Are all 2010 Prius the same?

The reason for the better warranty in California is that they must offer the warranty to qualify as a PZEV (Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle). There is a lot of history, but in a nutshell, the PZEV cars are a compromise that CARB (California Air Resources Board) and the auto manufacturers agreed to so that CARB would drop the Zero Emission Vehicle requirement in California. They are allowed to sell PZEVs instead of true ZEVs. [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PZEV"]Partial zero-emissions vehicle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]


I know with the Gen 2 Prius, there is no physical difference between a California car and a US non-California car; I would expect that the 2010 is the same but I don't have any tech info for the 2010.

 

The only thing I could think of would be the minimum speed restrictions for EV mode. On the Gen2 Prius, if you exit EV mode under load (that is, you go too fast or press the pedal too hard) you end up increasing regulated emissions by 10-12 times what it would be otherwise (far exceeding SULEV emissions standards). This is of course because the catalytic converter is cold and doesn't operate well until it is warm--when you start the car normally it goes through a controlled warmup sequence that super-heats the catalytic converter to spend as little time as possible in this non-efficient zone while using the electric motors to drive the vehicle for the first 30 seconds or so. Exitting EV mode due to high speed or heavy pedal skips this warmup stage and goes straight to providing power, hence the huge spike in emissions.

I know the US 2010 Prius has a limit of around 11 mph for EV without warming up the gasoline engine / catalytic converter first--I believe the Asian model has a limit closer to 30 mph. I'm not aware of any laboratory studies on the 2010 Prius yet so it's hard to say if this would be a factor. I would guestimate that you'd get slightly higher emissions on non-US models because of the higher freedom for un-warmed EV (everyone exits EV mode unintentionally sometime...).

EDIT:
Oh, I should add--a lot of countries don't have as strict emissions regulations as the US so that is likely why the EV mode is more liberal in the non-US model. It's probably also why the US version of the Gen2 didn't have a stock EV button installed.

Andrew

 

Correct--though probably not as much as in the Gen2 as I believe the Gen3 warms up faster and it has a lower EV mode speed limit making it harder to abuse (in the US anyway).

It's all about getting the catalytic converter warmed up first. Once it's warm--the Prius hardly emits any regulated emissions (hence the partial-zero emissions rating). It's very low emissions once it's warmed properly--which is why it's /much/ better to have multiple engine starts with a warm catalytic converter than it is to have one "dirty" start where you bypass warmup mode.

I always say that in the Gen2 one "dirty" start produces the same regulated emissions as a weeks worth of normal driving. Not sure how true this is in the Gen3 since it's a different engine but I can't imagine it's much better. We'll have to wait for laboratory testing on the Gen3 to determine that.

Andrew

 

From Linuxpenguin:
"It's all about getting the catalytic converter warmed up first. Once it's warm--the Prius hardly emits any regulated emissions (hence the partial-zero emissions rating). It's very low emissions once it's warmed properly--which is why it's /much/ better to have multiple engine starts with a warm catalytic converter than it is to have one "dirty" start where you bypass warmup mode."

Remember, CO2 is now also a "regulated emission". But we understand your meaning anyway.

 

There are several threads about this subject, which you could Search. CO2 emission is directly related to fuel consumption, so you already know that the Prius scores very well here. Then there are CO, NOx, HC emissions.

 

"partial zero emissions". Now there is a PC gibberish term if I ever heard one. My wife tells me I need to lose a few pounds. I'm going to tell her I'm "Partially in awesome shape"

 

If you like to visit the German Toyota website you may find a brochure that claims on page 8 that NOX emissions are less than 1/10th of the EURO 5 limits.

 

Is that the term the EPA is using to declare that EV's will not be identified as ZEV?

The EPA ruling brings up a whole host of questions .... will there be variances for different states? In select areas of wyoming, so much power is wind generated .... pretty clean. In Utah, it is coal generated ... How about nuclear power? hydro?, natural gas? I suspect this is a case where one rating does not fit all situations. It could get down to specific communitieswithin a state. One (or more) writers to PC plan to charge their EV with solar.

It makes me think about trying to fill out the 2010 Federal Income Tax form ... if you live in Louisiana, there are certain credits and exclusions, in the Dakota's, there are others. No telling what else that has not been revealed to date.

 

From the link I posted earlier:

 

(wonderful post, honestly - I love the "Partially in awesome shape" comment - great!)

 

I have looked in the Toyota.de website but could not find the brochure mentioned by Squirrel - I have read it too someplace but cannot find it anymore.
I believe the Prius manages to consume so much less than other cars and pollute (accordingly) so for the following reasons, compared to other cars:
1) uses electric engine to start moving the car --> ICE is used way more often in high efficiency rpms (if not always thanks also to the CVT like transmission and the buffering action of the MG1 and MG2)
2) much refined aerodynamics (this plays a role at x km/h, where is has to be somewhere beyond 40-50km/h - I don't expect aerodynamics to play any role at city driving speeds)
3) the ICE is started with fuel only after it is already being moved by the MG at about (I believe to have read it somewhere here in PC) 1000rpms (ie. no fuel is injected/wasted before that - I believe cars get fuel injected also when the engine is not running by itself yet, when the starter is trying to start it - can somebody correct me here?)
4) the ICE uses an Atkison cycle - which is by definition more efficient and less fuel consuming (but providing less power) ([ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atkinson_cycle]Atkinson cycle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame])

Hope the comments above will help you with your report.

89g/km is not the actual value the ICE emits, but the average of ICE emitting, say over 5km test track, 110-120g/km and 0g/km.
Actually it would be very interesting to know what the CO2 emissions of the engine itself would be when running like a normal car (ie with no assistance of the MG at all). 110? 120? 150g/km? how CO2 efficient is the ICE and what is the FE of the ICE if it where not assisted by all the electrical drivetrain?

 

It may take a little work but here is a root page for the California Air Resources Board executive orders that document their testing:

On-Road New Vehicle & Engine Certification Program

GOOD LUCK!
Bob Wilson