I've driven to the dealership twice now (an hour away) to test drive a Prime. I've yet to figure out how to keep the vehicle in EV (battery only) mode. Ok, so the first test drive, they'd just received the car and it hadn't been charged at all. I get it. But yesterday, the Prime they gave me had been charged for an hour. I pushed the "EV HV" button (the middle button), only to watch the 11" screen show, over the next ten miles--engine sometimes prevailing, then the battery momentarily taking over for a while...back and forth--engine or battery. It was below freezing. We were negotiating hills at times. But I was not driving over 55. Nor was I accelerating quickly. Isn't it possible to "force" the Prime into EV mode and STAY in EV mode? Or will the software override my choice and basically do what it feels like?
welcome! some owners are seeing the same problem, there are some circumstances where you can't keep the engine off. you can't use the front defroster. how many miles charge did the indicator show? you need more than a few. if they told you they charged it for an hour, but you didn't see the ev miles, they might have been wrong. i had the same trouble during a test drive. all the best!
The car powers up in EV mode if the battery has enough charge. Pressing the middle button puts the car into HV (hybrid vehicle mode) where the engine runs or not depending on warming up/acceleration/heater/etc. Charging the car for an hour gives you maybe 5 miles of EV (assuming supplied 120V EVSE cable). Just power up the car and enjoy a very short EV drive. If you accelerate hard that 5 miles might last only 1 or 2 miles.
The dealership charged it on a Level 2 charger for about 75 minutes. (I was waiting at a nearby restaurant while they did this.) According to the graph displayed, it appeared as if the battery was about half full. Is the "EV Mode" accessed by cycling the "Drive Mode" button and NOT the "HV EV" button? Sadly, the salesman who was riding with me didn't have a clue either. He was pushing every button. I don't think the front defroster was on. But maybe it was. Like I say, it got to the point where the salesman was pushing everything and anything.
the car starts out in default EV Mode so you don't need to push any buttons but if climate is on you need to set the ECO climate button on or in this cold weather ICE will kick in
Is the "ECO climate button" something accessed via menu? Does that mean turning it "off" or turning it "on"? Maybe I should wait 'til May to test drive again! This is getting complicated.
I have the Advanced model so this has the 11 inch screen. On that screen located near the bottom is the word Climate, click on that, then see if Auto is set, then at the bottom of the climate menu is a button called ECO set that on, this should prevent ICE from coming on.
Simple answer: NO....and YES.....in that order. Others will supply details that you don't really need to know.
If it is in true EV only, your dash should display EV mode with a square around it. You either have to have to climate control turned off or in ECO setting and your front defrost button is turned off. Your DRIVE mode button will only effect how efficient the car runs in HV mode and won't effect it staying in EV mode. Also make sure the ambient temperature is above 14 degrees or the ICE could kick on. With a decent amount of charge to start with and with these perimeters covered, you should be staying in EV mode until the EV miles are depleted and/or you drive above 84 mph. #1 in Easley,SC
I see you are in PA. I am next door in Delaware. I drove mine for a couple of weeks when I picked it up in late December with the climate control set to "Auto" and the temperature set to 72. The climate control was not in "Eco" mode and the outside temperatures were in the 20's most of the time. The engine never came on. So long as you don't have the front defroster on I think it needs to be a lot colder. However, "Eco" climate control does help keep the engine off. The car turns on in EV mode. If you toggle to HV it will want to run the engine until it warms up even if you try to go back to EV. Same thing in EV mode, if the engine comes on for whatever reason, it wants to stay on until warmed up.
you need to set more parameters to your claim, like is your car outside? Or is it in a garage? The engine came on for me yesterday and it was 28 degrees F. (front defroster off, climate on. ECO off)
No I don't. You seem to have the one car that loves to run its engine. Mine is mostly in a unheated garage, but it has been outside overnight in weather down below 20 several times - no engine. Last night it was 19 F here, the car was outside, starting it at 6:30 AM at 21 F, the engine did not come on until the EV miles read 0. There is some factor we haven't discovered with your car or there is something broken that has not been discovered. I have never had my engine come on when I did not expect it in the 2.5 months I have had the car.
To summarize....the Prime's software will resist pure EV mode whenever possible. Only if....the weather is warm and the battery is topped off will the software stop fighting EV mode and just let it happen.
I hope you are being facetious, because this is not the case at all. For you: Charge the car Don't press any buttons Keep the defroster off Drive
PrimeCandidate, Your summary is incorrect. Look above the Speedometer for the mode you're in. If the Prime is in ECO and in EV Mode, the ICE will stay off. I've had my Prime for 1-1/2 months and the ICE has only run if I deplete the battery or turn on the Front Defrost. In EV Mode, I can quickly accelerate or drive up to 84 mph and the ICE stays off. I love it.
