Beware Buyers

Have you been able to confirm a pattern? I've seen 36 mph as a threshold at temps around 20°F or colder, but it hasn't been consistent. On a few occasions, I've driven all the way out to the local stores (3 to 5 miles) without the engine firing up going faster.

With respect to the thread topic, it's best to simply stick the the fact the EV is not an absolute. Sometimes, the engine will run, but you'll still get outstanding MPG regardless.

 

Well my ICE engages every day at exactly the same tree on the road. I glance at the speed and it is always between 32-35MPH. Today it was 32 degrees and the ice never came on.

Agreed-fantastic mileage regardless. Keeping ICE off is more of a game to me than any serious concern. How can you be disappointed when you are averaging 75MPH in all conditions?

 

Hopefully, I'll have the video capture of this to share soon. I drove over 50 MPH with it -2°F outside using only electricity. No heater. Seat warmth only. That was 9 miles of EV in conditions much colder than most owners will encounter. What circumstances allowed me to do that?

 

Slight downslope?

 

There's a downward slope, but the commute starts with a long climb up at 45 mph from a stop. There's also an acceleration from a stop to 50 mph.

 

This thread inspired me. Why not do it again?

Although the temperature is considerably warmer now, a blustery 18°F rather than -2°F as before, it would still be a good example of Winter driving. I'd run errands all in EV. With a maximum speed limit of 50 mph and using only the heated-seat, it shouldn't be a big deal. I'd simply crack passenger-front and driver-back windows for air-circulation to prevent condensation instead of using defrost. The engine should stay off.

I began with a fully recharged battery-pack. Charging ended 8 hours earlier. The Prius hadn't been used for 18 hours. It sat there in the garage overnight. Leaving mid-afternoon, conditions inside were about 30°F. That's far from ideal, nothing like the maximum battery performance we experience when no jacket is required.

Anywho, I drove 3 miles to the bank. From there, it was 2.5 miles to the cable-company. From there, the drive to mom's was just under 1 mile. No engine up to that point. Next stop, the coffeeshop. I traveled a distance of 9.1 miles before running out of EV. The engine fired up and continued to draw electricity. The battery-pack was depleted down to 3 bars before the warm-up process began generating electricity instead.

When I arrived at my destination to enjoy a coffee and type this post, the total travel came to 11.9 miles. The final drive through the parking lot to the spot was in EV, since warm-up had already completed. The resulting average for that entire drive was 198 MPG.

It was an excellent example of what you could experience given the right conditions, a demonstration of potential... but not necessarily an expectation. YMMV.

 

I think you mean 75 mpg not mph, right?

In general, that is true, but not as a blanket statement. A lot depends on how far you are driving between charges. If you are going 20 miles, recharging, 20 miles, recharging, then 75 mpg really isn't all that good. It isn't "bad" but not good.

Mike

 

I will say, I would be a very happy if I could average 75 mph (yes, mph) in all conditions lol

 

Not bothering to read all the post on this thread, I can recommend ONE possible fix. Reboot! that is disconnect the neg on the 12V bat for 10-15 sec. This will allow the computers to reset. I make no guarantee on this, just a possible fix. If you cannot handle it, hire a mechanic. if this has already been suggested.......did you try it?

 

i can't speak for your car or your driving conditions/habits, but clearly, my ice almost never comes on, so i don't see how toyota can make a blanket statement about the pip. as always ymmv. this is not mean spirited, just the truth. all the best!

 

. You should really reconnect your ignition wires Bisco!

. I believe that every car off of any production line has its own characteristics.

 

I regularly drive 100 miles or so over many days all in EV without the gas engine coming on at all. Then, sometimes it comes on, due to the mandatory gas usage at 124 miles (clearly documented in the manual). Sometimes I will have to drive for more than 15 miles and I'll usually force it into HV mode as I get on the freeway.

I don't charge at the top of a hill or anything...

But, YES, you can drive the car in EV a majority of the time. My EV ratio is ~70% overall. On my current tank of gas it is at ~84%...484 miles EV and 92 miles HV.

Mike

 

o/p apparently appreciates the many benefits of plug in, but seems unwilling to educate himself about the pips characteristics.

 

PiP is rated 10 miles on battery. Let's assume that is true for now. At today's gas price of $4/gallon, you saved about 80 cents running on electricity instead of gas. HOWEVER, it'll cost you or someone about 40 cents of electricity to charge the PiP battery. Your finally savings is 4o cents (80 - 40). Most people could only charge the PiP once a day at home. Your annual saving is about $150. THAT'S IT!! PiP is a big rip off.

Unless you could charge your PiP for free and also be able to charge it at work, I would stay away from PiP. The little savings is not worth the extra headaches.

 

PiP is rated 10 miles on battery. Let's assume that is true for now. At today's gas price of $4/gallon, you saved about 80 cents running on electricity instead of gas for the 10 miles. HOWEVER, it'll cost you or someone about 40 cents of electricity to charge the PiP battery. Your finally savings is 4o cents (80 - 40). Most people could only charge the PiP once a day at home. Your annual saving is about $150. THAT'S IT!! PiP is a big rip off. The cost of PiP is thousands of dollars more than a standard Prius. Furthermore, the extra battery of the PiP will add much more weight to the car. Therefore, when you go back to hybrid mode, you'll be burning more gas carrying the extra weight.

Unless you could charge your PiP for free and also be able to charge it at work, I would stay away from PiP. The little savings is not worth the extra headaches.

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I knew that when I bought mine. old news

 

Well that is painting it with a broad brush. Are you saying the PiP as compared to the liftback?

You're point is well taken and I do have exp with something similiar. The bike you see in my avatar is my everyday commuter vehicle. At 10 miles per day, 50 miles per week, it takes forever to even save a tank of gas. The bike cost about $1500 to build. I will never get my money back. The PiP is similiar if you compare it against a LB Prius. The LB Prius is so efficient, its very hard to make an improvement on it that actually has a return on investment. For me the ROI is my personal satisfaction of not buying gasoline for months at a time.

 

That is not true. By you riding the bike, your return on investment is greater than just the gas savings. It will reduce your chance of needing medical services and increase your chance of having longer and healthier life. The $1500 you spent on the bike is a great investment.

In addition, your bike's performance is not going to degrade unless it breaks. The PiP's battery will degrade over time, you will not get the 10 miles that they promised. Also, in winter time, the battery is not going to yield 10 miles. The PiP battery becomes dead weight when it runs out of power. I have no problem riding a bike myself but I do think PiP is a rip off since it has many downside associates with it.

 

So in the case of the bike, you consider external considerations, but not in the case of the PiP?
I think there are many benefits that a PiP has over the hatchback, or another ICE other than the dollars saved on fuel.