Toyota Prius3 fuel consumption in mixed mode

I only use ECO or PWR modes. So I have no idea how the NORM or mixed mode works.

 

If you deactivate "ECO" mode, that will be "normal" mode.

 

I understand how to get into the NORM mode. what I do not understand is the benefit of the NORM mode.

 

I would "guess" it would run in a normal way.
ECO would use the battery more, cut back on the a/c and such and more Economicly efficient.
Power gives you the maximum power from the engine and hybrid battery. A more sporty feel.

 

That is my guess as well.

I have two Prius' because fuel economy is important to me. Therefore I mostly use ECO. I have no idea what fuel economy should be expected from the use of NORM.

 

Just a small difference from my experience.
I always used eco to capture any and every fraction of efficiency.
I’m not sure if the o/p is asking a question or making a statement

 

The limits on the HVAC system are the only genuinely substantive changes made in ECO mode. It caps how hard the A/C will be allowed to run, and it disables the supplemental electric heat while the engine is warming up. Those limits are not imposed in the other two modes.

Aside from those limits, these three 'modes' don't do anything but change the shape of the graph from pedal position to requested power:



The concave-down version you get from PWR feels sportier because your early foot motion makes a bigger change in power request. The concave-up version from ECO is easier to modulate at typical power levels, because your small foot motions make less difference. The linear version you get in 'normal' mode pretty much splits the difference.

Funny, just noticed the OP is the so-far only post ever made by the new member, so the rest of us have just guessed at what the OP even meant by "mixed mode".

 

toyota must believe that the delayed throttle would save gas by changing driver behavior.

 

My behavior changes within minutes every time I change the setting.

I drive in ECO most of the time, but turn that off on occasion when I want more A/C or heat.

My next couple take-offs after turning ECO off are more on the exuberant side, because I push the pedal down the way I was used to in ECO. Then my brain adjusts and I'm back to driving the car the way I normally do.

Then when I don't want the extra A/C or heat, I put ECO mode back on. My next couple take-offs are more on the lethargic side, because I push the pedal down the way I was used to. Then my brain adjusts and I'm back to driving the car the way I normally do.

 

I find that when I use ECO I actually get a lower MPG than when I just have it off. I've used it twice starting with a full tank and it turned out the same each time. Without it on I can get 54 with some attention and effort. With it on I was getting 50 or 51.

 

Yeah I found similar: ECO mode was ultimately tiring, requiring more than normal pedal travel to achieve a reaction. I used it off-and-on the first few months of ownership, then never since. Forgotten the buttons are even there.

 

In mine, I've used primarily ECO mode.

Barely perceptible difference in the response to the gas pedal.

One other difference is how much the AC works. In ECO mode, it doesn't cool as much. Most of the time, I was driving either to work, or home. Since that trip only takes about 15 minutes in this small city, I didn't need it on the way to work, and my trip wasn't long enough for the car to cool down on the way home, so I just rolled the windows down - in the summer. I never noticed any difference in the winter.

 

The main climate-control difference in the winter is that ECO locks out the electric supplemental heat that otherwise can kick in before the engine coolant is hot enough to heat with.

The supplemental heat is puny: about 700 watts (compare the 5300 watts of heat you get from the coolant once the engine is warm). I've never been able to feel any difference when it's there or not.

But if starting a cold car with a fogged windshield, it does clear the windshield noticeably faster. I turn ECO off for those moments.

 

Do you guys realize these silly little buttons are just an illusion and do not control the car?

Your right foot controls the car.

But if it brings you joy to press a little button before beginning your day's journey, Carry On!

 

This is a totally new subject to me!
What is 'supplemental heat' on a Gen3?
Are you saying there's a 700 watt resistance heating element in a coolant circuit?

And how can you put a wattage number on hot coolant from the engine?

 

094800-0051 OEM
12V Power 495W

 

Yup. Thanks to MAX2 for supplying the photo.

It's more in the cabin airflow than in the coolant circuit (though part of it in early gens was combined with the heater core, a part of a coolant circuit).

The watt is the SI unit for any kind of power, so Toyota, based in Japan, naturally prints that spec in watts, and schoolchildren in most countries wouldn't lose a second in wondering about it. Only in a country that for some reason uses watts for electricity but horsepower for engines and tons for air conditioners and btu/hr for heaters could that still be something that slows anybody down in 2024.

Because those are all just different-sized units to measure the same thing, it's no trouble looking up conversion factors to put 5300 watts into whatever other measurement unit of power you prefer.

 

Yes, yes, but where did this 5300 watts of coolant heat come from?

X amount of 190° F coolant flowing at X rate through a heat exchanger would result in X amount of Btu to the X temp of cabin air flowing at X amount.

I'm not arguing, just curious...
Thanks for giving me my "Something new everyday" moment today with the 495 watt resistance heater in the HVAC system!