When in EV mode, there are times that I approach a hill where I want to be in pure HV mode, so I switch to HV just before reaching the hill, and the system appears to switch over. However, the EV miles continue to drop as I proceed up the hill. Is this normal, or should I be switching much earlier?
Adding to what bisco said, yes, you would want to switch over to HV earlier if you're trying to maintain as much EV as possible. As soon as you switch to HV, the car will continue to use up EV range until the ICE is warmed up. Once its warmed up, the system should/may replenish some/most/all of the EV it used while warming up (basically, YMMV depending on your particular situation at the time). I suppose you could switch to HV and then floor it to force the ICE to provide most of the power for the hill, but some would advise against flooring a cold ICE (unless its a rental car )
I notice when I switch to HV mode, the EV miles drop like 2 miles sometimes! I just drive and enjoy the ride and not worry about too much... I am getting AVG of 70 MPG plus already, why worry...
It's a Toyota... Going to run forever... Yes, you are right... Worry could be a good thing... I do that a lot too... LOL
In HV mode, it is pretty much a "normal" hybrid. One of the places where the battery supplements the ICE is going up hills. I think you are fighting a losing battle here.
