1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Prius Plug In Update

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by -1-, Jun 8, 2013.

  1. ggood

    ggood Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 17, 2004
    2,436
    517
    0
    Location:
    Houston, TX
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Advanced
    Yep, do all that, but I still think it comes on too easily.
     
    mmmodem likes this.
  2. stanwagon

    stanwagon Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 2, 2013
    64
    7
    0
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    bisco wrote:
    my ice never comes on in ev, is it due to extreme cold up there, or long initial decents? ev ratio is based on miles in ev, what's not to trust?

    Well, someone pointed out in another thread that it takes gas to get up a couple thousand feet, so is it really proper to call it EV when one gets battery charge on the subsequent downhill? [[One argument would say YES, since without the battery one would have nothing.]] And the downhill, from say Eisenhower Tunnel to Denver (which I just did) is 6000 feet over 45 miles. And then there is the issue that at 65 mph the EV goes off even though one is still coasting down and recharging and not using any gas. Now it is hard to resist the urge to slow down from, say, 68 to 62, which triggers EV and so adds to the EV mile count. But it seems as if going downhill at 68 instead makes no difference to fuel consumption, so why bother.

    My drives start with the car in the garage (45 degrees F approx) and then 750 feet down. The ICE always comes on at the bottom of the hill (2 miles). I did follow, once, the suggestion to turn A/C and fan on full, but that test is inconclusive. And sometimes I have to leave without a full charge, and then, indeed, the ICE does not come on at the bottom of the hill, so I can do an errand and come up with 0 non-EV miles (and very high MPG obviously).

    Saw a TESLA (my first ever sighting) on the drive down to Denver yesterday. I suppose that is not so rare to the California posters....
     
  3. mmmodem

    mmmodem Senior Taste Tester

    Joined:
    Nov 17, 2011
    2,732
    1,703
    0
    Location:
    Bay Area, CA
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    Ditto. It's especially frustrating when the windows fog up. Did I set the temp to LO when I shut off the car? No? Then the ICE will turn on if I turn on the defroster at the feet and window setting even though it doesn't have to.

    It irritates me that, like a dog, the car has trained me to jab repeatedly on the temperature down button every time I shut off the car. If I don't that pesky ICE might turn on if I want to see where I am going.
     
  4. CaliforniaBear

    CaliforniaBear Clearwater Blue Metallic

    Joined:
    Oct 9, 2012
    1,179
    289
    0
    Location:
    Northern California
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    Isn't the defroster, by definition, the heater? And isn't the air direction selection just that, telling the air where to go? So it seems you have turned on the heater and directed the air where it won't clear the window. The ICE runs because the heater is on. Or maybe not :)
     
  5. mmmodem

    mmmodem Senior Taste Tester

    Joined:
    Nov 17, 2011
    2,732
    1,703
    0
    Location:
    Bay Area, CA
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    The defroster directs air at the windows with A/C because it dehumidifies. For whatever reason, the defroster button fires up the ICE. I'd like to know why ICE is required to run the A/C. I never use that button. Luckily, the work around is to use the less efficient feet and windows settings. The problem is that once you turn on the HVAC it will turn on the ICE if you have the temperature at anything other than LO. And the irritating part is, you cannot change the temperature without turning on the HVAC hence, all the button jabbing.
     
  6. john1701a

    john1701a Prius Guru

    Joined:
    Jan 6, 2004
    12,766
    5,251
    57
    Location:
    Minnesota
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    The defroster is that independent button, specifically there to engage the A/C for dehumidifying. So, short answer: No

    The heater will only engage if you change the setting to a ## or HI. The setting of LO means use outside air.

    I just got back from the hardware store. It's a gloomy rainy day. When the windows started to fog, I turned on the fan set to LO with the blower on the window and on my feet. The engine never started and the windows cleared up.
     
    mmmodem likes this.
  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    110,133
    50,050
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    gotcha, you speak of a drive like i have never experienced!:eek:
     
  8. CaliforniaBear

    CaliforniaBear Clearwater Blue Metallic

    Joined:
    Oct 9, 2012
    1,179
    289
    0
    Location:
    Northern California
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    Oh... its a defogger not a defroster. Funny how those old names stick with us. Frost would require heat, fog not so much. In fact the defogger switches to outside air which is pretty much the opposite of what you would do to get rid of frost.
     
  9. ggood

    ggood Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 17, 2004
    2,436
    517
    0
    Location:
    Houston, TX
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Advanced
    Happened again this morning. Drive to the park, no problem. Leave the park, engine turns on, despite gentle driving. Was parked mostly in the shade, so car didn't get that hot. The wife was blasting the AC like a hurricane in Antarctica though, so I guess that could have fired it up by creating a heavy power demand. Still seemed unnecessary.
     
  10. retired4999

    retired4999 Prius driver since 2005

    Joined:
    Aug 11, 2011
    2,652
    625
    15
    Location:
    Eau Claire, Wi.
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    Yep! that will start the ICE !:)
     
  11. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    110,133
    50,050
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    you don't say how many miles of ev left? a/c does not force the ice on.
     
  12. retired4999

    retired4999 Prius driver since 2005

    Joined:
    Aug 11, 2011
    2,652
    625
    15
    Location:
    Eau Claire, Wi.
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    • Why is ICE turning on when there's still battery left?
      There are any number of factors that can cause this. The manual outlines them on page 40:
      ●The heater etc. is in use.
      ●The temperature of the hybrid system is high: The vehicle has been left in the sun, driven on a hill, driven at high speeds, etc.
      ●The temperature of the hybrid system is low: The vehicle has been left in temperatures lower than about 32°F (0°C) for a long period of time etc.
      ●Power is needed temporarily, for example when accelerating suddenly.
      ●Vehicle speed is more than approximately 62 mph (100 km/h).
      ●The accelerator pedal is depressed firmly or the vehicle is on a hill etc.
      ●The outside temperature is low (less than 14°F [-10°C])
      Bullet points 4 & 6 refer to accelerating so hard that the HSI progress bar reaches into the PWR zone.
      In addition, it will also turn on when
      ●You have driven in EV mode with no ICE usage for 200 km (~124 miles)
      ●When using the front windshield defogger and coolant temperature is too low (more on that below)
      ●When you are braking/"coasting" and the traction battery is full (see question regarding the B drive mode below)
      Relevant threads: ICE in EV Mode … Again, ICE in EV Mode, why is my ICE starting???, confused about when ICE should run?, ICE Engine ON Indicator, EV mode and my ICE kicked in., Fully charge but ICE still running?, Is there any pattern for when ICE comes on?, Is the ICE kicking on in EV mode?


    Read more: http://priuschat.com/threads/the-one-and-only-prius-plug-in-faq.118566/#ixzz2Vk1jRdf8
     
  13. retired4999

    retired4999 Prius driver since 2005

    Joined:
    Aug 11, 2011
    2,652
    625
    15
    Location:
    Eau Claire, Wi.
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    Say bisco,
    I thought if fan was on a high setting that the Ice would run, is that just with heat? and not with air cond? I just never tried it with air cond. I guess. My bad. So sad! for me. :cry:
     
  14. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    110,133
    50,050
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    in fact, the fan never fires the ice from my experience, it's turning the heat up beyond low. i think.:LOL:
     
  15. retired4999

    retired4999 Prius driver since 2005

    Joined:
    Aug 11, 2011
    2,652
    625
    15
    Location:
    Eau Claire, Wi.
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    Poor me, I'm really a lost soul! :(
     
  16. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    110,133
    50,050
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    join the club.:confused:
     
  17. ggood

    ggood Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 17, 2004
    2,436
    517
    0
    Location:
    Houston, TX
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Advanced
    5 miles were left. Yeah, doesn't make sense to me either. Shut down fairly quickly after going through the warm up cycle.
     
  18. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    110,133
    50,050
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    i have to question the cause. i just don't see mine come on except from the list in the manual. i do agree it would be nice to have an ev only button.
     
  19. DadofHedgehog

    DadofHedgehog Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 17, 2012
    681
    282
    0
    Location:
    northern Virginia
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Advanced
    Bisco,

    The Numero 5-o is a Brigade Electronics "White Noise" backup alarm. Here's the URL:
    Alarms | Brigade Electronics

    My early 2012 PiP did not come with the Jetsons' flying saucer noisemaker for low speeds. Besides, I don't see the necessity for low-speed noisemakers unless the car is in reverse gear.

    At the time, sometime last Summer or Fall, I wrote this li'l installation project up in a thread: keyword: White Noise backup alarm.

    Now after six+ months of life with it, I like it because: it is really truly directional, it is nowhere as annoying as the RoadRunner "Beep Beep" piezoelectric variant, and I feel much safer about avoidance of crushing some disabled or smart-phone-invested shopper pedestrians in supermarket parking lots etc.
     
  20. DadofHedgehog

    DadofHedgehog Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 17, 2012
    681
    282
    0
    Location:
    northern Virginia
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Advanced