EV mod & Block Heater

I would agree the EV switch has less utility, I have to say that I mainly use it to show off. I think that it may have some utility in driving in to a parking place where you know the car will be left long enough to cool off and need to run the ICE to warm up for a while and you can take advantage of that to recharge the battery. Others may chime in on other uses. The block heater however with a timer, will add to your milage from the git go. Having said that learning to drive the car will do more than either.

 

I work at a school that has a large campus. I might drive .25 - .5 miles one way from building to building. I'll stay a while and go to my building.

Would it help me to have one? I'm thinking I could go EV from building to building and not have to warm my engine for the short trip only to have it cool before I leave.

 

My reply to your original question depends on what you mean by "worth it." Do you mean, would the cost of installation be paid off in savings on gas? Or do you mean, would the bother be worth the cool factor?

I have no experience of the block heater. Even in Fargo the car starts fine at 30 below zero without it. (At 40 below, I stay home!) I'd trust what other folks say about the gas savings with it.

I do have experience of the EV switch, having been the first person on PriusChat to install the Costal version of it.

I'd advise against using it for that 1/2-mile drive. The reason is that you will discharge your battery so low that the engine will burn that much more gas recharging it. And since the car runs mostly electric (even with the engine running) during the first minute or so, your next 1/2 mile drive will burn more gas without putting much, or any, charge back in.

In my opinion, the situations when the EV switch are really helpful are when the engine is warm but will not shut off because traffic conditions have not allowed you to stop for the requisite 10 seconds to get into Stage 4 operation. Then if the battery is well-charged (six bars or more) and you are going under 34 mph and steady, you can engage EV until you are down to 5 bars. Also, if you are going slow speed (25 mph and under) AND the battery is 6 bars or over AND the instantaneous mpg is low (20's or 30's) you can engage EV.

Also it's nice for the cool factor: shut the engine off in parking lots to spook and impress pedestrians. (DRIVE VERY CAREFULLY IF YOU DO THIS BECAUSE THEY WON'T HEAR YOU!)

I think the EV switch was very much worth it for me when I lived in Fargo: Small town, short drives, often did not get into S4 operation, lots of cold weather, so the heater frequently prevented the engine from shutting off when it really should have, etc.

The other situation when the EV is worth it is if you are going to move the car a very short distance. It will go half a mile in EV, I just don't think it's efficient to do so. But a block or two, or less, is another matter. (Though even then, I'd use EV only if the engine is COLD. If you drove it in the last few hours, and you are going to drive several blocks, I'd use the engine.)

But in any case, for a gadget freak like me, the EV switch is definitely worth the cool factor! Read the articles in the Knowledge Base. I'd recommend Evan's method using a real switch if you are comfortable taking apart that much of the car, or the Costal switch otherwise. The light-flasher switch has some undesireable side-effects, such as causing your brights to flash when you engage or disengage EV with the headlights on, and preventing the flasher from working if the lights are off. In my view, these are unacceptable.

 

Ok maybe a bit longer. I do walk them in the summer and when I can, they don't pay mileage on campus. It is very flat and open. In the winter it will get really nasty with the wind. Also I haul computers and such from time to time.