While driving in ECO mode, and with the ECO screen showing (to the right of the speedometer), there are two different graphs overlapping each other. One is light (turquoise) blue, the other is wider and is dark blue and appears behind the light blue graph. What is the dark blue graph? It goes extending up the curve sometimes, then drops back down, seemingly for no reason. It seems independent of the light blue graph. The light blue graph corresponds to the amount of energy expended from the HV battery. The harder I press the pedal, the higher the light blue graph goes. But the dark blue graph may be very high - even when the pedal is depressed and Prime is coasting. Other times the light blue is high and the dark blue is much lower or not even on the graph. 2018 Prius Prime Plus
I don't think the owner's guide does a good job of explaining it. Basically when you are in HV mode AND Eco you see the double graph you describe. If you keep your power in the shorter bar you stay in EV mode but if you give it more power you'll probably use the gas engine. If you are in EV mode and Eco you can use the entire single bar range and as long as you stay in that range you stay in EV mode. I probably didn't do the best job of explaining but after reading the owner's manual a few times and I found a few youtube videos that helped it make sense. It's basically a tool to help you get the best out of Eco mode. J
Page 210 of the 2018 PDF manual gives a explanation although not the most intuitive IMO. 3 Instrument Cluster->Hybrid System Indicator->How to read display J
Troy, you might want to update your user profile to reflect your 2018 vehicle so members answering your questions will know what you're driving.
Thank you schja01 and PCPRIME. I can see now why that dark blue was jumping around. According to the video that PCPRIME shared it is called, "Intelligent Drive Coach" or "Predictive Efficient Drive". At first it looked so random, but now I can anticipate where the blue will go - up or down. Some observations: The Prime seems to know when I am going up, cresting, or going down a hill. Whether the computer has a level sensor, or something else, I don't know. It expects me to accelerate as I begin an ascent. The blue bar drops as soon as I crest the hill, and then drops further as I begin the descent. The goal seems to be maintaining a steady speed. The target speed seems to vary based on location (see #3 below). After a stop and when releasing the brake, the blue bar jumps ahead, indicating I should accelerate. What is surprising is that generally the acceleration is more aggressive than I would use myself. Maybe it can also predict road rage of the guy behind me if I accelerate too slowly (lol). It appears that map data for speed limit is part of the equation. In town, the blue bar guides me less aggressively than on roads where the speed limit is 55 mpg. One other option for #3 is where the video indicates the Prime "learns your stops on regular driving routes like your commute". "After about a week of your regular commute, Prime will learn your regular stops, storing up to a thousand of them." Maybe the prediction is based on what I have done before, not the speed limit? I assume this blue bar is also part of how Prime scores your drive. If you stick with the blue (or better), then you get a better score. Any comments on this? [Edit: after reading the section of manual that PCPRIME posted, it confirms this suspicion.]
Mark57: What do members who have several Prii models do on their profile? Do you change the car on the profile based on which topic you are posting on?
Sorry, I didn't know. Some have listed their current multiple vehicles as a signature, so you can see more than one vehicle is owned. No need to change for every post. Again, sorry.
what gets me is that the cruise control often doesn't seem like it would be following the recommendation. Thought they missed a big one where being in echo/normal/power should effect how hard the cruise accelerates.
I list all my current and previous Prius models to show that I have actual experience with several generations.
I don't own the Prime. But just wanted to mention that those Eco displays can become distracting while driving. Fun to watch, but I've had a couple close calls while being fixated on the dancing lines instead of watching the traffic in front of me. Please be careful. Now that I've owned my Prius for 2.5 years, I rarely watch the Eco display anymore. Sometimes I just turn them off; or substitute something else on that screen. I can drive my Prius briskly, slowly, gently or fast, and I always seem to get similar gas mileage. Eco, Normal, or PWR mode... doesn't matter. All that does is change the feel of the gas pedal.
I just changed the clock on our 2017 Prime and want to get back to that two-graph-bar display. Is it called the ev multi-information display blue graph and where in the manual can I find how to return to that screen?
I can't even stand to use the dynamic cruise control. It's programmed to drive like the rest of the people who got their license from a box of Cracker Jacks ... floor it, slam the brakes, floor it, slam the brakes. It has no concept of falling back and using the distance between you and the car in front of you as a buffer to absorb their stupid driving habits. If I had to summarize effective hypermiling to a beginner, I think the easiest way to explain it is either: drive like your brakes don't work, or avoid regen at all costs (meaning drive so that you are always coasting or applying some power to the wheels. Regen signals wasted energy unless going downhill.)
