Question from a Gen3 Prius owner

That is correct. No startup penalty on the Gen 4 Prius. If the battery has sufficient charge and your climate control is set for a friendly number, the gasoline engine will not automatically start...

 

It only does that on cold days to heat up the engine

 

Also the engine temperature has to be above 20°C (68°F) or it will revert to Gen3 behavior.

So for your first turn-on on of the day it will probably start immediately (like gen 3) but will not when you use it again later in the day as the engine will still be warm.

kevin

 

okay, that just negates post #2, and answers o/ps question in the negative.

 

also, what good is just sitting in the vehicle, and not moving it?

 

Sorry for the confusion - I didn't read the OP's question enough to notice that he said a cold engine. Maybe I'm wrong - I thought that was the behavior and seemed consistent with mine but I cannot find documentation to support that.

I just tested it on mine and it started but it only has 4 bars on the hybrid battery.

I'll have to check over the next couple of days now the weather is cold enough - much of the time in California it doesn't get below the 68° limit to show this behavior up.

kevin

 

To prepare yourself for the rush of exhilaration when you step on the accelerator.

 

As others have said... If there's no need to start the combustion engine then it won't start it because there's no need, and this is often the case in warmer weather or when the engine is still warm. It often does start after around the time you mentioned though, even just sitting there.

You can also often prevent it starting for longer by pressing the EV Mode button. This will attempt to use electric only power for as long as possible.

In both cases though, harder acceleration, low HV power, high electrical drain, the cabin temperature being significantly different from the climate control temperature, hard braking, high speed, and so on, will coerce the combustion engine to start up.

I don't quite understand why you hate the combustion engine not starting immediately, especially when the whole point of a hybrid vehicle is to reduce the use of the combustion engine to a minimum, but if you really want it to start, just press the accelerator while still in P and it'll fire up. If you want it on all the time while driving then drive in B mode.

One of the beauties of the Prius is you can sneak out of your property in "stealth mode" (electric).

So why do you hate the combustion engine not starting up immediately? I much prefer the opposite.

Anyway, EV Mode to (maybe) prevent ICE starting, P + Accelerator and B mode to prevent it stopping.

 

My experience with the Gen 4 is, if the ambient air temperature is 14 deg C or above, the HV battery has 3 or more bars, the climate control is switched off and I last used the car less than a day ago then the engine doesn't come on until needed.

 

It's been in the low 50's every morning in my area of LA County, California.

Anything below 60 degrees, and the engine usually comes on almost immediately after pushing the start button.

What's the big deal?

I prefer it that way.

I want the oil to be flowing, and everything getting warmed up before I'm cleared for takeoff...

 

Oil will always be flowing before the ICE starts up, the electric motor spins the ICE up to 1000 rpm before throwing fuel and spark at it.

 

Thanks, that's interesting. My engine comes on immediately.... within 1or 2 seconds after pushing the Start button. That happens after the car has been sitting all night.

 

The key is to ensure Climate Control is OFF - I go from the POWER button to Climate Control OFF buttons as a natural action when starting - then to EV button. And it's as long as the Hybrid Battery has at least 3 or 4 bars (it's sometimes fired it up with 3 saying "low battery".

BUT - it will make insignificant difference to your l/100km, unless you're just moving the car a short distance - like outside to wash it. It has to warm the ICE up sometime.

But I like to creep out of my street silently as a protest against the Harley, the Ducatti and 3 neighbour's cars which have minimalistic exhausts.

 

Thanks Alan. I usually turn off all HVAC before I get home, and park for the evening. (Old habit.)

So nothing in "on" the next morning, when I power up the Starship.

If it's cooler, the ICE kicks in. Doesn't bother me. It's quiet. I leave right away.

I just drive it. Like any other car. Try not to even think about the ICE, EV, MPG, etc. I'd go NUTS if I had to "analyze" this car every time I drove it!

 

this all sounds exactly like gen 3 to me

 

there's the rub. if you can move the car in and out of the garage, in and weather, with any battery level, without the engine coming on, that would be a programming change from the gen 3.

as it is, you can find threads here where people move there gen 3 out of the garage without the engine coming on, but getting it back in is the challenge, unless it is warm out, the battery has more than 3 bars and the engine is not stone cold from disuse.