Prius Prime: detail about Charge-Mode

Nice info. Useful as per usual.
Thanks,
J

 

Neat. I see you got about 38 MPG overall on that trip in charge mode. What would you get in normal HV mode on this trip (i.e. not recharging the battery pack)?

 

Can we calculate the efficiency of the video?

Seems like John used a little over a gallon of gas to drive 39 miles. At the end, it added 22 miles of electric range. So that's about 60 MPG, about the same if he didn't use charge mode. That's really good efficiency then or is my math off?

 

Just completed my first trip. A modest 150 mile. 75% flat 25% rolling hills.
EV auto until EV depleted then charge mode then EV auto again then Charge Mode.
Averaged 50 mpg.
I’m happy with that.
Return trip will be HV mode.

Question: Charge mode only charged to 80%.
Please confirm that it’s working as designed.
It wouldn’t let me select charge mode until the battery was 80% or less. Correct?

J

 

I’m a new prime owner. I don’t remember anything in the manual about charge mode.

Did I miss something or is this an aftermarket mod?

 

I'm a new owner also just having my Prime Premium for 3 weeks now. I asked my salesperson if there was a way to charge the traction battery while drive and they were not sure. I found out about the charge mode by reading the manual. To get into charge mode you just press and hold the EV button for about a second and a EV charge mode light will appear on the display indicating that you are in that mode. Just press again to exit or just shut off the car and it will revert back to EV mode on next start up.

I've used it myself when the opportunity to charge via plugin was not available. It works as advertised.

Really enjoying the car so far and love the EV mode of driving.

 

It's controlled by the EV/HV mode button on the console to the right of the shift lever. When in "charge mode", the gasoline-powered internal combustion engine ("ICE") will bring the traction battery charge up to 80%, at which point the Prime automatically will return to HV mode. From the owners' manual:


This feature exists because some cities in Europe and elsewhere restrict downtown access to zero-emission vehicles at particular times. Using charge mode, it is possible to recharge the traction battery during a normal trip into the city so that there is sufficient charge available for EV operation once one arrives at downtown. (I have used it just because I prefer EV driving in city traffic.)

Although Charge Mode can be used at any speed or even while "idling", it appears to operate most efficiently when cruising at speeds between 35 mph and 45 mph. I believe that this is because the ICE has the capacity to both propel the vehicle and provide power to generate electricity. Even so, the basic laws of physics still prevail and the power needed to generate electricity will result somewhat in a reduction of your gas mileage (mpg.)

 

Thx for the reply but now i’m really confused.

This is a problem throughout the manual.

There are three batteries, right? The 12 volt starting battery, the ice/hybrid traction battery & the battery you charge with an electric cord, which us also a traction battery.

The manual is very loosely throwing around the term “hybrid battery (traction battery).”

I can’t figure out if, from these directions, if by performing this action I am recharging the plug-in traction battery or the hybrid / ice traction battery, or both.

Doesn’t the hybrid/ice traction battery recharge automatically while driving anyway?

Does this switching of modes actually recharge the plug-in traction battery using the ice? (A feature I thought was put off until 2019).

Any light you could shed would be appreciated.

 

Return trip in pure HV mode.
This time rolling hills first with cooler temps and flatland a bit warmer. 33F / 55F respectively.
155.4 total miles portal to portal 54.3 mpg 3hrs ET.
J

 

Thx for setting me straight. But i’m still confused.

So I now have to manually switch to charge the traction battery? In my 2006, charging is managed automatically, charging or using the battery as a supplement to the ice.

Or, is just a portion of the battery used like a traditional Prius, and any additional charging of the battery has to be switched manually?

 

Some quality time with the manual will clear up 99% of your confusion. In short, you don't have to manually do anything but open the door, get in, start it, put it in gear, and drive it like any other car. You CAN manually put it into charge mode to add charge to the traction battery while driving, if you want to. You can also do lots and lots of other things with it. But all you really have to do is just drive it. It's a fantastic car. If you thought your 2006 was smart, you ain't seen nothin' yet. Your new car is a genius.

 

There are only some relatively rare special situations for which the "Charge" mode makes economic sense. Coming off of extended highway driving and wanting some battery charge for subsequent EV city driving is one of them. But that is entirely up to you. In general the expected scenario with respect to charging the battery is that you plug it in to charge it whenever you want to, and the car will use the battery when there is charge in it, and operate in ordinary hybrid mode with gasoline like a regular Prius if the charge is used up. As mentioned by jerrymildred, you really don't have to anything other than keep enough gasoline in it to operate it like a regular Prius, and plug it in whenever/if you want to get some EV driving. You don't have to switch anything; it just works.

 

Perhaps they really wanted the black grille missing on the Liftback Prius.