We just bought our Prius last April and really enjoy it. We have always ran it in Eco Mode and it stays in that mode all the time. However, the last two days it has switched out of Eco Mode on its own. Everything else seems normal. Does outside temperatures have any affect? Our weather has just turned cold here in Idaho. Thanks
Not sure why it would switch out of ECO but don't you feel the car is much better when it's not in ECO mode?
Both of our Priuses stay in ECO most of the time, I do not recall ever seeing one shift itself. I sometimes shift to PWR [on-ramps, or when dealing with piles of slush] but in those cases it is only in PWR briefly.
It did it twice, once a day for two days but now it hasn't switched out for the past two days. Just a fluke I guess. It is definitely a different feel in Eco Mode and I like it. I have always owned performance cars but we bought the Prius to be our run around town, grandkid uber. In Eco Mode it is training me to be easier on the gas pedal and that makes a big difference in mileage. I'm making it a game to see just how much gas mileage I can get.
You get the same power in PWR mode you get in ECO mode; you just push the go pedal farther to get it.
Leave both ECO and PWR buttons off, and you've got "normal", with gas pedal feel that's just about right. I found ECO had way too much travel to get appropriate reaction, was tiring, harder to modulate.
ECO does some other stuff, though, besides tweaking the go-pedal curve. It puts some limits on how hard the heating and air conditioning will work, and it does away with the supplemental electric heating while the engine warms up. So you might still like it if you want to eke out those extra bits of efficiency. Conversely, if it's a hot day and your sister is in the car saying "sheesh, is this all your air conditioner can do?", you can turn ECO off and have a happier sister. (Worked for me, anyway.)
