1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

How often to drain gas tank when only using EV mode

Discussion in 'Prime Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by idahohacker, Mar 29, 2019.

  1. schja01

    schja01 One of very few in Chicagoland

    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2005
    1,765
    1,169
    0
    Location:
    Chicagoland
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    How about seals and gaskets? Don’t they need to be lubricated to prevent oil leaks?
    Maybe apples to oranges but I had a spare submersible sump pump I never ran for years until I heard you should run it periodically to keep the seal lubricated. I ran it for a minute and it leaked oil badly. I run the replacement for a short while every few months. No leaks.
     
  2. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2016
    11,518
    14,128
    0
    Location:
    Tampa, FL
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    On top of that, I understand that the Prius spins the engine faster during startup than a gasser and doesn't fire up the ignition & fuel till it has oil pressure, so no load on the bearings till there's oil pressure. That would greatly reduce cold start friction and wear.
     
  3. schja01

    schja01 One of very few in Chicagoland

    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2005
    1,765
    1,169
    0
    Location:
    Chicagoland
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    It must do all of that in a sub second timeframe because my Prime and previous Gen 2 started the engine almost instantly. I get the spin up but how much oil pressure and oil distribution could happen in that short a period of time? I’d like it to be true but how can one actually prove it?
    That said I run the ICE weekly “Just because” it gives me a warm fuzzy feeling. I just push the HV button once, wait for the ICE to start and then press the HV button again. The ICE then continues to run for a minute or three depending on what the outside temp was at the time.
     
    Arctic_White and jerrymildred like this.
  4. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2010
    56,675
    39,222
    80
    Location:
    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    I'd be inclined to have a "hybrid vehicle" day, at least once a week.
     
    Arctic_White and Tideland Prius like this.
  5. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 28, 2016
    11,518
    14,128
    0
    Location:
    Tampa, FL
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    I'm not sure how long it takes, but it can't be more than a second. And it's pretty hard to tell if the engine is cranking or running from the tales I've read here of people thinking their Prius starts for a couple seconds and stops when it's actually cranking, not starting, and timing out.
     
    Arctic_White likes this.
  6. schja01

    schja01 One of very few in Chicagoland

    Joined:
    Apr 22, 2005
    1,765
    1,169
    0
    Location:
    Chicagoland
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    My ICE is definitely not just cranking. I can hear the increased engine sound whenI accelerate.
     
  7. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2004
    45,024
    16,242
    41
    Location:
    Canada
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Granted my car is still new (although it was sitting around the dealer for 3 months before I purchased it) but after my nearly 70-day experiment in EV-only mode, the gas engine fired up normally when I went into HV mode at the end of the experiment.
     
  8. srivenkat

    srivenkat Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 28, 2011
    596
    93
    0
    Location:
    IL
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius Prime
    Model:
    XLE
    I heard running the engine for too short a time could cause moisture to build up, which is normally expelled when the engine is usually brought up to operating temperature (197F?) with a longer run.
     
  9. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 31, 2018
    7,035
    2,790
    0
    Location:
    USA
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius c
    Model:
    Four
    This is true.
    And the "procedure" you replied to is likely WORSE than just letting it sit......for several reasons.