Another Prime road trip in progress

Unexpected things are very rare for me. I never drive at distance 1, 3 usually unless there's traffic.

 

Our expectations aren't the same it looks like, I don't expect it to drive better than I do, it's just an aide that happens to reduce my stress. There's no way I could think of that it could drive better given the sensor suite it has.

 

That's entirely possible, there's other things about the prime that I don't like and never use.

For instance, Entune, big minus, blind spot monitoring I like, but the indicators are too small and there's no tone. Parking isn't something I need, I do that myself. And I absolutely hate the hatch, it's too high for me when open.

 

That's a get used to thing, it doesn't do unexpected things if you've used it for years.

 

Agree about the auto high beam and lane departure warning. LKA on my 2010 Prius was better and I just don't like auto high beams at all. (but I like auto wipers) . I leave lane departure warning on, but my daily commute doesn't set it off too much. I don't know why our back up camera is so basic, like you say almost every other car has a more advanced version, but at least I don't have to back up too much.

 

I'd like some help clarifying some Drive modes (settings) and a Long Distance Trips...

I have read here and several other places about the Drive Settings for trips and they seem to conflict or differ quite a bit...

for a long trip:
1) Drive in EV mode until main drive battery is depleted, then drive in Hybrid mode for the remainder of the trip.
2) Drive in EV Auto mode the WHOLE Trip, allowing the car to decide how it uses the battery and gas. (wonder how long the battery would last??)
3) Drive in HV mode the Whole trip, and reserve the battery as much as possible.

So, as you can see I'm a bit confused on what everyone things the best drive setting should be. Toyota says I should get about 640 miles on a tank of gas. If that is the case, then i should get further than i ever have, before i have to re-fuel.

I plan to take a trip from northern Utah to South Central Coast of California in August. Believe it or not, there are a few CLIMBS to get out of Utah before Dropping down through Vegas, then climb out of Vegas and deal with the Baker Grade coming back and Mountain passes. The trip mileage total is about 840 miles.

I'd love to see if i can make it all the way to Barstow, CA without stopping (596 miles - 8.5 hrs), then refuel for the first time.

Thoughts??

 

I don't do any of those.

No, they say you should get about 640 miles on a tank of gas *and* a full battery charge.

I drive from my house to the highway on EV, and then in hybrid mode most of the rest of the time, until I get to my destination, then use EV in town again. If I know I'm about to have a big descent, I'll try to deplete the battery some (sometimes down to 20% or so, depending on the descent) so there's room to charge on the way down. I do that on the flats leading up to the descent.

If I deplete the EV driving around in town, I'll either charge at a charging station if available or use charge mode to charge back to 80% once back on the open highway. This way I can use EV at the next town.

 

To be honest, I think your trip mileage total of about 840 miles would make no difference what mode you drive in terms of the final mileage you are going to get out of your trip, unless you are stopping frequently to charge your battery. If you plan to do in city stop and go type of traffic driving at the destination and you have no plan to charge your battery, I would save entire battery charge going to the city, but still it will make very little effect on the final mpg.

 

I guess what i'm trying to do is maximize the tank of gas to get to Barstow 596 miles away (with a couple climbs).

Hopefully doing it without stopping and having to refuel before that point. I'll be the only person in the car this time and minimal luggage so, weight won't be a factor.

 

596 miles total distance from a full tank of gas + full charge is doable. The most important factor is not the drive mode you chose, but rather it will mainly depends on how fast you drive along the way. To maximize the gas engine efficiency under HV mode, you will have to keep the speed down. If you drive substantial portion of your drive at or above 70mph, your mileage will be most likely to be below 60mpg, making it very difficult to get make 596 miles non-refuel trip.

640 miles range is based on the 54mpg x 11.4 gal of gas + 25miles of EV range. If you don't get at least EPA rated 54mpg, you are not going to get this far. And even if you do get that far, your tank is dead empty. If you miscalculate in last 20 miles, and use up the gas, you will be stranded with no way to re-start the car even if AAA comes to rescue with a gallon of gas. You will need more than a gallon to re-start the car when it gets this low.

 

Don't do that, that's silly. You'll have to stop for food or at least a bio-break (or more than one) along the way. Just fill up after 400 miles or so. Vegas or nearby would be perfect. Then you'll have a nearly full tank at your destination and there's zero risk of running out of gas or running your fuel pump dry.

I drove 556 miles on a tank once (with a small amount of EV charging - perhaps 30-40 miles or so) and filled up just after the fuel light came on. It was a test to see how much gas was left when the fuel light came on. In my case, it was 1.4 gallons (it took 9.9 gallons to fill up). That's the only reason I can figure to drive past gas stations until the light comes on, and I already did that test for you.

Fill up no less than 1/4 tank so you don't end up stranded if disaster strikes, like a closed highway and you have to go back or something. Or a wind storm, or a rain storm, or accident, etc. Not worth the risk. It takes 2 minutes to fill up an empty Prius. It takes hours to get a tow and get back on the road.

 

Yeah, I tend to agree with @Lee Jay. Last summer on a trip I drove a tank for over 600 miles but only because it was way way way farther to the next gas station than I expected. It was nerve wracking! Turns out, I still had over one gallon left, but it still took all the fun out of 100+ miles of mountain driving in New Mexico.

 

Food for thought...

Any issues with EV driving with the Low Fuel Light for a long period? | Page 3 | PriusChat



Rob43

 

Motch6, I don’t think you’re going to get near that mileage on a trip like that in August. With temperatures over 100° most of your trip, you’re going to be running the air conditioner a lot. You should easily make it to Vegas, fill up there, then make the rest of the way to Barstow. Hope you have a safe trip in August.

 

In a June trip from Colorado across the Utah and Nevada deserts, to southern California, then back across Arizona, south-west Colorado and New Mexico, I averaged 56mpg in my Prime for the whole trip. That was with four people and the car fully loaded. At times it was 104 degrees where we were driving.

 

That's the same average mpg I got last May on our 6,000 mile trip. Only two people but the car was packed full and we fought 30-50 mph head winds for over 1,000 of those miles. What an amazing car.

 

@Lee Jay .... What Drive Mode did you find yourself using for that trip? EV Auto?

And thanks all for the comments, very helpful! I was going to see how far i could get on a tank of gas, but probably won't push it...

As an added note, I always leave by 3am, so an 8 hr. drive would be done before it really starts cooking! ... unless its a particularly hot night.