So my wife and I just bought our first new prius (we plan to get another next year) and we have a few questions. To start off, we bought a brand new 2011 prius, base model. I was wondering first, about ECO Mode and EV Mode. When I press Eco Mode, I am not noticing much difference in performance or mileage. I notice that if I keep it in the dark gray on the display, its the same wether or not I am in Eco Mode. So I was wondering if anyone can confirm to me that there is a difference in Eco mode and what it does. Second, I couldn't understand our sales agent very well, he had a bit of an accent, but I was wondering, is Eco mode for city driving, or highway driving? He said for on the highway, but the owners manual says for when theres a lot of stop and goes (city). Third, what are the requirements to go into EV mode? Some times I can enter it when going as fast as 25 miles an hour, and some times I cant even initiate it as low as 15 miles an hours, some times it cites I am going to fast (15 mph? really?). Thanks for any help you can offer me.
Try and use the forums search function. Search driving modes, see what that turns up and reread your owners manual.
Look in the Gen III fuel economy forum, like this thread for instance: http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii-2010-prius-fuel-economy/90745-eco-mode.html It may depend on engine temperature at the time, but I'm not a Gen-III owner, so I haven't been keeping up on that. Eco mode is when you don't need fast acceleration, depending on your situation it could be city or it could be highway.
Welcome to the forum. It's understandable that you have some questions about your new Prius. It has a lot of cool features that other cars don't have. The majority of your questions so far can be answered from a quick read of your manual and/or reading through the forums here. That's just good etiquette. Once you've done that you'll have more questions that we'll be glad to help you with. Page 171 talks about ECO mode. I personally stay in ECO all the time.
I guess that is where I get confused.. I read other posts and no one seems to know for sure... And when i read the owners manual, its very very very vague about what it does...
It mainly adjusts the throttle mapping (I'm sure you've noticed that). I believe http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...pwr-mode-really-just-accelerator-mapping.html and http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii-2010-prius-main-forum/86660-eco-mode.html are good threads. From the PDF attached to http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii-2010-prius-main-forum/60002-prius-technology-video.html: John1701a states at http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...-car-in-history-in-winter-14.html#post1249224 "The new ECO mode allows the engine to remain off all the way down to a coolant temperture of 114°F."
I usually run my Gen 3 in ECO ALL the time. During the summer I average 54mpg. Remember, you can run ECO all the time and if you need emergency power, when you put your foot down on the accelerator, it will automatically go to FULL power. I am normally a hard driver and put on 30,000 miles a year and I can count on two things, great economy and instant power when I need it.
Mine is on ECO full time. This is an engine coolant temperature issue. Below 68F (20C) as displayed on a ScanGauge, no EV at all. From there up to some nearly-warmed temperature, or possibly a specific operating stage, the limit is 9 mph. Fully warmed, the limit rises to 25 mph. This is for North American cars. Prii in other markets have much lower temperature thresholds.
Congrats on your new Prius. It's going to be so much fun. Welcome to PriusChat. I drive in ECO all the time, city and highway. Also, I never use EV mode. I've discovered that EV mode drains the hybrid battery causing the ICE to run longer, using MORE fuel to recharge the battery. Read your manual regarding EV mode and when it's available; i.e. eng temp, speed, harsh acceleration, etc. Enjoy the MPGs, technology and low-emissions.
ECO mode make the Prius "seem" to be less powerful, but it's not. Like cwerdna said, it just changes the throttle mapping or it makes the accelerator pedal less responsive to small changes in position. If you put it to the floor, it's no different than it would be if it was in Normal or Power mode. The A/C is a bit more efficient in ECO mode than it is in the other two although I've never noticed any deficiency even in 100°+ temps.
