Prime performance when EV battery is depleted

apparently, the o/p's experience was different

 

Many other members here have had the same Gen3 'no turtle' experience that I had at this location. While o/p's experience there seems common -- but not universal -- among Gen2 owners, it seems abnormal for Gen3.

 

yeah, who knows how many in total have trouble in mountainous territory?

but the real question is, if o/p wasn't happy with the gen 2 or 3, will they be happy with prime?

 

If they weren't happy with the gen2, why get a gen3?
I took the post has just looking for info.

I don't think you'll find a turtle mode mentioned in official sources, but the gen1 had a turtle shaped idiot light come on when the battery was fully discharged. Following generations just got better, and the majority of owners never experience turtle mode.

Did you always experience turtle mode at that point? I wondering if aging batteries played a part.

Saving grid charge in the battery for mountain climbs should mean this never being an issue with the Prime.

 

I didn't know the battery had pleats! If so, depleating could be a serious condition.

Sorry, I can't help myself.

 

a question for the o/p?

 

He was the OP

 

you quoted both of us, but you asked me why he bought a gen3

 

Thought it was clear which portions were to whom.

 

which is why i was wondering why you thought i might know

 

It was rhetorical. If they weren't happy with a gen2, they likely wouldn't get a gen3. They were obvious happy with the cars overall, or wouldn't be considering a Prime.

 

thanks, i'm easily confused

 

When you use up the EV range, the Prime will behave like a regular Prius (which is surprisingly good). If you are planning on climbing an exceptionally steep hill, switch to HV mode early, to save battery power for the climb. Or use CHG mode in advance to build up a bit of reserve.

I imagine the Prime is reserving ~10% of the battery capacity for HV mode. If you leave 10% of the EV range portion you will double that reserve.

Going up reasonable hills I have never experienced depletion, but I notice changes to the engine load when going up the hill depending on where the car is in the HV cycle. If it is trying to replenish battery reserve the load will be higher. If it is currently discharging the engine load will be lower.

 

Experimentation suggests that using EV for uphill travel is less efficient than using HV. If you drive an identical route multiple times that's long enough to exhaust your EV range, try alternating between using EV for uphill sections and HV for downhill and/or flat sections, and vice versa. You will find that you use significantly less gasoline using EV for downhill and flat sections (even at highway speed ~70 mph) than the other way around.

 

I don't disagree. My understanding is that the OP is asking about what happens if you are in HV mode, and ask for more power than the ICE can deliver. This will then drain the battery until empty, and the engine will then have to replenish the battery while still overloaded, which will force the car to go slower.

In that scenario it makes sense to save a bit of extra battery to be prepared. I don't know how common that scenario is.

 

IMHO, the word performance is never a term I use to describe the Prius, including Prime, driving characteristics. Not that I have ever owned or driven so-called performance cars, all the eco-oriented fuel-efficient cars with small 4 cylinder engines I have had felt underpowered on a steep climb. My feeling is that PP performed worse than my previous Gen3 in those situations (HV mode uphill), due to heavier weight. That being said, I never felt that Gen3 nor the PP were inadequate for any of my driving conditions. But, I may feel differently if I lived in Colorado for example.

 

I routinely drive mountain highways in the PP and don't feel as though the car is under-powered. I don't notice any perceptible difference from my 2012 PiP.

 

On long hills, the engine will supply all of the power to drive the car. I watch the engine and battery power output on Hybrid Assistant, and in this situation the battery power goes to nearly zero (not being charged or discharge) and the engine supplies whatever is needed. I've seen it sit at 40kW (which is usually around 4,000 RPM) for several minutes at a time with no problems. Even if you need to accelerate moderately while climbing a hill, it will just increase the engine power before calling on the battery to help. If you need to accelerate quickly while climbing a hill, then maybe you bought the wrong car.

I have yet to find a hill that requires more power than the engine can deliver to maintain a constant speed. But I am guessing if there are any problems it would be at low speeds (like 25mph or less) since it feels like the engine is less effective then.