I generally don't use EV but some stop and go around here is pretty brutal. So today, with the car adequately warmed up, I started getting "EV deactivated excessive speed" message at 10mph. This usually happens at 25mph. Any ideas?
When I roll out of my garage and down the alley (slight downslope) the EV kicks out at 11 MPH "excessive speed".
There are several factors that affect the EV mode: * Engine Temperature * Throttle Position * Battery SOC (State of Charge) As well as others. EVERYTHING is perfectly normal, and as it should be. David (aka Blind Guy)
Beed, As David said above, my experience has been that, after engine temperature, State of Charge seems to have the greatest effect on EV availability at different speeds. Sometimes it cuts out at 11 mph, others at 26 mph.
I have an '07 and my wife just brought home a '10. Although my '07 doesn't have an EV button I can drive on batt with pretty much the same results. My wife uses the EV mode a lot. She notes that excessive heavy acceleration will deplete the main batt very quickly, expecially if she's just started out cold. On the other hand, she has no problem driving off the main road and through our neighborhood at the end of the work day (with a warm engine and fully charged batt) sustaining EV for 2-3 miles. Note that her average speed is 25mph with no acceleration. Same is true from some large malls and big parking lots here in Tampa and Orlando. With a warm engine and no acceleration or stops she can get 2-3 miles in EV mode at 25-30mph consistently. Oh, and I should add that the ground is flat. That will make a difference I suppose. The biggest 'hills' here are the entrance ramps to the interstate overpass.
Just out of curiosity, *why* does your wife use EV mode a lot? Generally EV mode is not good for mileage, especially if you are talking about distances of two to three miles. Tom
I thought that heavy acceleration simply shuts off the EV mode and makes it unavailable. The car was not designed to be a "pure" electric vehicle and thus can only maintaimn EV mode on very light acceleration starts. Not really using up the battery that quick, but just exceeding the limits of the system.
I just wanted to add my thoughts. It's your car and you can do what you want, but just wanted to make sure you know that your mpg will be worse and your battery will fail alot sooner if your draining the hv batt alot.
My bet is your warming up was not enough. We need at least 160F coolant temperature to see 25mph limit. Ken@Japan
Yeah I noticed that the Gen III's EV Drive Mode is more sensitive than the Gen II. I can shut off the Gen II's engine and run up to 50km/h any time that the engine isn't stone cold. With the Gen III, it's really picky.
