How to stop Engine from turning on?

the only way to keep it in ev mode in temps below freezing is to learn the nuances of the car. i managed to drive all winter without the ice coming on except a few times on very cold mornings when i hit the pedal a bit too hard on a certain downhill stretch. there are places colder than boston tho, and it doesn't have an absolute ev switch like europe. there is a nice faq at the top of the pip forum you might want to peruse.

 

The Prius is a hybrid, not an electric car. Should you want an electric car, there are vendors who sell those. Toyota sells an electric RAV 4, in fact.

The Plug In Prius has more battery capacity than the liftback, but they are both hybrids, with engines that are designed to effeciently drive as far as your ability to find gas can take you. Electrics tend to have very finite ranges, while the Volt is not designed to be fuel efficient once it's electric range is consumed. Both of these strategies work for many people, and would work for more people if they honestly considered their needs. As I frequently need to travel over 250 miles a day, a hybrid better meets my needs. If someone made a plug in hybrid station wagon I would have purchased that, but so far PHEV station wagons, BEV station wagons, and EREV station wagons do not exist.

I encougage you to think about what is your average day, what is your monthly longest day, and what is your yearly longest day? Try to buy the car that can do your monthly longest day, is optimized for your average day, and accept that Enterprise will rent a car for your yearly longest day. (Once a year I need a pick up, not a station wagon)

For some, a Volt will be a wonderful choice. For some, a Leaf will be an even better choice. And there are those long distance commuters who will be better served by a Prius PHV. They will come to grips with the fact that the EV button is a suggestion, not a rule.

 

He points out that he has to go over a 2200 ft pass at the beginning of his morning commute, and he wants the cabin heat at 60-70 degrees. Either one of those will cause the ICE to run. He also refers to a ten grand difference in price compared to a "regular Prius." The PiP is fairly well equipped at $32K before discounts and specials, which brings it down close to a similarly equipped non-plugin Prius.
I don't have a typical commute, but rather do a lot of day-to-day driving on surface streets, running errands, etc. I regularly complete my day without the ICE ever starting up, having driven up to 14 or 15 miles. However, I set the HVAC temp at "LO" and leave the fan off. If it is cold, I wear a jacket. I don't accelerate rapidly from a stop, and allow for regeneration by slowing ahead of time for stop signs and signal lights. But that's just economical driving for any car. I make occasional longer trips of 70 to 185 mile roundtrips, and then of course I'm using the ICE a lot.
When I do get on a freeway, I can easily cruise at 55-60 on EV only until the battery runs out. Of course, then it is working like a regular hybrid, taking advantage of regeneration. Bottom line is that with an EV/HV ratio of 29/71%, and nearly 14K miles, I have averaged 83 mpg. I've run as far as 16 miles (once 17) at speed limits up to 55 on non-freeways before the ICE kicks in. It is all on how you drive it and the climate and terrain where you live.

 

rogerv, Thanks.
Nice and to the point!

 

Hello, again. As was pointed out, you'd be using the system in a way other than it was intended. Forcing the engine to stay off is quite possible and realistic, but the design is for significantly reducing emissions & consumption, not being an EV.

Basically, just keep the power demand below the threshold indicated on the meter and don't use the heater. This video at -2°F shows me doing exactly that...

With warmer temperatures, electricity resistance is lower and capacity is higher. So, you'd do considerably better than in the video. But for an extreme example of what's possible, that served the purpose well.

 

Good video John.......Did you preheat the PIP before you did your travels then reset your trip odo to zero, because I couldn't get my PIP ICE to stay off when the outside temp approached +14F

 

The ICE was cold, not having been used since the night before.

I pulled out into the street using EV, pressed reset, hit record, then drove away.

 

I didn't even put the PIP in "D" and ICE came on for me.

 

With the blower off, the engine should remain off too. Keeping the windows clear then requires cracking the windows... not something for those who don't enjoy winter outdoor recreation. Since I do and was curious as heck what was possible, it was a worthwhile experiment.

Normally, I end up starting the engine, since the EV capacity (in the winter) isn't enough to reach work anyway. In the summer, I actually made the entire distance using nothing but electricity.

 

yup.....had temp set at low before I turned A/C off last summer, left it at that setting ever since. Had no problem keeping ICE off when it was above +14F. Fortunately the +14F weather happened rarely here in Clawson. I do park outside all night in an open parking spot ( no cover) And I charged the battery at 6 to 7 pm the night before. So no battery warm up in the morning.

 

me too. r/t commute 14.8 mile in summer, arrive home with a mile or two to spare. winter, i get to work with only 5+ miles left and have to recharge to get home. in between seasons, it's iffy. right now, 55-60 degrees, i can sometimes barely make it home if i don't recharge at work, and sometimes the ice comes on within a mile of home.

 

That's probably the magic solution. I start "warm".

I've got my timer setup to end recharging within 2 hours of leaving.

 

I don't have EV range "anxiety" where I live because my travel to work is only 2.7 miles one way. I just can't figure out why ICE came on when it was +10F out last winter.

 

ah....ok then

 

And battery warm up before you embark on your travels too! I found when I drove to work, if I approached 35, 40MPH, ICE would come on, but if I took the side streets where the speed limit is 25MPH no problemoh. Update: when temps were above +14F but below freezing.

 

That's not all there is to it.

Battery charge capacity is directly related to ambient temperatures. The battery has a higher charge capacity at higher temps and a lower capacity at low ambient temps. Here's when regenerative braking comes in to spoil the party...

It's 25f outside- your HV battery is completely charged- you start out your driveway and hit 25mph on a level road- all without the ICE firing up- now you have another car behind you- he's coming up quick- so you speed up (while being careful to keep out of the power zone) to 30mph- the ICE fires up. Why? Because the battery is still almost at full charge for the outside temperature and the computer sees the car is driving at a speed that if regen braking was applied would cause an over-charge condition- so it's starts the ICE just in case you happen the hit the brakes.

This exact scenario happened to me many times this past winter when the temps were below 32f. Now that the temps are in the 50's and 60's the ICE never fires up under 62mph as long as I keep it out of the power zone. IIRC, one frigid day when it started off in the single digit temps- the ICE fired up before I even hit 20 mph...