First prius I have ever owned but I was curious about what max speed should I be able to travel in battery mode only. Currently my engine comes in to play around 15 mph when pulling away from a stop light or sign. There are times where I can glide along at 35 on level gound but the speed will slowly drop off as I go along the then the engine will kick in to help. I do not know what the norm should be.....?
The 'norm' is just driving it like a normal vehicle, trying to stay in electric mode will only cause excessive HV battery wear. edit: added the word, cause.
37.5mph (60km/h) is the upper limit when gliding. Above that speed, the engine will spin (even if it's not using fuel) to counteract the spinning of MG1 so that MG1 doesn't overspin. When accelerating, yeah you have to be ginger on the throttle but once on the move, just lift off the accelerator, let the engine shut off then lightly depress the accelerator again to go into glide (no arrows on the Energy Monitor) or EV mode (arrows from battery to electric motor to wheel).
It sounds like you are accelerating too gently. Normally it is most efficient to accelerate moderately with the ICE (internal combustion engine). It should kick in within about a second or two when you accelerate normally. It varies a lot, depending on about a dozen different parameters. On level ground at steady speed, fully warmed up, at 25 mph it will typically run the ICE roughly half the time. Maximum electric only speed is around 40 mph steady and level, but then rarely and only for a short time. Right, except that I think you mistakenly gave the speed for the gen 1 Prius. Gen 2 Prius is around 40 mph.
Fred_H When I drive off from a stop light on level ground the ice kicks in around 15 mph every time,,, when I come in to a reduced speed zone I can keep the speed at 30 with just the electric,,,I never have see a 40mph.
Okay, I will have to pay more attention to the speedometer when I accelerate from a stop, and note exactly when mine starts up the ICE. I never looked exactly, but I have the impression that mine starts earlier. In Kansas you may neer see 40 mph EV mode. I see it occasionally after I drive down a long steep mountain pass in the Swiss Alps. Then the battery is at max. SOC, and tries to quickly use up charge to make room for a possible subsequent regeneration event.
There really is no EV mode in the sense that your getting something for nothing. Any driving other than a glide without the engine on puts the full load on the hybrid battery so any drain on the hybrid battery must be restored so the engine will have to work harder to charge the hybrid battery. There's nothing free here. Its not an electric car. It accomplish's nothing other than maybe you can get out of the parking lot without the engine turning on. So what. As a new G2 owner put your efforts into keeping the car on the road. Pay attention to the hybrid battery behavior and the oil level in the engine. if you have more than 150,000 miles on the car it probably eats alot of oil.
