Has anyone else noticed that even when the Hymotion system is enabled, the MFD will show some regen? I usually see a few half cars here and there. Is there really some regen happening or is it just the MFD thinking there is? I can usually get 6-8 fulls cars during my commute by turning the Hymotion off on the few long downhills - I figure that is worth a mile or two in EV mode.
The Hymotion battery does recharge the stock battery if needed and as long as there is enough charge in the Hymotion battery. But I don't recall seeing the regen for this process. I'll keep my eye on it to see if I see the same thing.
Yes, Regen is occuring while braking even when the Hymotion system is in operation. As a matter of fact, it is something of a concern to some of the Toyota Tech Experts (who shall remain anonymous) with whom I have spoken. The concern is possible overcharging of the original Prius Hybrid battery. So far, I have no other information on this particular subject.
Regen with a Hymotion system operates the same way it does in a regular Prius, with all of the same limits in place. For all intents and purposes, a Hymotion Prius thinks that it IS a regular Prius. So, there is absolutely no reason to be worried about overcharging. (If you know something that I don't about possible causes of overcharging, please let me know.) The only difference is that, when the Prius traction battery goes down to a certain level, the Hymotion system starts sneaking little batches of energy into it (when it's not looking). So, a Hymotion Prius will do slightly LESS regen. That's because the Hymotion system will not let the traction battery go below a certain level. By design, that level is slightly higher than the level at which the ICE will kick on.
