days it would go over 110. Does the lithium chemistry just keep it that much cooler? Or does the cooling system keep it that much cooler? Or both? What are other people seeing for battery temps?
View 19 Replies
I was wondering if the ICE spins (without fuel) when you go over 43mph in the Toyota PHEV Prius while in EV mode?
I think the only way to be able to tell would be with a SGII... I know I cannot feel the ICE start to spin when coasting downhill and crossing the threshold. I just see the RPM on my SG to go ~975...
Look at the AMP readings while in EV mode. Seen more than 120-130amps?
View 19 Replies
PiP or traditional Prius users could tell me the quickest way to accelerate when in EV mode of HV ONLY mode? So I find acceleration is good in TRUE EV mode where I can keep up with regular traffic from a dead stop, however after I have used that batteries resources up I try to use EV of the HV only mode as much as possible.
I find that in EV of HV only mode to be so slow from a dead stop. I try to press the pedal so that the I go to the halfway bar or max of EV mode. However it barely gets the car moving. I figure this is how the traditional Prius works. I think if I was to try to use this EV power to get to 25 mph it would take 15 seconds!
View 4 Replies
Just bought a 2014 PIP Base and really want to set up that cool feature that tells you how much money you're saving compared to your old car. How to do it? I can't find the feature anywhere in any menu system nor can I find it in my manual.
Perhaps the answer is the PIP base doesn't have that feature?
View 13 Replies
As I understand it pulse and glide should work at pretty much any speed. I'm trying to adopt pulse and glide but I drive on mostly 55 MPH hilly roads. If I'm in HV mode and have some EV range I find I can only get ICE shutoff below 42+/- MPH. However if I switch to EV mode as I back off the pedal the ICE will shut down at speeds up to 62+/-MPH. Switching from EV to HV while gliding at speeds above 43 MPH causes the ICE to resume turning. So I've tried accelerating to my desired pulse speed in HV coordinating releasing the pedal with selecting EV mode to begin the glide then beginning the next pulse by simultaneously pressing the pedal and mode button. Alternatively I can stay in EV mode for the glide then floor the pedal to restart ICE but that risks getting an undesired higher less efficient ICE power level and doesn't allow lower power pulses to allow glides to begin on downgrades.
View 15 Replies
