Need help understanding my new Plug in

Just purchased a Prius plug in... And I'm a little confused on how all this works.

When should I be using the HV/EV button? And the ECO button? My husband uses the car to drive to and from work, he drives about 45 miles on the freeway. What do you think his best option is to get the best MPG? There doesn't seem to be much traffic on the way there but on the way it's stopped.

What about just driving to run errands? Should I just always use the ECO button and let the car do the rest? Also can you charge the battery while driving? If so, how? I noticed on my display it appears to have energy going back to the battery and it shows the battery has full green lines but then when I try to use the battery it says low battery?

Also, when there is a public place to charge do I need to purchase something to use it? or do I just plug right in?

Thanks so much, any feedback would be great. This is probably the best car I've had just need to figure it out =)

Welcome & Congrats!

I keep mine in ECO mode and save EV for suburb use on non-commute driving. Switching to HV mode works well on the highway, since you'll get a solid 50 MPG then.

On my commute fast-route, I keep it in EV mode. When the engine assists (above 62 mph), you'll get a big bump in efficiency that way... over 100 MPG. We've been calling that EV-BOOST mode.

The User-Guide was recently updated with plug-in info (and lots of photos). Make sure to check that out... and keep asking questions, so the next edition of the guide will have lots of useful stuff for new owners.

Call Chargepoint and get a free card to access chargepoint charging stations

also check out: PlugShare - Find Charging Stations for Electric Cars!

This begs the question. Is there such a time when the eco button should not be used? I'm obviously interested in the most economical use of the car so I just leave it on all the time. The only time I can think of is if I wanted more power to pass someone. I would then hit the PWR (power) mode button.

With regard to the HV/EV button, if I believe the trip can be made all in EV mode I just leave it there. An example of that would be a trip to the store or any other trip less than the mileage distance noted by the battery. So if I have 11 miles and I'm just going an estimated 6 miles then just leave it in EV mode. If not I will use HV mode during the portion of the trip that makes the best sense to. For example doing highway travel I will use HV mode because there is nowhere I could go fully on EV mode and get there with battery to spare.

The Plug-in operates in regular Prius hybrid mode when you are in HV mode. During that mode when you are coasting, for example, the electric motor merely is used as a generator to charge your large battery. That is why you see charging occurring while you are driving. There is lots of things to learn about this vehicle. That is the fun part. I learn something all the time. Just enjoy the learning curve. It's a great car.

At least that is how I'm using the Plug-in. I'm always looking for information to improve my use of the car too. You came to the right place KQuinlan.

That really doesn't make any difference. It's really just throttle-mapping being altered. You get the same amount of actually power simply dropping the pedal hard in ECO mode.

PWR has actually proven worthwhile when driving through heavy wet snow. That sounds counter-intuitive, but it has a more-connection-with-the-road type effect. Don't try that on drive icy roads though. ECO works better for that.

ECO affects heating & cooling efficiency too. Try that when dealing with the extremes of summer & winter.

i'm in eco all the time.

John, I love your feedback but I totally lost what you meant by "it has a more-connection-with-the-road type effect" Can you rephrase please?

It's difficult to describe. I just discovered that feeling when driving through piled up snow at corners left behind by plows. Maybe it's a Minnesota thing, where we look forward to winter battle each year. Those over in Wisconsin...

I guess I will experience what you do in winter this coming winter. I'm thinking what you mean is the Prius Plug-in needs that different set of power ratios you get in PWR mode to navigate through the snow. My guess is in ECO mode it feels meager and in PWR mode you feel like you are in more control. Is that it?

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I'm another fan of ECO mode. In fact, I've never tried PWR. I do use HV mode prior to entering the freeway, since I have to climb a hill to get to it. I then have a little extra EV left when I go back to surface streets. Having seen what John wrote about EV-BOOST, I'm going to give that a try.
Anyway, welcome to PC, and congrats on your new car. Enjoy!

when i went to pick up my car, we took it out for a spin to make sure everything was good. first thing the salesman says to me is, 'put it and power mode, it's the only way you can drive these things'. car salesmen.

Have to get that Salesman online in PC and ask him what he meant by that? Remember most salespeople freely giving out advice are not owners. Somehow just being around cars qualifys you???

whole dealership was like that. one lady told me she could never drive one, it was slower than her sienna.

When AC is active, ECO mode forces ventilation to recirculate and reduces the fan volume to save energy. The tradeoff is comfort. I have not needed heating, so winter will unveil the ECO/Heating sequence.

I am confused, is this post in reference to this thread?

i didn't realize this was because of eco mode. i thought it was a little odd because everytime i turned up the fan or switched to face/foot mode or outside air, 'auto' would turn off. thanks, i'll have to try it without eco.

UK version of the PIP doesnt have power mode - nor does it have any of "luxury" upgrades you guys seem to speak off. Very odd - what is the CO2 of the US version? (sorry to trash into this thread, it was an interesting read)

i tried this yesterday, turned eco off, but as soon as i changed the fan speed, recirc. or vent direction, 'aoto' shut off. maybe i did something wrong?

do you have two models? we have 'base' and 'advanced'. $10,000. difference.

What are the main differences again between the two?