Overall, I'm very satisfied, but there are two things which are really starting to get on my nerves... 1) Warm-up. Even if it's 60F and you only need to move the car 10ft, EV mode is unavailable and the ICE does it's normal warm-up routine 10 seconds after start. And if you try to hurry and move the car and put it back in Park and happen to hit the button just as the ICE is starting, get ready for some clanking/shaking (has already happened to me once). And that's not the crazy part. The fact is, during warm-up, the ICE produces NO power whatsoever - not even electricity (at first). So if you start driving during warm-up, you're effectively in EV mode anyway! So why can't I select EV and skip warm-up for those short moves in colder temps? Can't the computer figure out based on speed, accelerator demand, and distance, whether or not I'm moving to a different parking space vs heading down the street? Especially when I'm telling it that I'm moving to a different parking space by pressing the EV button? This happens even with a full battery (and as noted above, warm-up doesn't produce any electricity at first), so don't tell me it's to protect the battery - if that were the case, you wouldn't be able to move the car until warm-up reaches the point where the ICE produces some power. 2) Regen. If I wanted to slow down, I would use the brakes. Period, full stop. But NOOOOO, when I let off the gas, the Prius applies the brakes for me, even though I didn't ask it to. No warp stealth unless I squeeze the pedal the tiniest bit and hold it there despite any bumps in the road. Pain in the arse, and doesn't reclaim enough energy to really make it worthwhile except on a downhill - at which point, I would use the brakes! And the crazy part: it's likely worse for efficiency, and for the battery. Better to charge from the ICE, or leave it alone if SOC is adequate. Rant over. I'm happy with the car, but those two things just strike me as incredibly stupid in an otherwise intelligently designed system. Any way around them without voiding the warranty?
Regarding Regen, the brakes are applied so it slowly charges the battery. To prevent this, you slightly press the accelerator again like it says in the manual (refered to as coasting).
#1) I was unaware of this. I though the EV button would allow a short move, but I'll leave this for other Gen III owners to answer. #2) Toyota did this to make the car drive like a "normal" car. Applying a small amount of regen in this situation simulates engine drag in a normal car. Likewise automatic creep is simulated when you take your foot off of the brakes at a stop. Neither is necessary, but both make the Prius feel more like a normal car. Tom
1. I have Gen II and have not installed an EV switch, If I don't want the ICE to come on I use N instead of Park. this avoids the sudden stop if you hit Park while still rolling. 2. I agree on this one. I wish they had included a switch or a programmable setting to select if regen is active during coasting or not.
Re: #1 - The problem is that you are assuming the Prius is designed to give you the highest fuel economy possible. It is not. It is designed to produce the lowest emissions possible. Therefore, it fires up the engine to get the catalytic converter warmed up to operating temperature as soon as possible. The car cannot read your mind to determine if you are driving 50 ft or 500 miles once you select Ready mode.
I really hate the fact the my car refuses to drive itself. All the stop, go, turn...stop, go, turn... stop, go, turn. When will toyota learn I don't want to have to drive myself? The should have come up with a solution to this problem by now.
It doesn't have to read my mind - I'm TELLING IT that I'm only going a short distance by pressing the EV button (max range is only a half-mile). And since the EPA testing is done in "Normal" mode, EV mode doesn't need to warm up the ICE for emissions. I suppose it's possible that the ICE warm-up is started so that it is past the initial stage and able to generate electricity before you drain the battery - but I still believe this should be initiated by speed/acceleration demands and SOC, AND which mode you're in. It would be impossible to drain a full battery unless you floor it and keep it there - which would be kind of pointless in EV mode. If speed stays below 10mph and the accelerator pedal isn't being pushed very far, the computer doesn't have to be a mind-reader to guess what you're doing. I'm starting to think that this was just lazy programming - making EV mode almost the same as what happens in "Normal" mode after the engine is warmed up.
Well, duh. qbee's explanation makes more sense - simulating the engine drag of a "normal" car. (Except that the Prius is NOT a normal car...)
Just curious if Regen actually includes the brakes or if its just electric motor#2 that provides the slight drag/braking? Both?
It's not a normal car, but it is sold to normal drivers. For both marketing and legal reasons, Toyota felt is was necessary to simulate the driving characteristics of a normal car. Tom
I don't hate my Prius at all, but here are things that I don't like about my 2009 (does not count features that I wish Prii would have): 1. The inside door handles are a tad short. Mine frequently slips through my hand as I pull on it. 2. The steering wheel feels chintzy/plastic-y. I'm fixing this by getting leather Wheelskins. 3. The audio is not modular, such that you can easily swap in other Toyota head units. 4. The bladder ('nuf said). 5. The audio volume dial has too small of a diameter, which makes it hard to grasp, and it does not do dual function of volume and power. -- I'm not going to add the OEM GY tires and the 12v battery, in that sure I would like better quality for those two components, but the OEM items do work adequately.
It's just MG2. Friction brakes don't come in unless you're braking hard (or suddenly), or the battery is maxed out.
Some "normal" vehicles (mine) have essentially a free-wheeling (coasting) overdrive, to simulate what the Prius should offer. It is very difficult for me to keep the Prius in a true coasting (no power, no regen) mode.
Yes, it is part of the new clairvoyant package for the Prius VI. It will also stop the car if you floor the accel pedal when you meant to stomp the brake. :madgrin:
Until Grandma gets behind the wheel to head down to the bingo hall. 10 mile trip takes 1 hour. :madgrin: Seriously, it is probably a combination of meeting EPA requirements and making the programming as simple as possible. They want to guarantee the lowest emissions, and part of that is having the catalyst ready to convert HC, CO and NOx.
If you press EV within a couple of seconds of pressing Power, then the engine will not start regardless of coolant temp (at least above freezing temps). You might have a very low speed limit before kicking out of EV though (10 mph?). I use this all the time because I have a stoplight 50ft from my garage. About the other point(s), I also wish I could disable (with a physical switch somewhere) both the default regen when coasting and the creeping mode. I defeat the first by either switching to N (below 70 km/h) or pressing lightly the accelerator, and the second by switching to N when I don't want to the car to creep. You need to make sure that the engine is not running when switching to N (otherwise you're wasting gas) and you need to switch back to D before braking (otherwise you're wasting brake pads). (I know, call me crazy )
