Some questions from a hybrid noob

pretty cool questions, madfast. i will give my personal answer t0 the second question first. you gain zero, absolutely nothing by shifting into neutral. if the engine is running i dont believe it recharges the system. just leave it in drive and forget about it. the only time i use neutral is when im going through a carwash:welcome:

 

You answered your 1st question. The car must be in Ready Mode whelayingthe stereo to avoid draining the 12v battery. Think of ready mode as having the engine on in a traditional car. If the hybrid is not in ready mode then you will drain the 12v battery rather quickly.

Do not put the car in neutral while idling. You will receive no benefit from doing so and you will not beagle to keep the HV battery charged. The HV battery will eventually discharge and you could suffer additional problems. Neutral should not be used to aid in coasting either. Doing so does not shut down fuel injectors and you use more fuel than if you just lifted off the throttle or used advanced gliding techniques.

 

These are good questions. As already mentioned, stay in gear & in ready to allow the car to take care of itself. Odd things will happen but you'll get accustomed to them. Open the driver's door & you'll hear the car getting ready for your drive. If it is too cold the ICE (gas engine) will spin up at a stop to heat things up, especially with the climate control on. Sit in the car too long after it is turned off & you'll hear the systems cycle.

It will depend on the state of charge of the traction battery & the temp. outside but you probably have 15 or 20 minutes before the battery will discharge enough to cause the ICE to recharge. It will run just long enough to get the charge up a bit then the process restarts. This is rather annoying when sitting in traffic or just creeping along.

 

The Prius has fixed gears. Nothing shifts, and they never disconnect, so there isn't really a neutral. Neutral is accomplished by removing field excitation from the motor-generators. Without field, they offer little resistance to turning - neutral, in other words - but they also can't generate any electricity.

Tom

 

To add to that since MG1 is the 'starter motor' and Neutral does not power either MG, you cannot start the engine in Neutral, if it is not already running. Since above about 41 to 45 MPH the engine has to run, it is very dangerous to the car to be in Neutral going downhill near 41 to 45 MPH.

 

The first time you go through an automatic car wash during the summer where they require you to be in neutral, you'll discover the problem. If you are running the air conditioner, be prepared for the battery to drain and warnings to start popping up on the screen. I do not know what would happen if you don't do something. I usually would just turn off the A/C until out of the car wash. I'm curious what the car would do if the driver did nothing, left it in neutral with the A/C going?

 

i go thru one all the time. no prob, but i do get back into gear immediately after. i dont turn off anything.

 

I would imagine it depends on the type of car wash. If it is one of those little ones next to a gas station, they are pretty quick. The one I usually go to has a line of cars waiting to get in, and then once inside it takes about 5 minutes before you exit. So you are on the rollers for at least 5 minutes. Sometimes they stop the line for a minute or so for various reasons, which can make it last longer. In the heat of the summer running the A/C, it will drain the battery down. I usually just turn the vent on and let it blow outside air, since obviously you need to keep the windows rolled up. Since you are in the shade getting water sprayed on the car, that is usually enough.

 

you are right. i go thru one that is like a regular one except you stay in the car. almost never have a wait. so have not had a prob.