PIP EV range falloff

That seems excessive, especially for a '13. Has your route or driving pattern changed?

 

i assume @gallde has heard from yota by now.

 

Or new tires can deduct a couple miles. Could be a sum of multiple causes. (tires, time of year, route change, battery degradation)

 

Or you guys might be in the middle of a swarm of module rebalancing. Typically when a battery is new module rebalancing takes place only occasionally. But as the battery ages this will become more frequent.

For those that don't really know what module rebalancing is:
Controls built into each module will monitor the voltage levels of each cell. when individual cells are beyond a designed maximum variation, the module electronics will allow discharging the module until all the cells are at at the same level. And then the module will allow recharging up to the level that the variation starts again.


Unsupervised!

 

are you still getting the same ev miles after 4+ years?

 

Yes and oddly more. Like 12.8 this AM which is my highest ever. Go figure.


Unsupervised!

 

Here's a commute I filmed last week:

Not sure how you'd measure EV falloff. I cannot detect any. For that matter, the 13.9 miles of consecutive electric-only driving is more than you'd expect when the car is brand new. This one is 4.5 years old with over 80,000 miles driven and over 2,400 recharges.

 

Hopefully the @Prius Team can investigate mine as well. I bought mine in 2014 as a 2012 Toyota Certified PiP. I used to get the gauge up 15.5 miles EV for the summer, now it's down to 14.1 at most.

Also, perhaps the EV degradation is told best via kWh charged out of the supposed usable 3.3 miles EV. Take a look at the picture, and it's granted the Hybrid Battery was maybe 3/4 full, so perhaps it's right on the mark? Or is it not? Does that part matter?

 

i measure mine by my commute. the first year (april - october 2012) i could do my 14.4 mile commute and still have 1-2 miles on the battery icon, depending on the weather. now, i can't make it home without the engine starting.

maybe it's due to my slightly worn tyres at 45,000 miles.

 

How much MPG loss or HORSEPOWER loss is acceptable for traditional vehicles? The system simply doesn't work as well when it ages. That has been the norm since the automotive industry began. It's quite unrealistic to expect it to work like new as the years roll by.

With batteries, what should the aging expectation be?

 

shouldn't you be telling us, instead of asking? maybe it should be on the monroney. but seeing that yours is 'more than you'd expect when the car is brand new', ours must be lemons.

 

I really think that's THE question, however there's limited data to know for sure.

Would a survey of the group help, or are there simply too many variables?

 

this is amazing, thanks for video. Now I see that with PIP and my regular route with 15 miles /average kmh 40/ I can expect mpg 400, that is excelent.

 

will this battery range even extend, if your average speed will be lets say -5mph less and accelerate more gently from stop? Can you tell me also please, if I will go to motorway with depleted battery, and I will drive 100 miles, how much will battery recharge? thanks a lot

 

Yes it will extend the battery range but not by a lot. The current Generation 1 Plug-in Prius can only recharge the battery by using either the plug or via regeneration from the brakes. We use a method called stacking that you can use to enhance the regeneration via the brake and EV mode. If you are real careful with the gas pedal you may be able to regen some with the Pulse method, but it's tough trying to keep it in the sweet spot for that purpose.


Unsupervised!

 

thank you, I am still not sure about this statemen. "The current Generation 1 Plug-in Prius can only recharge the battery by using either the plug or via regeneration from the brakes" - So PIP can not regenerate by driving at speed 120km/h /its ICE only, so it does not regenerate?/ ? When I drive regular prius with depleted battery, and I drive on highway 120km/h, battery is recharged after few minutes. So this was my question, If it will recharge at those speeds and I can than slow down to 90/kmh and do 10miles on EV and than again switch to ICE only. Or this is not effective at all. - EDIT - meanwhile I found answers on this forum, and its, yes, yes. after app 50-60miles of HV, battery will be back fully charged. That is something very good to know!

 

I don't think anything is wrong with your battery... You're getting over the 11 mile range they claimed. Also, your battery is accepting the exact charge amount (2.8kwh) as my 2014 model which I can get 14-15 miles of range with. However, my 2012 will only accept a max of 2.1KW, which is verified multiple times at different 240v stations.

I wonder if replacing my 12V battery would have an impact on range.... I wouldn't think so but possibly if its on its last leg.

 

Speed, stopping, accelerating, temperature, and terrain all play a major role in what you get out of the battery. What you saw in the video would have been a great high-efficiency commute, had there been fewer & smaller hills. Nonetheless, I'm still pleased with the results, especially after 4.5 years.

As for recharging while you drive, Prius PHV was configured to deliver maximum efficiency following depletion. That meant not replenishing battery-capacity beyond the HV threshold.

Prius Prime will be different, allowing the EV to be replenished as well. Remember, 2012 was a very different time and the market was asking for that. It changed. Now, they want more EV... which is realistic with the more efficient gas engine and larger battery. You'll be able to exit the motorway and do that driving in EV.

Think about how much Toyota was able to accomplish with just 4.4 kWh. That small battery and gen-3 system really delivered a lot.

 

EDIT - meanwhile I found answers on this forum, and its, yes, yes. after app 50-60miles of HV, battery will be back fully charged.

that is well informative reply, thanks.. I am still all right based on this info, what PIP is doing at high speeds over 100kmh. Btw, what MPG should I expect, If I will be on HV, driving constantly 110km/h at flat highway without hilly terrain, at summer with PIP ? If I drive prius on this condition /with only 90km/h/, ICE only, its 3.5l/100km max and PIP should be even more effective i heard.

 

Driving in HV mode (whether or not you have EV capacity available) will deliver efficiency slightly better than the regular model Prius. The reason for that advantage is the battery difference. Lithium can squeeze out more opportunity than NiMH.

Driving in EV mode at speeds higher than 100 km/h isn't available from Prius PHV (gen-1).

Driving in EV-BOOST mode is though. That's when the system takes advantage of plug-supplied electricity when going faster than the 100 km/h limitation. It's often referred to as "blending", since it is EV power with the engine joining in to help. You'll notice that the draw from the battery-pack is stretched out. Toyota did a remarkable job of achieving balance. The resulting is efficiency above the 100 MPG mark.