Help! Having driven a Gen III for the last three years, I am used to a simple default rule for the driving modes: Power off when in Normal, it stays in Normal when you restart Power off when in Eco, it stays in Normal when you restart. Power off in Power, it reverts to Normal when you restart. BUT with a new Prius V, I find that it reverts to Eco whether I power off in Normal or in Power. Since there is no reference in the manual to this, I consider it a programming fault and called the dealer. The dealer tried two other models in the showroom and got the same result -- reverting to Eco evey time it is powered off. I have a belief (I know it's one not shared by many) that Eco is not economical in certain urban driving conditions -- and so would far prefer the default standard I have in the III. Has anyone else encountered this? Anyone asked Toyota?
Out of curiousity, what would be the certain urban driving conditions where Eco isn't economical? What makes that so in your mind?
Eco is always the most economical, in *all* driving situations. Recall that full power is always available, no matter which mode, so Eco mode retains all of the capabilities of the other modes, while going cheap on ICE and A/C operation. This is a statement of fact, not opinion. Simple logic proves it to be the case. You could rephrase your statement to make it correct: "I find it harder to drive economically in Eco mode in some urban driving conditions." That is plausible. Babying the throttle is not always the most efficient. With Eco you have to press harder to avoid babying the throttle. It can be done, but it might not feel natural. Tom
If you power off in normal it should power back up in normal. If you power off in eco it will power back up in eco. That is the way it should work and is the way it works in mine. I find eco is my mode of choice except when merging into high speed traffic situations when I like a more sensitive accelerator pedal.
Conditions: Short journeys; 35 to 50 mph normal road speed; frequent stops. This is a matter of opinion and personal style, but I believe Eco makes it harder to avoid slow, labored acceleration. To be even more heretical, I believe I can achieve higher mpg in Power mode in these conditions. But that wasn't my point. Is it possible that Toyota has very recently changed (I think, if so, misguidedly) to making Eco the default for the V.
Just to avoid confusion, is there a typo in the above? Should it read: Anyway: if the new Prius V insists in reverting to ECO mode at each re-start, that is irritating. There was a thread here asking why Power mode is not sticky with the regular Prius (the other two modes do stick). And I'd concur: the car should not be resetting any of the 3 choices: ECO, Normal or Power. FWIW, my preference is Normal mode, and I'd be irritated if I had to reset it each time I started up. Constant resetting of your preference (unless it's ECO) is a "feature" that's going to be universally despised, Toyota...
I can't help with the 'v'. But having driven my own GenIII for nearly three years, I must agree with MarathonMarty -- ECO does not clear when powered down. On restart, it is still in ECO. Mine is in this mode >95% of the time.
Oops! Yes, you are right. I meant to say, "Power down in Eco, and it stays in Eco." Which is OK. The problem with V's I have checked -- all very new -- is that you power down in Normal and restart in Eco. Very annoying!
My "v" when powered off in ECO it powers on in ECO...power off in NORMAL it powers on in NORMAL.... Only 45 miles but I'm paying close attention....
Mine does the same and I'm at a little over 500 on the odometer. I do drive mostly in ECO but have tried the others for experimentation. My first tank was mostly normal this tank is mostly Eco. W
I don't understand the discussion of a "normal mode". I thought there were only three modes; eV, ECO, Pwr. my understanding is the default condition is ECO.
Actually four(4) modes....ev...eco...power(buttons) and the fourth mode(default) when none of the three are selected is normal, for a better term...
In POWER mode the throttle responds as if you pushed down more than you actually have - e.g., if you press the pedal halfway down the car responds as if you pushed it all the way down. IN ECO mode the throttle responds as if you are pushing the pedal less than you actually have - e.g., if you press the pedal halfway down the car acts like you pushed it only one-quarter of the way. Also, in ECO mode the A/C is managed to conserve energy use. BTW, the ratios I mention above are made up, but they give you the idea of what happens. In NORMAL mode the throttle response is neither enhanced or decreased.
DaveJan think of it as one of 4 possible settings for the accelerator pedal. Because the Prius is software driven you are able to assign different settings. EV being slow speed electric, ECO making the pedal less sensitive than normal being less sensitive than power. You still have all the same functions and engine power the settings just differ on how hard you have to press the pedal to get them. I hope this makes sense. W
The last post #7 on this thread from the GenIII forum has an illustration of the different gas pedal mappings: http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...ion/101296-electric-vehicle-eco-pwr-none.html To get your Prius v (wagon) into Normal mode, press the Eco button if you are currently in Eco mode and the Power mode button if you are currently in Power mode. This will turn off the Eco or Power light on the right side of the instrument cluster and you will be in normal mode. So no driving mode lights will be on when you are in Normal mode. This normal mode corresponds to the only driving mode in the Gen II Prius. My Prius v powers up in Normal or Eco mode, which ever mode it was in when powered down. It will not power up in Power mode even if it was in Power mode when shut down. I hope this helps.
Thanks for so many knowledgeable inputs. I now have a significantly better understanding. Much appreciated.
Normal (PWR and ECO off) seems to behave much like other cars we've had. There's no real difference in power output with any mode, just changes in the response at partial peddle depression. With the pedal to the floor the response is the same, regardless of mode.
