My EV mode is always "unavailable"

I knew more about the Gen II conditions, but tell us please:

Were you below 25 mph?

If so, what was your state of charge?

Was the engine warm?

Even cold, you can get EV, but on the Gen II only for about 7 seconds, then the warm up cycle began.

 

7 Seconds? I put mine into ev all the time when I start up and can leave it on as long as I'm within the speed limit or the battery state.
Is 7 seconds right or is what my car doing normal?

 

Also, be aware that the much more useful glide mode works up to 45 mph in the Gen III. That's when the ICE shuts down because you let ALMOST off the gas pedal, as it you shifted a traditional car into neutral. (This is normal driving modes, not EV mode.)

 

Leaving it on is fine, I just meant that after 7 seconds in ready mode, the ICE lights up and forces a warm-up. See my stages of operation pdf in the knowledgebase. (Gen II)

 

I get what you mean now.

 

LOL!
I saw this title and said to myself: "Hmmm, if no one's gotten it answered, I'm gonna post SLOW DOWN!"

If you start off at a light or from a dead stop in traffic with the EV button pushed and increase speed gradually, it will stay in. I got a car to 38+ with the EV still in. Just have to brake to slow periodcally to regen back to battery so the ICE doesn't kick.

 

I've tried EV mode several times. From a stop, I barely touch the accelerator and it pops out of EV mode with the same message. I found I could start my car at idle speed and then slowly build up speed with a gentle push on the accelerator. It takes practice. I used EV mode to cruise around my neighborhood until the battery got depleted and then the engine (oops, ICE) kicked in. I don't think I could ever go as fast as Dianne's 38+ mph.

 

Come into the store, Rich.
I can show you how I do it... (not downhill!!) and, I'll race ya!!!

 

Keep the comments coming. The purpose of EV is rapidly becoming a big misconception.

It is intended only for stop & slow driving. That's it... not for suburb driving. STEALTH is for that.

STEALTH is automatic. In fact, there isn't even a button for it. The maximum electric-only, engine-stopped speed in this mode is 45 MPH.

STEALTH is indicated by the instant MPG indicator pegged at 100.
.

 

gen III prius - battery levels - goes up & down between the first and the second bar? normal?

 

Gen III will let you do EV with a cold engine. I was sort of pleasantly surprised to find this out just tonight.
I went out to move my car and as soon as I hit the power button I hit the EV button.
I was able to pull around the corner and up my driveway without the ICE kicking in.
To me, this is the primary benefit of EV. I don't necessarily want the ICE starting when I am just repositioning the car. That is just a waste of gas and uneccessary wear and tear on the ICE.

 

I love EV mode. It's kind of like "taxing mode" for me. Driving out of driveway (9 mph limit due to cold engine) and parking at garages/parking lots (up to 25mph). From my previous car I know "parking" is a fuel killer, wandering around a parking lot, etc. So this is a great fuel saving feature!

 

Guess I gotta be careful with EV. I was in a ramp garage today at lunch to visit a friend in the hospital. This group of people were walking in front of me, oblivious, until one of them noticed I was trying to get by. They moved over and I heard one of them say, "effing hybrids sneaking up on you..."

I suppose it would have been better to sound like a Harley.

 

Really?

I suspect far more people would be irritated by a noisy vehicle driving by than one that didn't disturb them.
.

 

That's funny about the people you were "tailing." I do get nervous about kids in driveways with these cars. I'm glad I got the Nav with the backup camera for just this reason. I don't need an alarm IN the car telling me I'm backing up, but it wouldn't be that bad to have one on the back of the car.

As far as the EV mode, I work about .8 miles from my house. I cannot wait to see if I can get to work every day without using gas. I get my car in a couple weeks.

 

Please note that trying to maximize your distance in EV mode will lower your fuel efficiency, because then the engine has to run to re-charge the battery.

The Prius is a gas-electric hybrid, meaning that it is designed to use the gasoline engine and the electric system together. It is not intended to be used like an EV with a gasoline generator. It gets its efficiency by employing a small, efficient, low-torque gasoline engine and making up for the low torque of the engine by having a battery-powered electric motor which can supply torque when needed. (Two motor-generators, actually, but the critical one is MG2, which supplies torque; MG1 serves other purposes, and is essential to the design.) Any time you try to override this hybrid concept by maximizing EV mode, you are undermining the fundamental concept of the car, and wasting gasoline.

EV mode was intended for moving the car very short distances, and minimizing noise in residential neighborhoods. The car will put itself into electric mode (which John and others call "stealth") when the battery level is high and the power demand is small. You can use EV mode effectively the same way, when the battery is high (over 6 bars, I'd say) and your speed is slow (residential neighborhood speeds).

Sometimes, especially in cold weather when you have the heater on so the car wants to run the engine, and the battery level has gotten high, and because of traffic conditions the car has not yet gotten into Stage 4 operation and is reluctant to go electric, EV mode is useful to take the battery back down. But I'd advise against using it once the battery has gone below 6 bars.

You cannot hurt the car by excessive use of EV mode, because it will protect itself and deny EV mode. But you will waste fuel by excessive use of EV mode.

In the Gen II, you can go into EV mode below 34 mph, and the car will deny EV above that speed. The car itself will go into electric mode below 42 mph under normal conditions, when the battery level is high enough and the power demand is low and the system has properly warmed up and gone into Stage 4 operation. It can go electric above 42 mph, but must spin the engine, and only does this under more restrictive conditions. I do not know if the Gen III has exactly the same numerical limits, but I believe the concepts are the same.