Quite suprised at how little distance you can go in EV mode. Manual says 1.3 miles. I went to a big flat parking lot to try out EV mode. Basically I could creep along at 15-20MPH but if I pressed pedal harder Prius dropped out of EV mode and went to ECO mode and engine started up. Though not complaining, just not sure what value EV mode has. I assumed EV was to"zip" around town/city for say 5-10 miles short trips at normal 25-30MPH, but 1.3 miles at very low speed won't even get me from driveway to the main highway where we live.
It's pretty worthless considering you can just keep the HSI indicator below half and viola, EV mode. Good to use when you want to move your car and don't want the engine to start, but that's about it. Maybe some on here can chime in on how to better use it.
Your ICE was not warm enough to stay in EV mode. If it was at full operating temp it would have stayed in EV up to 25MPH no matter how much throttle you gave it, unless the torque battery is low. That said, your battery won't tolerate more use than that. If you want more, get a PIP.
My car won't do this. Full battery, warm engine, if I goose the throttle, it beeps and goes out of EV mode way before 25 mph. What am I doing wrong?
There are several stages of "warm". When its fully warm it will remain in EV, when its partly warm it has a 9mph speed limit in EV. In any case its not intended for use when you need to "goose it". Your car is giving you what you're asking for with the throttle.
Don't goose it! Very slow increase and keep under 25 mph. Really for best mileage do not use the battery. Let the car decide when to use the electric. In other words just drive it and enjoy! Go to the gen lll 2010 Prius fuel economy forum and check stickies at the top and watch video on how to get good mpg!
I'm with you on the 9 mph limit (that's what I'm seeing evidently), but back in the summer, coming off the interstate to surface roads you can't tell me the engine isn't fully warm and battery topped up (one bar from top or sometimes full from regen braking down the ramp). Perhaps "goose" was a bad choice of words, how about "moderate acceleration"?
Below is a quote from another thread on the subject. I was able to use battery only for about 2.5 miles under 40 mph. ICE kicked in once the battery was fully depleted. Watch this video and use the techniques: Max MPG Driving Techniques Youtube Video | PriusChat I watched the video a few times. I bought my car tonight and have already tried out all the techniques: New 2013 Prius Two | PriusChat
EV mode (with the regular Prius) trades extra power for speed. So if you'd like to drive without triggering the engine, as I frequently did during the final 2 blocks of my drive home, it can work out to a efficiency gain overall. But as many have and will point out, those circumstances to do that are limited. You're typically better off just allowing the regular electric-only HV mode to engage instead.
You can drive faster end a longer distance, when you speed up first, get your feet of the gaspedal, push it again slightly and i can drive more than 3 miles without using the Engine. We call it the pulse and glide technique. You can you use the ev-mode only to move your car. Turn off the heater to prevent the engine starting.
I'm with you on this. When the engine is cold, my EV requests get refused for 'EV mode not available'. At other times, it is cancelled for 'excessive speed' (at 10 or 26 mph, depending on engine temp) or 'excessive acceleration' (when goosing the go pedal).
