Learning to drive Prime the RIGHT WAY

I think you are over analyzing things. Just drive it.

 

1> The software handles the charging, you don't have to worry about that, it wouldn't fill it to 100%.

2>I never use charge mode, gas costs about twice what electricity does here, so you'd I'd be wasting money. The software also handles warm up, so I don't worry about it. The only thing I have noticed is I have a bit less power available to use when it's in the warmup cycle.

3> never worried about it much, just drove conservatively the first 1000 or so miles.

5> Set a charging schedule, that's what I do, it only charges in the early morning at the very coolest part of the day.

6> Nope, I leave A/C all the time. It doesn't run off of ICE power. You might want to check your S-flow to cool all 4 seats, if the A/C is not strong enugh on a hot day for me, I turn S-flow off and it's better. Also use ECO mode cuts the power of A/C in a normal Prius, and probably our Primes too, so changing to standard or power mode might help that too.

 

Same here. I read everything available before delivery, familiarized myself with all the settings and displays. Now I just enjoy it.
J

 

I agree with Bob’s replies here.

BASICALLY, just drive it as safely as possible, and charge it up when and where you can. The computer does a great job of handling the behind-the-scenes details.

Getting a little more refined about it, though...

Before my commute to work, I do not charge it all the way full at home. That’s just because I have quasi-free charging at work, which is less than a full battery’s drive from home. To do that, as suggested, I set a scheduled charge for well after I normally leave, and leave at a fairly-consistent time. It would be nice if there were a “charge to N%” option, but no, unfortunately not.

If or when you do need to kick in gas, it will run a warm-up cycle, burning gas continuously for short time, no matter what you do. So if you know you’re not going to make it on battery alone, then best to switch over to HV when you expect you’ll be driving continuously for a few minutes at somewhere around 60ish MPH. Broadly speaking, that’s where it will use the gas most efficiently, given that it has to run the engine continuously for a 2-3 minutes. HV mode is even more efficient after the warm-up time driving at lower speeds because it shuts off the engine a lot, but during the warm-up it intentionally stays running continuously, so best if that can be at 60ish MPH.


iPad ? Pro

 

Same advice for new owners of each generation of Prius...

JUST DRIVE IT

In many cases, the efforts to optimize end up being counter-productive.

 

Better yet, do not log on to Priuschat too often.

Everybody means well, but there's too many conflicting opinions and it can become too confusing. Study your owners manual, get familiar with the car, and then GO.....

 

That’s one spot where I only kinda-sorta agree with Bob’s comments: I do make a point to use the air conditioner lightly-to-moderately, including turning it off when the outdoor temperature goes below 80ish or so (depending upon humidity).

Toyota published ... somewhere ... guidelines for maximizing economy of a Prius. They made a point that they apply to pretty much any car, but the Prius just takes advantage of them better than most cars. The main ones, as I recall:
— Don’t try to be the fastest, or fastest-accelerating, car on the road (don’t drive sluggishly, or certainly not unsafely slowly, but don’t “hot rod” it, so to speak).
— Don’t overdo climate control.
— Where possible, try to keep your speed fairly constant.
— Clear out the “trunk junk.”
— Perhaps easiest to forget, check tire-inflation periodically (at least once a month).

Beyond that, basically just drive safely, keep an easy-going attitude, leave for your destination early so that you have to drive radically to get there in time, and just have fun with your lovely Prius!


iPad ? Pro

 

There's no way the AC is "free", my 2 cents. I'm not saying don't use it, just that it will have an impact, on EV range and/or mpg. I think too the "need" to use it, for hybrid battery preservation, is overblown.

 

I found the heated steering wheel ... embarrassingly addictive!

 

Of course it's not free, it's just worth the cost to me. I live in a very warm, humid climate.

 

The good Professor at Weber St, who posts all those excellent Prius Instructional videos on YouTube, says we should always run the AC to help cool the traction battery.

I do, because I'm still a Prius rookie and have concerns about the L-ion staying cool. And I also live in a very warm area (85 degrees on Christmas!) See photo, at left. Nothing but dirt & wind. And thirdly, I subscribe to the theory of "just drive it", so that's what I do, just like a regular car, and believe it or not I get my best MPG in PWR mode.

I tried the rest.... and PWR mode is the best.

But wait a minute, I don't have a Prime! Sorry, guys. Put me on ignore. The Prime is a cool looking car... I like the looks much better than my regular Gen4.

 

I can’t immediately think of any reason *not* to enable the AC while charging, so I always say “yes” to that prompt. That being said though, I have yet to witness it actually fire up the air conditioner during charging. Then again, as you’re alluding here, I almost always charge in some form of garage, be it ours at home, the parking garage at work, or...


iPad ? Pro