Engine Maintenance Mode

Here’s my one weeks worth of data:



3x what I was doing in our 2010.

 

Again, I don’t think I’ve ever used EV Auto, so clearly I’m not an expert on it. However, I get the impression that what you’re describing here is what EV Auto is intended to do automatically: It fires up the ICE when you need a burst of power, in order to keep from burning down the battery too quickly.

I tend to look at it from the perspective of efficient use of gasoline: The ICE revving high at slow forward speeds is exactly the conditions to produce low MPG, and for the most part, where the engine doesn’t run at peak efficiency either. So, if I can’t drive my trip entirely in EV, I tend to accelerate in EV, and then run in HV when driving conditions are broadly “cruising.”

 

I’ve never pushed the accelerator pedal to the floor, and when in EV Auto, all I see is losing the charge faster on an incline. So I’m not sure it fires the engine or not.

I do know that when I tell it to do so, it does.

 

I would rather decide this for myself. Tonight 10 miles to a theater. 4 miles surface streets, 4 miles Interstate @65 mph, then 2 miles surface streets. There and back to home EV only, 32% battery left.

If the logic were HV above 50 mph, that is 8 miles on ICE that could be done on battery.

 

What would be nice - the car using the GPS route to intelligently plan the EV/HV mix. Particularly if you could indicate that it is a round trip with no charging. If within EV range, leave in EV. If outside of EV, use EV where appropriate and shift to HV where appropriate, with the goal of arriving home with zero left in the traction battery. I'm already doing this in my head, so a computer should be able to do it faster and more accurately.

 

There might be “room” for more modes to extend battery charge, such as one to reduce battery expenditure even if not at ideal MPG when the ICE is on (I gather that’s what EV Auto is about), and another to do so at ideal MPG. That’s largely hypothetical though...

Yeah, I’ve long thought that too, even back to our Gen-2 Prius changing driving style based upon how long you’ll be on the road.

 

In Europe, we do not have the "EV Auto" pushbutton. Instead, we have the "EV City" one. Lately, it has become my favourite, because in EV City I have an EV range increase of (roughly) 10% I think due to the use of only one motor instead than both in EV mode. So far ICE newer came up whe using EV City mode, but it happened previously a couple of times during brisk accelerations in EV mode
Of course with one motor only the accelerator pedal is less responsive, but it is enough for the heavy traffic conditions that I have to deal with. The only downside, is that in EV city mode the cruise control does ot work.

 

what do you mean by 'on its own'? have you turned it on?

 

mine came on this morning, 124 miles

 

Its 100 miles longer than mine. Mine comes on after 24 miles when EV range hit zero. EVERY DAY.

 

Yeah, our morning temp is still around freezing mark. With the use of a heater in the morning commute, I am still not getting summer month optimal EV range.

 

Had 32.4 miles show up for the drive home.

Excellent weather here.

 

I'm at almost 5 months from gassing up last December. Other than running out of EV a few times on 40 mile drives, EV hasn't turned itself off to run HV. Total gas used in all that time has been maybe a pint. As far as I can tell, there isn't a maintenance mode. In fact, in two years, I haven't experienced it.

That said, if there is a maintenance mode, it might have coincided with brutally cold (<12 degrees F) winter temperatures where it started in HV, which is expected. Wouldn't have been able to tell if that happened.