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Can I just drive in ECO Mode??

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Fuel Economy' started by Susabelle14, Mar 14, 2012.

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  1. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    That's essentially it. It changes the accelerator pedal mapping (as seen on the graph above). The added benefit of ECO mode is that it reduces power consumption of the climate control so it will take longer to heat up or cool down the cabin than in normal (or PWR for that matter) mode.

    As long you stay within the ECO area (that's the full bar, both green colours), you'll be fine. I mean even in the PWR area (assuming it's just filled and not waaay over), it's about 3,000ish rpm, or 3,500? I can't remember.

    The Hybrid ECO area (the darker green area, or the first half of the Hybrid System Indicator bar) uses the electric motor more often if possible and I found it to be a good landmark to hold a speed or hold a particular power "request" and let the car decide how to manage the power output and which source to use (sometimes it's battery only and sometimes it's a blend of engine and battery).
     
    #21 Tideland Prius, Mar 22, 2012
  2. movingforward

    movingforward Member

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    So I've been driving in ECO mode exclusively for a week now and really starting to understand the quirks of the Prius much more. The battery depletes lower (down to 2 bars) than before when I was in Normal or PWR modes. These engineers at Toyota thought of almost everything in terms of the engineering aspect and I can't wait to see what Gen4 will be. There's alot of power not being harness from the MG2...
     
    #22 movingforward, Mar 25, 2012
  3. Ichiro

    Ichiro Member

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    At wide open throttle does the ecu switch to full pwr mapping?

    MB860 ?
     
    #23 Ichiro, Mar 25, 2012
  4. co_prius_3

    co_prius_3 Member

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    I've noticed that too. The battery goes lower in ECO mode before getting recharged by the ICE. So it's not just the accelerator sensitivity and climate control as some have suggested.
     
    #24 co_prius_3, Mar 31, 2012
  5. Sergio-PL

    Sergio-PL Member

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    My does the same. But on the other hand if I finish long stop&go traffic jam with 2 bars (and counting where ICE forced recharge will start) it needs only 1.5 km or so to recharge battery up to 6 bars. It does it while driving about 60 kmh. Instant consumption as show on a bar near speedo shows then about 7.5 l/100km and drops down to 2.5 - 4 l/100km short after 6 bars are reached (power demand on HSI bar is in the middle on battery/hybrid divider).

    One more thing I feel is about climate control in ECO. Not only it uses max 4 of 6 bars on the fan speed it also lowers output temp while ICE off. I've been driving for a longer span with ICE on and felt comfortable and when ICE went off air temperature from vents dropped significally (well... probably 2-3 degs max ;) ). As soon as ICE went back on temp raised up.

    I have yet to find it out but I feel that in PWR mode brakes mapping is also more aggressive but don't have any real arguments (except feeling) about that. Maybe it's just a different perception because of changed throttle mapping.
     
    #25 Sergio-PL, Apr 1, 2012
  6. pakitt

    pakitt Senior Member

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    On the other hand, I noticed that PWR mode tends to keep the ICE on when releasing gas to have it already spinning when applying gas again to improve responsiveness.
    "tends" means that if the battery is well charged, it will still shut the ICE off.

    I use ECO mode always in town as I can fine tune acceleration and speed. Normal or power are too responsive for the traffic and roads I am driving usually. I use ECO also when cruising on the highway to reduce fuel consumption by the throttling down of the A/C. PWR mode when I don't want to press too much the accelerator to get things done and when driving on hills or curvy roads for "fun" and improved responsiveness.

    Other than that, one can keep ECO mode (or normal and PWR mode) on the whole time. PWR will reset to normal each time, after all this is a car to save fuel, not to race around...:rolleyes:
     
    #26 pakitt, Apr 2, 2012
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