Driving in bumper-to-bumper crawling traffic

What you describe is a low speed form of pulse and glide, which is well documented on PC. The only difference is your use of the brake, which hurts mileage. You want to glide as much as possible, avoiding the use of the brake.

Tom

 

And despite the engine coming on to charge the battery, you're still using much less fuel than if you were driving a traditional car.

 

what does 'reverse drive without brake' mean?

what speeds are you getting upto before braking? i do this all the time and can usually avoid the brake until i'm creeping the last few feet to avoid hitting the car in front of me. btw, this always drives the person behind you banana's, and many times, people shoot into the space i leave before i hit the gas.

 

You don't want to do that. Regenerative braking is the least efficient method of recharging your battery. Instead, just use enough power to creep forward, and let the Prius worry about keeping the battery charged. You will get better mileage that way, and you won't have to fuss.

Tom

 

This is the type of traffic I hate, because I can't keep my SOC up on the battery, and like the OP, it drains quickly and my overall fuel mileage goes down when the engine tries to recharge the battery.

I agree with Grumpy Cabbie, at least with the Prius, you are still getting better mileage that the other cars who are all idling in this situation. At least your engine is occasionally off.

Of course, this would be a much better situation for an all electric car.

 

Which one has a prius?

 

I was surprised to realize that in crawling traffic the prius battery drains really fast.
When I first test drove the prius, I was pleasantly surprised at being able to go all electric for a mile or so in 10-20 mph traffic. I had a 2006 civic hybrid, it has an engine off mode that can do the same, but not as graceful as the Prius.
But in crawling traffic, the Civic’s mpg would drastically go down. Because the engine needs to be on to move a couple of feet. (In my commute I have a morning jam entering Pearl Harbor, So this is every weekday). One of the reasons I got the Prius, is I thought I can go all electric at least a mile in crawling in this traffic.
But it wasn’t much different from the civic, The engine would come on with in a 2-3 minute wait, and I haven’t even come close to 1 mile. I don’t understand why the battery drains so much even when your not moving far. I say 1/8 a mile of stop and go, waiting for the car in the front to get checked. It should easily be able to go all electric. I have the A/C off too??? But the ICE goes on in about 5 feet of waiting. The civic would be completely off, and turn on when moving. The Prius would still be on, when I’m not moving. The mpg in crawling ended up not being much better than the Civics.
I think when not at a crawl, just off the brake, not completely off, the electric motor is using a lot of battery power to overcome the brake, and crawl.
So I think it’s more of a drain issue, vs a charge issue in crawling traffic.
Maybe going to neutral when at a stop will make the electric motor completely shut off, till you need it to move. Making the battery drain less.
Btw, my overall difference in mpg between the civic and prius ends up 41 mpg civic vs 45 mpg prius. (using fill up and milage data, not the computer). So the prius is still better overall, and it’s bigger.

 

deleted because my computer reposted the same stuff.

 

Drive it like a bumper car. You know what I mean if you've been in one.

 

THis is all odd.
I've only had my prius 1.5 months, but I commute in heavy traffic in NYC. I can usually get from 132nd st (with a relatively full battery, getting off the Deegan) and Eco mode EV it nearly all the way to 98th St without having too much engine turn on. The only time I get the engine on is when I've got a rare clear block that lets me accelerate, and when that happens, I guess I give the battery some extra charge.
But I never see the battery draining down enough that the engine ICE goes on unless I am purposely turning it on to accelerate...

 

In heavy traffic, yeah mine does not turn on. But In the situation I was in, the car never got past 1-2 mph. When your foot is on the brake all the time, to move you just release the brake without pushing the gas. Like getting out of a parking garage crawl, or busy pay booth on a toll way.

In heavy stop and go traffic, i can cruise along on electric for a long time.

Everybody's commute is different, and you might not get in to this situation.

 

I'm in stop and go traffic every day and the Prius is doing quite well with fuel mileage and the SOC. No complaints here.

 

A further reason for the frequent charge cycles during stop and go is the need to keep the ICE and catalytic converter hot. The Prius could cycle the battery through a larger range, but it would need to run the engine periodically to make heat, so it makes more sense to charge the battery.

Tom

 

distance matters too, how far is 34 blocks?

 

I have a Gen2, and I think the following applies to your situation...

In "constantly creeping" rather than stop-go traffic, I have noticed that the 8mph is not just the friction brake zone, its also the point where regen stops and the motor starts powering the car.

This is effectively the "auto creep simulation" feature. Anything below 8mph for braking during creeping, and you're braking against the motor - watch it on the screen ( not sure if you get it on the G3 ).. the power flow never actually goes off until you stop.. and sometimes you have to really push the pedal down to cut the power flow..

So, if you can, get it up to 8mph or more, and glide as much as possible, then stop quickly but gently from 8mph to zero to minimize the time you're braking against the motor ( wasted electricity ).