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ICE in EV Mode

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by PiPLosAngeles, Nov 28, 2012.

  1. mmmodem

    mmmodem Senior Taste Tester

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    I agree, it's pretty frustrating. I try to look at the bright side. I consider it a game. If I follow Toyota's rules, I'll be rewarded with superior instantaneous 999 mpg fuel economy. If I break the rules, oh no, it's going to cost me $ in gasoline. I know it's pretty sad but I need something to entertain myself with my three hour commute, actually two hours and change with HOV access.
     
  2. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    Battery size and power are sized to provide maximum efficiency for both fuels. If the ICE come on, consider it engine maintenance.

    The result is all that matters. I am average 258 Wh/mi on electricity and 54 MPG on gas.
     
  3. PiPLosAngeles

    PiPLosAngeles Senior Member

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    That's why I don't like it. I can get better mileage adjusting things myself than the car can most always. If the ICE hadn't come on this trip my MPG would have been better. Yesterday, when I ran out of EV earlier in the trip, I had 448 MPG. 400 MPG is 11% worse.

    When things are designed to "improve" the behavior of the average user, it almost always penalizes the better users by preventing them from doing what they do best.
     
  4. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    It sounds like a car with stronger, full EV mode would better suit PiPLosAngeles. That along with more EV range would allow him to commute gas free.
     
  5. PiPLosAngeles

    PiPLosAngeles Senior Member

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    Or a car that didn't subvert the will of its driver. I'm always about pushing a system to its theoretical limits. There is nothing more frustrating than artificial limitations introduced into a system by engineers for the purpose of dumbing the system down. When I am prevented from improving any system's performance it irks me. It wouldn't matter if I had an EV with a range of 1,000 miles. If I knew I could get 1,200 out of it and the system prevented me from doing so, it would irritate me.
     
  6. CharlesH

    CharlesH CA HOV Decal #5 on former PiP

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    The EV button very definitely has significant effect, but that effect is not "disable ICE", as apparently you would like it to be. In EV mode, the system favors using electric power from the battery, and will only turn on the ICE when it determines a need for it (additional power, need for heat, going over 62 mph, etc). In HV mode, the system preserves the charge in the battery, allowing it to vary over a relatively small range, and thus acting essentially like a non-plugin Prius.

    Note that in Europe, the PiP has a "City" mode that is even more aggressive about not engaging the ICE than "EV" mode, to make the car compliant with "zero emission" zones in some European cities. But it still is not absolute: floor it, and the ICE will still come on.
     
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  7. lensovet

    lensovet former BP Brigade 207

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    Lol remember how you were concerned that my FAQ was going to put you out of business? Yeah ;)
     
  8. 3PriusMike

    3PriusMike Prius owner since 2000, Tesla M3 2018

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    There are lots of things I might consider modifying...a device that prevents the accelerator from being floored is NOT one of them. I hope you are not serious. What happens in that very rare circumstance when you really need to punch it to prevent an accident?

    Mike
     
  9. ukr2

    ukr2 Senior Member

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    Also, when in EV, you'll see Trip value of 999 mpg, if you Reset the Trip before starting your drive.
    Any time the ICE starts, the mpg will drop.

    So watch both the EV car icon and the MPG value.
     
  10. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    you'd think after 57 years, i'd have a better handle on human nature.:cool:
     
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  11. devprius

    devprius /dev/geek

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    If you implemented something like this, then the first time the car needed extra power and the fuel pump power was disabled, the car's dash would lite up like a christmas tree and you would come to a stop on the shoulder.
     
  12. PiPLosAngeles

    PiPLosAngeles Senior Member

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    I've never encountered such a situation in my decades of driving. Those scenarios have only came to me in the imaginations of people justifying their need for cars with more power than they need. Even so, the Prius does not have enough "get up and go" to jackrabbit out of a bad situation.
     
  13. priuskitty

    priuskitty PIP FAN

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    maybe not in EV but it does have plenty in ICE mode
     
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  14. devprius

    devprius /dev/geek

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    I think we can sum up the problem as thus: you picked the wrong car if you wanted to drive EV all the time. There are simply times you cannot avoid needing the ICE: rapid acceleration, going up a steep hill, needing heat, going above 62 MPH, etc. Many sports cars are prevented from going too fast by the use of rev limiters. Are you opposed to them? Various safety and emissions related standards have resulted in cars being heavier and thus unable to go as fast. Are you opposed to those as well because it prevents you from making the car go faster?
     
  15. PiPLosAngeles

    PiPLosAngeles Senior Member

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    There's no realistic scenario where punching it in a Prius can make the difference between being involved in an accident and not, especially one where braking or steering wouldn't have worked. You can't tell me that your Prius can move so fast that in a split second you identify an imminent threat, calculate the trajectory of all vehicles likely to be involved, plot an evasive course, punch the gas, and the Prius pulls you out. No way.
     
  16. priuskitty

    priuskitty PIP FAN

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    I'm never in a situation that would involve reckless driving as you are apparently avocating:whistle:
     
  17. PiPLosAngeles

    PiPLosAngeles Senior Member

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    You're misunderstanding me. I want the most out of whatever I have. The Prius can do better but its design is preventing that. The range doesn't matter.

    You don't need the ICE for rapid acceleration, some people want it so they can accelerate faster. I do not. The people who want a fast acceleration are the people with the wrong car.

    I am not, but it seems as though you are. You are here arguing against limiting the acceleration of the Prius in the name of improving fuel economy.
     
  18. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    maybe the next gen will have an full time ev button.
     
  19. PiPLosAngeles

    PiPLosAngeles Senior Member

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    I'm terribly disappointed by the tone of some people on this board. You are arguing that you need the Prius to engage the ICE to accelerate yourself to safety, while I'm arguing that there's no way that's a plausible scenario. So when I ask how that's possible, that makes me reckless? It sounds like somebody is getting offended at having their opinions challenged and throwing out insults instead of countering with a rational argument. I have no tickets or accidents in over two decades of driving to vouch for my driving habits.
     
  20. priuskitty

    priuskitty PIP FAN

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    count yourself lucky:D
     
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