GEN III starts immediately with ICE once I shift into drive

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by chinchineropee, Sep 13, 2010.

  1. chinchineropee

    chinchineropee New Member

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    Hi all,

    I've tried searching the threads to see if there is a similar problem, but it appears I have not found anything like this.

    When I power on my car, initially it is running only on electric power. However, when I shift into drive (even before I left my foot off the brake), the ICE immediately kicks in. I have to say, this was not the case when I first got my prius (I'm at about 6000 kms), but I first noticed this shortly after I got my first oil change at 3000 kms.

    The ICE stays on until I've been driving for several minutes, and then will turn off. I thought perhaps it was the colder weather, or because I was using EV mode on the small streets in my neighbourhood before parking for the night, but since then, I have stopped using EV mode and we have had several very warm days, yet this continues to happen. I have to say that if I drive my car for a while, and then power off, and power on shortly thereafter (probably within 30 mins), it will stay in electric mode when I first shift into drive, but if I leave it for longer, it will start up with the ICE on as soon as I shift into drive.

    Has anyone else experienced this? Any ideas what the problem may be? I tried calling the dealership but they weren't helpful, and only suggested the possibilities that I already tried to rule out i.e. colder weather, low batter power on start-up, use of other accessories upon start up. I just wanted to get as much info as I can so when I take it in, I will have a strong case, in case they try to convince me that it's not an issue, when it obviously isn't!! If I wanted a car that started up with the ICE, I wouldn't have bought the Prius!

    Thanks!
     
    #1 chinchineropee, Sep 13, 2010
  2. chuckc192000

    chuckc192000 Junior Member

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    #2 chuckc192000, Sep 13, 2010
  3. ksstathead

    ksstathead Active Member

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    Prius is a gas car, not an EV. Not only that, but its top priority over mpg is low emissions. The result of that priority is that it will warm up the engine as described in great detail in the link of chuck's post above.

    It could be worse: the '04-'09 models did the warm up cycle at powerup even when the engine was fully warmed to begin with. At least the 2010 will skip all or part of it if already warm.

    Have your mpg's dropped since you noticed this behavior? What you describe sounds normal to me.
     
    #3 ksstathead, Sep 13, 2010
  4. ksstathead

    ksstathead Active Member

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    Furthermore, EV driving a Prius is bad for fuel economy most of the time. It is nice to have the battery for storing energy that would be wasted, but ultimately the energy you are storing came from the gas tank, and you cannot recover it all. So it is best for mpg to use the engine somewhat vigorously (pulse), then glide without regen until speed drops more than desired. Repeat, and you have pulse & glide.

    The warmup cycle is just something we are stuck with. It is still the highest mpg car in the USA.
     
    #4 ksstathead, Sep 13, 2010
  5. chinchineropee

    chinchineropee New Member

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    Thanks for the info. So what you're telling me is... even if I drive my car into work (45 min drive), and leave it parked outside all day when the temp is 25 degrees Celsius, it is normal when I power up my car again 8 hours later, for it the ICE to start up once I shift into drive?!

    I guess the 35 degree Celsius ++ weather when I first bought my car must have really spoiled me!
     
    #5 chinchineropee, Sep 13, 2010
  6. chuckc192000

    chuckc192000 Junior Member

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    I live/work in Florida. My Prius sits in the hot sun on 30C+ days while I'm at work and the ICE always starts up shortly after power-up.
     
    #6 chuckc192000, Sep 13, 2010
  7. chinchineropee

    chinchineropee New Member

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    Awww I WAS spoiled in those first few weeks, and it set the bar too high! Now I can't go back! Thanks so much guys. This forum is awesome!
     
    #7 chinchineropee, Sep 13, 2010
  8. spiderman

    spiderman wretched

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    I don't know, I get different behavior on different days. I too park for about 8 hours and sometimes the car will start immediately when I put in D and sometimes I can a fair distance before it starts (but it always starts sooner or later). Yet the temps for those days are pretty similar. No big deal, but I wonder why.
     
    #8 spiderman, Sep 13, 2010
  9. Much More Better

    Much More Better Active Member

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    I don't know what the optimum temperature the engine wants to be at but it is much higher than the ambient temp, even with the Arizona sun beating down on it. My ICE always run for about 3-5min, even when it's very hot out. In fact, based on the 1 min consumption screen, I have notice no difference for the first 4-6min of my drive, whether it's 70F or 90F outside.
     
    #9 Much More Better, Sep 13, 2010
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