ICE comes on anyway

yeah, and you took 3 out of 4.

 

Today it was 120 degrees. I left the prime parked in ready with about 15 ev miles left, and went it to a shop. 15 minutes later a came back and notice the ice had turned on.

 

Did you leave it in EV-Auto?

Bob Wilson

 

The Ice or just the fans under the hood for the a/c condenser? I don't miss the low desert in summer.

 

Tried again last night in POWER mode and EV, maximum acceleration stayed in EV up to 65 mph which was 15 mph over the posted speed limit. I have no doubt the engine comes on at 84 mph but that would have been reckless driving ... lose your license speed.

If someone has a reproducible way to get the engine to come on in just "EV" mode, please post the protocol. I can't do it with our 2017 Prius Prime Plus.

Bob Wilson

 

5,500 miles so far. EV mode has never triggered the engine, despite my efforts to try out a wide variety of driving demands.

 

With the battery warmer and pre-conditioning, that may not happen... especially with both heated seat and heater steering-wheel.

I'm looking forward to experiencing those improvements here in Minnesota.

 

I've driven in sub-freezing temps already and have photos of my Prime with snow.

That's why I want to find out more. My guess is confusion with EV-Auto and not being aware that there are 2 modes for defrost is the issue for most.

There's also the extreme cold, quite a bit below freezing. But not taking advantage of the engine then defeats the purpose of having it.

 

Did it use all your EV up?

Or it could be because of heat soak. When you stopped so did the slinging of the cooling oil by the gears. Because you were still turned on the ICE was started so the big pump could be used. High end temperature limit of the electric transaxle pump and heat exchanger system found on the Prime only? Not noticeable on the HB because the ICE cycles every few minutes anyway with its A/C on.

 

Milwaukee weather, May 16, 2017. High 87, low 56.

If it was actually 120 degrees, the traction battery might have a problem with the outside and inside temperature and instruct the ICE to come on. 87 degrees wouldn't force that to happen.

Any chance it was just the mileage threshold for the ICE to cycle on? That event has caught a lot of Prime owners off guard before.

 

At 120f your almost to the condenser temp ~125f-130f. So not much cooling per cfm of air made worse by the single digit humidity. High side system pressure for the A/C might be at or near cutoff. Hvac-R are designed for 90f ambient with 115f to 125f condenser temp.

Battery should be OK as it was A/C cooled. It's the stuff under the hood that's getting cooked.

 

Has anyone determined what that "Mileage Threshold" is for the ICE to turn on for a maintenance? Just this morning I crossed the 2000 mile mark (2,027, 4047 total miles on car) since the last time the engine turned on (early April). I was curious and hoping to discover that magic number, but will need to give up that quest. I need to start driving in HV mode soon to perform ICE break-in before some long highway trips in early July. I need to get rid of that dealer (still full) tank!

 

How we Prime owners suffer!! Har, har

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Would love to be in that position, but alas, I have to fill up every 3 weeks.

 

How many miles do you get per tank?
Most of my neighbors fill up once/week even though they don't drive anywhere near as far as I do, and I had to rough it and fill up once in 6 weeks!

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