EV Mode - Useless

Yup. It's a matter of knowing when to use it.

When you're pulling the car out of the garage... waiting in line at the drive-thru... crawling along in really heavy traffic.

In other cases, don't bother. That's what STEALTH is for. That mode is automatic and has a maximum electric-only speed of 45 MPH.
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I live in a gated community here. My home is about 1/4 mile from one gate and 2/3 mile from the other. 25mph speed limit on the entry roads. I have successfully (easily) maintained EV mode on many occasions all the way. First, the battery must be adequately charged and the accelerator not punched. One area has a rise and need to "give it some gas" to make it - and it stays in EV. My only issue is when there may be someone behind me - I don't want to keep it at 24mph and tick them off at the Prius ahead of them - me. I do agree that the typical drive would not apply to EV mode. But driveways, drive-thrus, parking lots, etc are perfect applications.

But Stealth /Pulse & Glide would and that's just as good.

There's some good input and advice here on EV.

 

works well in malls

 

It seems counterintuitive, but the hybrid system's value is not in running for an extended period on battery power. (Do a good search for an explanation.) Instead, EV is useful in two situations: 1) as the others suggest, for low-power, short-duration propulsion where it is inefficient to light the ICE (internal combustion engine); and 2) to suppress the ICE during warmup coasting, braking, or gliding when it won't shut down on its own. IMHO, its fuel savings potential is significantly greater for the latter, assuming the right driving conditions. See this for a (rather long-winded and somewhat technical) description of that application in the Gen II. Though some of the technical details differ with the GIII, the concept and value should be quite similar.

 

it's good to sneak away from a house, as in the ice wont start and do it's warm up when it is ev mode. I think you can drive in electric only just as easy when in eco mode. as in a traffic jam, or a long driveway. i think for most people they expected something it's not, the prius would have to cost $10,000-$20,000 more if it truly had a ev mode.

 

I really like the EV mode and have a chance to use it everyday as I sit in traffic. My commute to work is about 10 miles each way. I sit in stop and go traffic for about 1/2 the time and can easily stay in EV mode. I am usually able to gain back 3/10 of a MPG during these times.

It doesn't work well unless you have a pretty good charge in the battery. I start off by driving 45-55 mph for the first 5 minutes and because the ICE is working, by the time I hit traffic, I have sufficient charge to stay in EV.

 

That's what I use mine for - if I don't press the EV button - the engine lights off before I back out of the garage completely and into the driveway (no throttle - just lifting off the brake). I think the engine is trying to get warmed up, or it has something to do with the slope.
If I let it do that, the engine starts and stops several times - once when I stop at the end of my driveway, once when I stop at the Octagon at the end of my street, and again if someone else is exiting the sub from the other direction and I have to yield. So now I always press the EV button to stay electric-only till I get out of my sub. That way when the ICE lights up - I'm actually using it to merge into traffic.

 

Thanks Pulse. I haven't tried that yet because I thought that the ICE needs to get warmed up as soon as you turn on the car. I'm gonna start of in EV from now so that I can leave the driveway like a ninja. :ninja:

 

I love EV mode! I use it all the time when arriving anywhere. The minute I turn into a garage, parking area, etc I flip it on. That usually gives me back 2-4 MPG for the trip. The engine is nice and warm at arrival so I can go up to 25mph. The advantage of EV is that I can accellerate past the halfpoint in the ECO meter without turning on the gas engine. Just keep it from hitting PWR and from going over 25. Easy in a parking lot. When I leave in morning or hours later it's ok that battery is low, as cold engine would not allow EV past 9mph anyways. I really love this feature.

 

Just entered a road construction zone today on the freeway. Bumper to bumper for about 3/4 of a mile.

Turned on EV mode and gained about 0.5-0.7 mpg.

I also turn on EV mode when I enter my 25 mph subdivision. I shouldn't need to, but what the heck...EV mode is available, so why not use it?

 

I was just about to do a new thread called "EV Mode Useless" and it suggested this one of the same title! I'm with the original posting on this. Maybe some cars act a bit differently or weather plays a big role or something.

I've had my Prius III for about 10 days now. Since I only live about .8 miles from work, I was really hoping I could use EV mode sometimes and barely use gas at all for most of the way. BUT, I can't get out of the driveway in EV mode! It's ridiculous. I just tested it twice:

-Had a nearly full battery
-Good weather conditions...about 80 degrees outside
-No airconditioning on or anything else that would tax the system

I started the car on a slight top of an incline. As soon as I hit 12 mph, the car warning went off that "EV can't operate at this speed and is being turned off" or something like that. I repeated this test at 2 different times tonight and both times did it when I hit 12 mph.

One other observation...my employee has a Gen II Prius. She consistently glides out of the parking lot without the ICE coming on. Mine never makes it out. Does the Gen III have a quicker ICE turn-on when starting up than the Gen II?

Thanks!

Kevin

 

Hello Kevin:

I don't know if this helps, but my experience with the G2 is as follows: when I first got the car, it was difficult for me to go anywhere is "stealth mode" ("non-button" EV mode; battery power only).

Maybe it was my inexperience with the feel of the "go" pedal (accelerator). Maybe it was that the car was not broken in yet. Maybe it was because the traction battery was not fully conditioned yet (too new). Maybe it was all of the above. At any rate, now that I have over 5000 miles on my G2, it is very easy for me to go into EV mode below 42 mph (and to stay there for a long time).

Give the G3 some time to break in properly. Also, try to develop a "feel" for the accelerator. Once you begin to master stealth mode ("non-button" EV), then try the "EV" button again, and see if you are more successful in getting it to maintain in EV mode.

Best wishes,

 

Maybe the EV speed threshold is much lower if the engine hasn't
gone through warmup yet? That would almost make sense, since
immediate EV is generally for moving a very short distance like
across a parking lot, where 12 MPH is unlikely to be exceeded
by all but the most aggressive drivers in that context.
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Someone needs to VERIFY this.
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_H*

 

I walk that far for lunch. Couldn't imagine driving such a short distance.
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As others have asked... why do you drive this distance?

Unfortunately, pressing the button does not turn the Prius into an EV. It temporarily lets you use battery power that must then be replenished with gasoline usage - at a net loss of gas, and net increase in pollution. Until we can charge the battery from an off-board source (and have a larger capacity) you will not save any gas by trying to drive as far as you can in "EV" mode. If it were as simple as that, the car would do it for you.

I'm a bit confused by the OP - are people thinking that the Prius can be suddenly turned into an EV with the press of a button? Using EV mode to drive as far as possible on battery will typically just waste gas.

 

During the hot summers, my wife and I often find ourselves driving absurdly short distances, like from one end of the shopping center to the other. Laziness? Maybe, but there are other mitigating factors as well. I expect EV mode to be quite useful for that.