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Engine Frequent On/Off

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by knite75, Jul 9, 2013.

  1. knite75

    knite75 Junior Member

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    Dear Like Minded Vehicular Owners :)

    I just got this new little toy over the weekend, and I'm about to breach the 1,000 miles mark. Yeah!

    Without any reservation, I love it!

    However, I have one quick question/concern: I'm a little uneasy about the frequent times the gas engine (ICE) is turning on and shutting off. Coming from the dark age of conventional cars, I have been taught that most of the engine wears and tears occur during initial cranks/startups.

    My quick trip to the nearby grocery store, the ICE engine turns on/off like a dozen times. That can't be too good for the longevity of the engine, right? Please kindly prove me wrong, and placate concern.

    Thank you in advance.
     
  2. nklb

    nklb Member

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    The Prius is designed for this sort of operation. A traditional car uses a weak starter motor to get the engine running; the Prius uses a really powerful electric motor. Nothing to worry about here.
     
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  3. prius_in_pa

    prius_in_pa Junior Member

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    One of the reasons why Prius could get high MPG is the ability to glide with the engine being off. Prius uses a different type of gas engine than your typical gas-only car. In addition, it doesn't have a starter, it uses MG1 to spin the engine to at least 1000 rpm before the engine get fuel to fire up. By then, the engine is well lubricated before actually providing power. My friend's Prius is 10 years old with 130k miles and he said it's still running like new even though it doesn't look like it's new.

    If you were traveling at highway speed, the engine continue to turn even though it gets no fuel. Therefore, it is very easy for the engine to start up without much wear and tear.
     
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  4. Former Member 68813

    Former Member 68813 Senior Member

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    The startup engine wear is the real thing but it's related to COLD starts and unburnt fuel and water condensing on cylinders causing cylinder/ring wear. It doesn't apply to hot starts.
     
  5. cycledrum

    cycledrum PSOCSOASP

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    Report came in recently of 2005 Prius owner who just passed 500,000 miles on the car with original hybrid battery although he had engine replaced at 400,000 miles.

    See the 200,000 miles club and all.
     
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  6. BruceInOKC

    BruceInOKC Member

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    When MG1 spins up the engine, does that mean oil pressure is also established before startup? Otherwise, it increases wear.
     
  7. Feri

    Feri Active Member

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    It does provide oil pressure before start.
     
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  8. BruceInOKC

    BruceInOKC Member

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    Thanks, that's pretty cool. It's the functional equivalent of having a pre-oiler.
     
  9. Randy G.

    Randy G. Member

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    Toyota service schedule is to change the engine oil every 10,000 miles because the engine isn't running all the time when you are driving. If Toyota isn't concerned, I wouldn't be either.

    One of my favorite things about the Prius this time of year is the fact that you can park with the air conditioner on and not use any gas. Sometimes I sit for 20 minutes under a tree in the shade in a parking lot waiting for my next appointment. With my last car you could see the gas gauge move during this time period. With the Prius, if the drive battery is at least 3/4 charged the gas engine never comes on, so my fuel mileage isn't effected at all.