I finally picked up my Black Pkg2 on thursday. Only an 8 week wait. I've noticed that no matter how light I press the gas pedal the ICE seems to kick in. It will shut off when coasting down a hill or to a stop but it seems during any and all acceleration it kicks on. Is this normal? The only reason I ask is because I know a guy that works at the dealership as the lead painter for there body shop. He said that they had the toyota techs driving the car around the lot like there was something wrong with the car or the hybrid components. That got me a litte worried/curious if there is a problem. Right now I've put a little over a hundred miles on the car and am averaging about 41mpg. Just wondered what you thoughts were. BTW...I love this car. Thanks
xartis, having the ICE running continuously, or nearly so, is or is not normal depending on where it is in the ICE/catalytic converter warm-up progression. Take a look at this thread, and see how your observations fit with the five stages. Note also that to get the full range of ICE-off options, you need to get up to 35 MPH at some point. http://techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/cars/five-stages.txt Unfortunately, you need a ScanGauge to know for sure when you pass over the temperature thresholds. But a SG is not absolutely essential to get good MPGs. At only 100 miles driven, there is a lot of reading and practicing still to do.
That sounds normal to me, that's how mine operates (or how I'd have perceived it to operate). You should be able, at super-slow-acceleration at slow speeds, be able to use battery-only, but it could hardly be called acceleration it's so minute.
You just got the car right? I would say to give yourself and the car some time ~ 5000 miles to get broken in and for you to get to get accustomed to how it all works. And read this board. There is a wealth of info here.
That is what I was going to ask. The A/C one can cause the ICE to run more than normal. Check your tire pressure as well. An increase in rolling resistance due to low tire pressure will cause the ICE to come on in response to a need for more power to move the car.
I have had the A/C on a lot. It's been 95+ degrees around here the last week or so. I figured the car would loosen up after its broke in. Thanks for you replies.
Good advice I have taken on the A/C is to set it at about 77-80 - it will be on enough to cool things off and won't stay on all the time. Also in the summer window tinting helps a lot. Have fun with your new baby!
Sounds pretty normal then. Keep the A/C on and stay cool and don't sweat the minor fuel milage difference. Better to remain healthy and in a good state of mind than overheat and make a mistake while driving. I keep mine at about 78deg and that is enough to keep me feeling fine even in 100+ deg temps.
Hi Xartis, The Prius has a special AC unit. Its not on and off like other cars. It can put out variable levels of cooling. This saves a bunch of gas. Check out how to set the AC for like 80 F in automatic mode. Do not just set it for MAX AC and forget about it. The AC unit also has a humidity sensor and will dry out the air by running at lower levels more continuously. So 80 F feels cooler than one would think. When you first start the car, it will run a bunch, then slowly taper off as the car cools. If you can keep the car shaded, and with the windows cracked, that will help your fuel economy a bunch. Because besides you, the car needs to keep the battery cool. If you hot-soak the car, it will run the AC extra to cool that battery down. I use the sun shade for the front window sold on Prius Chat here. It covers the whole window, and I park the car into the afternoon sun. That way the passenger compartment is as cool as can be. Another thing to do is set the tires at 42 PSI front, and 40 rear. The door placard pressures are too low for good tire life (edges wear out much quicker at these presures), and probably wrong for hydro-planing resistance as well.
I've also noticed that, even when accelerating as slowly as possible from a stop at a light, that the ICE will kick in at about 15 mph despite how careful I am, unless the hybrid battery charge is in the green bars range, or if I'm on a downward slope. Also remember that your mileage will improve over the first 1000 mi or so. Enjoy!
davidtm, et al, I'm going to offer an observation here, but I don't recommend it for frequent use. From practical experience, I'm in with the crowd who advocates minimizing the times that you intentionally use only yellow arrow, solely HV battery power. It needs to be said that I do not -- yet -- have an EV switch. Ok, that said, in my daily commute there are a time or two when just a few seconds of EV drive -- I prefer "golf cart mode" -- will get me to a place/speed that will then result in a long no arrows glide or other advantageous state/place without the ICE coming on. And here at last is the observation: an initial golf cart mode run up to say 12-15 MPH can be extended by backing off the go pedal to "no arrows" if you can find it, or more easily all the way to blue arrow regen, and then right back to yellow arrows. This allows me to pick up speed to say 20 MPH, or double the distance covered before the ICE kicks in. I often use this at the end of my AM commute to roll up to my accustomed spot in the parking garage. (Here I use the really fanatical trick of parking head out, so I can get moving ASAP when the car is in S1 warm-up in the evening.) Not an earth shaking discovery by any means, but just another trick to have in your bag of high-MPG tricks. Hope this helps.
