ICE is Running, SoC is high, Car is Parked - ??!?

A regular Prius will start the engine within 10~15 seconds of the car being started. It is different than the Plug-In.

 

Seems odd if MIN really means OFF ??? What does the manual say about MIN?

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

It's not merely that: In a Prius, the heater operates by heating the engine coolant, circulating it through a coil, and blowing air over it. So the only way the cabin can warm is if the engine is warm.

The AC, however, is electric, so you can run it for a few minutes without starting the engine. One trick Plug-in Prius owners use to prevent the ICE from starting on a cold day is to turn off the heater, turn on the seat heaters, use the AC to demist the windshield and the rear defroster.

 

With a cold engine, and EV button not pushed. With EV button pushed, you've got a 50/50 chance of the engine not starting, if ambient temps are quite high, and the phase of the moon is right.

 

In my case, if I'm running a short errand, I don't want the engine to start at all.

 

I would avoid steep grades as much as possible, but sounds like you're surrounded, lol. (BTW: 40 degree??) And yeah, just start it and go, and be extra gentle on the gas pedal till the engine's warmed a bit. That's standard procedure for any car.

 

Just try to avoid punching it for the first few blocks. Engines are most vulnerable with cold oil.

 

Right, and more to the point you guys are dancing around, in some circumstances the engine of regular non-plug Prius shuts down if and only if the temperature setting (goal) is lower than the actual interior temperature (in the car's opinion). It does not have to be at "MIN."

 

Yes. I've seen that in the first one minute after a cold start, the car will run on battery power alone, unless you do "punch it." Therefore staying just below that threshold at which the engine reluctantly starts is bad for the battery, and going over the threshold is bad for the engine.

 

Glad someone is listening, lol. Typical scenario for me: at a red light about 1/2 km from the house, partially warmed engine (I'm using block heater which accelerates warm up), ambient temp around 10~15C, cabin temp set to around 21C:

The engine will shut off. Bump cabin temp 22C, the engine comes on. Lower cabin temp to 21C, engine turns off ago.

This is on regular Prius, not PIP, partially warmed up.

 

I have the 2nd gen Prius and it's normal for the ICE to run longer as the traction battery is less efficient and the ICE is so cold that it needs to warm up to its operative temperature. I see 8 green bars every day for the traction battery and even had all 9 green bars as it's around 30-40 degrees here and lowest 27 degrees at night time.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

My 2016 was bought in NJ back in May. Now on my 5th tankful. On every tank fill I was averaging about 62 MPG. But I now notice a 8% drop in mpg since we have cold weather (35F and windy all day). On my present tankful of about 250 miles, am averaging only 57 MPG. I think i can explain why.

I had a 2011 for 5 years. What I learned with the 2011, it is normal in cold weather for the MPG drop.
The reason is for Toyota to meet emissions, the ICE must reach operating temperatures asap. The coolant temperature is used to determine how much EV versus ICE is employed.

If starting off very cold, your MPG will drop because the EV mode will be precluded until the coolant reaches proper temperatures. Further, if you are naturally calling for cabin heat, it takes the heat out of the coolant. So the colder it gets the more heat is extracted from the coolant. So the ICE runs more. And because of the cabin heater is in use further ectracting heat from the coolant in the cold weather. Therefore the ICE runs on average more in winter than in summer.

One neat feature on the 2016 that my 2011 did not have is an automatic damper control to help speed up and maintain adequate coolant temperature. It's a motor driven baffle that variably blocks incoming air to the radiator. So warm up is faster. Notice during summer days, you can start off and if the SOC is OK, you will be immediately driving off in EV mode. That no longer happens in cold weather.

If you give up some creature comfort and turn off the cabin heaters for the first 10 minutes, Your MPG will pick up again.

Another consideration is the ICE is very efficient. On average for example, at 60 MPH and getting 60 MPG, means you are only using 1/60th of a gallon of gas each minute(2.1 oz).. A gallon is 128 oz. So at 60 mph, you are only burning 2.1 ounces of gas per minute. So you are moving a 3000 lb vehicle 90 feet every second. So again, all the heat generated only comes from the gas burned. The Prius is a gas sipper. So if it is hardly burning gas its is hardly making heat. On the other hand if you had a big clunker getting 15 mpg, you have lots of waste heat. On cold days use your electric seat heater for the first 5 minutes. Some folks in very cold areas use an engine block heater to keep oil and coolant warm. so at start off you will get the same MPG as if it were summer. But in 20F weather, required cabin heat will again bite into the MPG. Make sure your tires have the right pressure. in cold weather the air pressure drops in the tire raising rolling resistance. On my 17" wheels, I run 34 in the front and 33 in the rear. 1 MPG over the recommends.

 

Prius 2016 engine is about 40% efficient, Toyota say. So the other 60% of the energy is given off as heat.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.