What every newb should know

Only if it's very flat roads and you barely tickle the accelerator.

 

I found the wiki page on driving modes for Gen 3 . Mine is Gen 4. It looks like in Gen 3, the driving mode also controls the efficiency of A/C Heating etc. In Gen 4, there is separate Eco mode for climate controls.

Also, it says that you can drive a maximum of 1.25 miles on EV mode and that too on a fully charged battery. So, it looks like for all practical purposes, one should not use the EV mode at all. Some suggest using EV mode when stuck in a traffic jam.

Other than that, it looks like my intuitive idea is ok.

Finally, I thought that the mode will have a huge effect on FE. Apparently, there is no consensus on that.

 

That's what we've been saying.

 

Now you're catching on.

As has been said, EV is just for moving the car a short distance when you don't want to run the ICE.

Don't worry about putting it in EV mode in a traffic jam. It puts itself in EV even before the car stops, as long as the engine is warm. If it's not warm, you can't over ride it anyway. Just drive it. It's really, really smart. If you try driving it in EV, it will waste gas charging the battery back up. In fact, on the PiP (I don't know about the Prime), once you've depleted the EV part of the battery state of charge, it won't even go into EV mode, although the engine will still shut off when the computer decides it isn't needed.

And having the separate EV mode for the climate control on the Gen4 is a really nice improvement over the Gen3.

Just select Eco, Normal, or Pwr. Drive it and let it impress you.

 

I assume you meant Eco mode for climate control. It is always totally electric.

 

I was told by another poster that AC is electric, but the heating ultimately relies on ICE working regularly or frequently enough.
In fact, I was told because of this one should expect low mpg during winter. Isn't that true.

p.s. I agree JM meant Eco mode.

 

I was thinking mainly of the Air Conditioner. The heat comes from the engine and, I believe the exhaust. I think some trim levels might have an electric heater to help out.
The Prime has a 2 way heat pump. I do not know if that feature has made it over to the Prius. There are reports that the 2019 Prius will have headlights similar to the Prime.

 

I did mean Eco, and now it's too late to edit it. Thanks for picking up on that.

 

Could some one tell me what is this FUELLY about. It appears to be an independent web page which can keep track of your fuel efficiency. How does it work? I assume you need to become a member and enter data. What are the pros and cons of doing so?

 

Sounds like you pretty well figured it out.

I joined, as you can see by the stats below. But since mine is a plug-in, Fuelly will not give me very accurate numbers; just raw mpg without accounting for electricity use. So I'll just corrupt their averages till they decide to get into the 21st century and factor in electricity. Anyway, it's way better for the regular hatchbacks like yours.

Still, I prefer the plane old phone app for just having raw mpg. My app of choice for iOS is called "Mileage Keeper." I also have a spreadsheet to actually know what my cost per mile is.

 

OK. I signed up for Fuelly today. Does anyone know whether they have an android app that I can download to my Samsung phone. It looks like they have an iPhone app (perhaps called "Gas Cubby" - or is it a old name for Fuelly), but not sure of Android app.

 

This one?

Fuelly Web App - Apps on Google Play

 

Thanks got it installed.

It is funny that they say the cannot calculate the mpg on the first fuel up. The car came with full tank of gas and therefore, when I tell them the odometer reading and how much gas I pumped to fill it up again, it is straightforward to calculate. What am I missing? Why are they saying that they can only calculate from the second time.

 

I have one more question. Everytime, you finish driving, it gives you a score out of 100 (God, I almost feel like taking an exam whenever I drive my prius ). Apart from the score, it gives subscores (out of five bars) for eco start, eco cruise and eco stop.
For the most part, I am getting good score (5 bars) in eco cruise. I often don't get high score like that in other components.
I probably average around four bars in eco stop. My huge weakness is eco-start where I get only around 3 bars on average out of 5.

The questions is what am I doing wrong (a typical newbie with low scores in the said areas) and how can I improve.

 

Truth is, it's almost impossible to get 100. If you try to drive defensively - that is non-aggressively, your score is improved. However in real life that's not really possible, for example I once started in EV (no engine) to drive out into the street and back into my driveway. Score? 98!!!
May I suggest you should take the score the car awards you with a healthy pinch of salt. We've said this time and again to new Prius owners...... Just drive it as you would an ordinary car. The computers and engine management systems will take care of everything else without you having to think about it. I know you will have fun and enjoy amusement and puzzles aplenty with the Prius. Your questions and reports will always find a warm welcome on this site.

 

Also running on cruise control is ignored for scoring.

 

They do not know at what odometer reading it was first fueled up. Mine was at 9. It appears take a couple of tanks for the electronics to adjust and settle in anyway.

 

I did not refer to cruise control. I was talking about the sub-scores for Eco Start, Eco cruise and Eco stop. These subscores are not percentage scores, but are out of five bars or PiPs or whatever you want to call them.

 

Those subscores also do not calculate while using cruise control. I use it a lot so my subscores can be low at times.

 

Upvote on Schumacher's June 2008 "Ten Commandments" for Prius owners.
To which I might add some "beatitudes":
--keep a little notebook in the car and make notes on what is "odd, but normal" for your vehicle. Like oil change mileages...
--acquire a small volt-meter; keep it in vehicle & periodically measure the 12v battery. Five years is good battery life; then it's roulette.
--acquire a CAN-capable fault code reader & keep it in the vehicle (you may never need it, but you can never tell...)
--for the geek-inclined, a ScanGauge II (which can tell you a LOT about what your Prius is doing silently while you drive).
--for the mechanically inclined, acquire a FULL SET of official Toyota Service Manuals for your model year.

Welcome to the club.