Prius Prime "Charge Mode"

Interesting post, reminds me of Thule.

i agree totally, also don't be afraid of using up all your EV , there's more where that came from. The car is a miracle.

Agree

This particular landscape in probably the most atrocious for the Prime, but, at least you should get 100mpg going downhill. also if you ride the brakes downhill it should charge fully, very quickly, now, you can go back up the hill.!!!

 

From my recent test, I think utilizing CHG/EV alternation can result in much better fuel economy in specific scenarios. It seems as if many people don't expect this, so I'm linking a few of these Charge Mode threads to my test.

 

charge mode is just stupid!
why would toyota include a feature that nobody can use?
all my haters should be happy now....

Anyone know how many amps MG1 pumps into the pack while in charge mode?
is it static or auto-adjusted ?

 

I used Charge Mode to heat up the engine before I did my first oil change.

 

It is useful when running the gas tank dry. The charge provides the reserve range.

All you have to do is hold the EV/HV mode switch down for about 5-10 seconds. It is another Prime IQ test.

It varies. If parked, not impressive at all. At middle speeds, ~50 mph, it approaches 3-4 times the the J1772 rate:

• 100% SOC ~2 hours ~= 1% per 1.2 min. :: L2 charger @16A
• 80% SOC ~30 min ~= 1% per 0.37 min. :: charge mode at ~50 mph

Bob Wilson

 

if the new car smell last for 2 years like the old Pip I'll rejoin the prius camping group and update my profile
2017 Toyota Prius Prime Vehicle Accessories | etrailer.com
I hope this is the thread that someone asked about the trailer hitch
I almost put one on the Pip

 

No but both our BMW i3-REx and Prius Prime have receiver hitches. No light kits, yet, but enough to carry my wife's folding wheel chair or bicycles.

Bob Wilson

 

I believe the oil companies are responsible for putting a bug in the ear of the legislators to raise the road tax,
ie: gasoline tax increase. This way, they can blame the legislators but also praise them for being prudent with YOUR money.

Not a bad idea

As Bob said, it’s very useful when running low and not knowing how far the next gas station is.

From my last experimentation covering about 4weeks, it doesn’t matter what mode I’m in, I always get a bit over 100 mpg.
Sure it’s actually MPGe, but who cares, that’s what the whole Hybrid scene is about. When most BEVs become totallly efficient w/ 600 mile ranges, when charging stations are everywhere, then we can all talk KWHrs. Gasoline will disappear!

 

Call me OSCD but I don't like hearing the motor/engine making unnecessary noises. For example when pulling into the driveway or parking space in charge mode and pushing the park button, than the ON/OFF button, I've noticed there is a distinct motor/engine noise that is audible when the car is stationary. If the car is turned off in charge mode it makes " what I describe as a clunking noise" which does not happen if the driver switches "Charge Mode" off first.

I've only had a few tests in charge mode to date. I did notice the charge rate from MG1 was impressive compared to both Level 1 and Level 2 charge mode - 10 miles @ 35mph put 10 EV miles back into the battery -.
Thanks for adding your calculations Bob, your numbers look very clsse to what I've seen so far.

How clean the charge is I'm still going to have to evaluate in time. I consider ( at least to present date ) that charge recovered from braking is dirtier that charge recovered from MG1 across the board.
My observations at 60mph in Charge Mode were a bit different, and for understandable reasons. ie Volts first year of production.
I'll leave more testing up to anyone else interested in how Charge Mode behaves.

 

It would be moore productive if you included the year and model of Toyota that you own. Also, your location might include certain info to PCers. Right now it appears that you could have a Model T Ford and be located in the USSR....."?

 

If I am renting a Prius Prime and need to return it with full charge, is this the mode I should use while driving it back to the rental place? Sounds like a possible use of it.

 

^^^
I'd be interested to see how a rental company determines the fee if you return it without being fully charged. Cripes it couldn't take more than a few dollars to charge it up even at California electric prices.

 

What rental company is that? I'll make sure to avoid them in the future.

There's another application for charge mode:

If I park my car for a longer time (say 3 weeks over a vacation close to an airport) and I have no other way to charge it directly prior to parking, I activate charge mode while driving to my parking sport to get it to 50%. It's the best SOC for battery longevity and that in my opinion makes the little bit of energy conversion waste worthwhile.

 

I use my 2020 PP to deliver (Shipt) groceries - my side-gig. In-town, the electric drive responsiveness comes in handy when getting ahead of traffic. When I’m running low on electric, I kick it into charge mode on longer deliveries. It recharges to 80% surprisingly fast.