I haven't found an explanation of how or why the battery level dips into the reserve area. Is this a problem?
It's not the reserve area - that's just the normal hybrid battery that you'd find in any non-prime prius.
There is no reserve area. The area above the little marks is the area in which the battery has enough charge to let you drive in EV mode and not use any gas. When you use up that charge, that's shown by the level being at or below those little lines and that's where the engine turns on. From that point on until you recharge the battery (either by plugging it it, running it in charge mode or coasting down a big honkin' hill) it drives like a regular Prius. I highly recommend some quality time with the manual because there's a lot to learn about this car that's different.
the battery charge level indicator is not representative of the battery charge, it is how much usable charge you have. in reality, the actual charge neither fills or depletes the battery. most any aftermarket gauge can show you what is happening behind the curtain.
When I first got my Prime, I spent about 5 hours with the owners manual in my lap to answer questions that would come up when I played with the instruments the gauges, everything in the car. Go through all the buttons and switches, and check out the dash warnings (from the graphics in the manual), to help you know all the stuff in the car, and what it can do! You may be overwhelmed, like I was at first, but you certainly won't be bored!! Posted via the PriusChat mobile app. AChoiredTaste.com
PDF is your friend, much easier to scroll through than the paper kind https://www.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/om-s/OM47A88U/pdf/OM47A88U.pdf
I did the same. I put the manual in my iCloud drive, so it's on my home laptop, my work computer, my phone, and my iPad. I spent at least five hours familiarizing myself with the PiP over several days when I got it. I still look stuff up now and then. And the Prime looks way more sophisticated. Better to learn this stuff in the driveway or garage rather than out in traffic.
As I said before, by the time I get to the end of the manual, I forgot what was at the beginning. One of my friends just got a new 2018 Tech package hatchback model. He brings the manual to our lunch get-togethers. So far there are two or three napkins inserted into important sections for quick referral.
Watch this video for detail about what actually happens as you deplete EV and switch to HV mode: This is the first half of that drive: The gauges in the lower right of the screen providing normally unseen detail are from the phone-app called "Hybrid Assistant".
SHHHUUUUSSSSHHHHHH!!! The index is at the end and they'll skip reading all the good text and sketches. Bob Wilson
I know, you've got to eat your meat and vegetables before you can have your dessert! But using index is good in a pinch, after you've perused the "meat" of the manuals! Posted via the PriusChat mobile app. AChoiredTaste.com
Great thing about the pdf is that you can just do a search in the reader by hitting cmd-F (or control-F) and type the word you want.
As usual, your video is so informative. Thank you for sharing them with us. May I ask where I can find the app "Hybrid Assistant"? Does it work only with Advanced, or does it require some type of OBDII dongle?
The app is in Google play store, as mentioned. It requires a $60 reader, but is well worth it if you want lots of detail.
