Solar roof and mpg

EV mode has its uses, most notably moving a short distance in a parking lot or driveway. The problem is one of misunderstanding the purpose of EV mode. Buyers who think it turns a Prius into an electric car will be disappointed.

Tom

 

Alan - sorry your mileage is low. I was only reacting to what i perceived was your conclusion that the solar roof was to blame. It's not.

I am on my third tank

MFD

54.8
56.7
58 (after 260 miles)

actual seems to be about 1.5 mpgs lower

it has been warm here, about 78 in the am and 88 in the pm, and i have been running eco ac 79.

 

I have a model III with sunroof and just finished my first tank of gas. I drive 50 miles to and from work every day, 40 miles of that are on the freeway and I got 52.6 mpg (my calculation not the car's estimate). That is with the AC running too. So not so bad. This is my first Prius, I'm not using P&G yet. My previous car was a Toyota Corolla and I was getting 38.5 mpg for the same commute with the Corolla.

 

No, not really, been too hot lately. Only had it open a couple of times and that was just while driving around the neighborhood, but not while commuting. I hope to use it more in the fall.

 

Same here.. been too hot to run open and haven't done much night driving.. but pretty hot most of the time then too... or at least "humid".

I'm getting anywhere from 53 - 59mpg based on how fast I drive and how high I run my air.
Seems running Eco and air at 78 is very comfortable.

I won't be so brave venturing into rain storms that may have hail.... I don't know how good the panels will fare in hail...

But when I have the sunroof open, I feel negligible air coming in... so thats good.. I don't know what effect it has on outside air foil.

 

I've only had mine for 1 week but (see city plant driving posts) have luck driving inside my work site (secure chemical plant) driving under 20 mph. This morning after driving for 12 minutes TO work; I put the car in ev mode and drove to my office about 7 minutes away and actually got up to 25 mph. Later, I repeated this 2 more times with the engine only needing about 1 minute to warm up enough to go into ev mode. I'm hoping this will help me out since half my yearly mileage is under 20 mph inside this plant....

 

Try to engage EV early on "before the ICE starts trying to warm up"... or after the ICE has warmed up.

Nevertheless.. if you are successfully engaging and it goes off at 10mph, it should be giving you a reason.... usually either "battery too low" or "excessive speed"... it sounds like you may need to talk to your dealer prius service guy.

 

EV mode has limitation of 10 mph when ICE is not warmed up. it will also kick out when battery hits 2 segments. car must be warmed up to get the 25 mph in EV. that is the official word.

but i have tried moving my Pri around and the kick out is pretty sensitive and i have had it kick out even when i had 5-6 battery segments lit up

 

So does anybody know how the solar roof is working??

Does it directly drive the fans behind a capacitor, or does it simply charge the12V accessory battery and the fans run off that?

Curious as to whether we are getting any benfit as all when its "not" engaged... will it charge the 12V battery?

 

no definitive info, but if it were running off battery, it would run more consistently. in partial sun, it comes on and off regularly, so its running on its own power and storing charge to manage startup current (as small as it maybe)

 

I recall some dicusssion several moons ago that it is actually disconnected from the 12V system because of radio interference. I'd bet that the fan and controller ground is isolated to the PV cell array. If anyone checks around with a multimeter, be careful - 80V DC can do more than sting!


Dave

 

I bet your right Dave..... sounds like it may be a capacitor that charges " similar to the windshield wipers" that releases its current through a relay that trips when the voltage reaches a certain threshold and runs till it depletes and then waits to recharge again.

 

Can the sunroof be program to auto close when the power is shut down ? I hate reach up to close

Also the sunroof is noise when it is openned, this is probably do to that it slides above the roof line.
The Aftermarket roof in my truck is dead quiet but it slides into the roof like the video of the Prius aftermarket sunroof

 

Thats a good idea... or at least have the one touch close option like we now have on all our windows.. where if you pull the button all the way it closes all the way without further intervention.

 

At any rate.. I can't tell that having the sun roof opens hurts gas mileage at all.. when I stick my hand out, I can feel the air foil about 4 inches above the roof and even at 80mph.. there is no air turbulence inside the car... especially if its only 1/4 to 3/4 open and no windows are down.

 

i have a question about the mpg's in general. Ok so from what i get the tires on the v makes it loose 5% mpgs from what i herd but with the iv the solar roof cause of weight willloose a little it self right...well then would the actual mpg be depended on the weight of the passenger(s). or is that not even part of mpg just some question that anoyed me.

 

Weight is always a factor although not dramatic.... seems I read somewhere that you lose 1mpg for every 200lbs of added cargo.. but that could be wrong....

The bigger wheels surprise me that they lose so much.. but it has to do with added weight to get them moving.... yes you would think there would also be added regen when slowing, but it appears you don't get back near what you spend to get them moving.

 

I got to get on the treadmill again:Cry:

 

Now that it is funny!

Bryan