Cannot switch to EV mode

Is it a North American version car? I do not know of ev mode on gen 2.

 

As far as I know (as a European), the US version was not equiped with an EV button. But might have been state-specific.
It can be retrofitted without too much difficulty iirc.

Mine came with it from the factory, and it will not do it above 60km/h (40mph, could also be 50 or 35mph, don't know exactly), won't do it when the engine isn't warm and also won't do it while the battery is too low.

If all those conditions are met and it still won't do it, there may be something else going on.

 

perhaps an aftermarket device has been installed

 

the aftermarket devices can be stealth, such as pulling the cruise control stalk for a few seconds to engage

 

Hi R-P, it's 43 km/h and flips off at 44 km/h so, 26.8 and 27.4 MPH respectively.

 

I think that's only for Australian (and New Zealand apparently) For European model the limit is 50 km/h so that's 31 MPH.

Also:
-Engine needs to be warmed up (exact temperature depends on outside temperature and heater use)
-HV-battery have enough energy but not completely full (4...7 bar is fine and 3 or 8 might be fine)
-Light enough throttle
-HV-battery can't be too hot or cold (if temp is above freezing and cooling fan is not commanded on that's fine)

 

While the NA model doesn't have an EV button, it does have the function. I installed a button in my '05 for moving the car short distances. I wonder if the previous owner did something like that and didn't properly remove the button wiring. If there are unremoved wires dangling behind the dash, they might touch and trigger the message. The mod involved shorting to ground pin #27 on the H14 connector on the HV ECU. If the wire is still in the connector, the other end might be bumping into ground. It's located to the right of the glovebox. See the diagram below:

 

Well, that is interesting. Yes, NZ takes the Aus spec Prius. Why do you think they would bother to have different cut-offs in different jurisdictions?

 

I think it is indeed something like 50km/h, but will check. My Prius often runs a specific stretch on EV, but it does so voluntarily (at ~55km/h) so I think I mixed that up thus mentioning 60km/h

So it can run above 50km/h in EV, but only if it decides to do so itself and won't show the "EV" symbol in the display.

When adding batteries was a big thing to make the Gen2 into a DIY plug-in hybrid, this 43 or 50km/h could be changed in the software somehow to e.g. 80km/h.

 

No I ment the EV-mode that you get from button. For some reason Australian model has different speed limit on it. On European mode Prius EV-mode button can be used up to 50 km/h. Without pressing the EV mode button it can go into electric mode up to 69 km/h and will then start spinning engine at 70...71 km/h.

 

Yes I know, I wanted to make clear (and failed... ) that the speed I had in mind and that I mentioned before was due to a mixup in my head of the EV-button-speed and the EV-decided-by-the-Prius-itself-speed and thus quoted a wrong number.

I will check that 69km/h too. I didn't know this, but it does explain why it runs the engine when I think it could do it on EV.

I do have an instance where I am coasting of off a dyke (hey, I'm Dutch, its the closest thing we have to a mountain). The screen confirms this (no arrows whatsoever, all green bars except for one) but still a petrol usage of 1-2 l/100km (somewhere between 100 and 200mpg). Engine has just done 10 minutes of 60mph and wasn't cold to begin with.


But I'm veering off topic...