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EVMode Option for Prius 2004-2009: Will install void Platinum Warranty?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by Annette, Mar 30, 2010.

  1. Annette

    Annette New Member

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    Hi All.
    Im pretty new to forums and new to my prius. Ive been reading about an electrical install that lets you run your 2nd gen prius in EV mode.

    The item I'm writing about is found at JuicedHybrid.com and is in the Pruis Exclusive Items, section... (I cant post links yet, since im a total rookie)

    First, does this acutally help with MPG?

    Secondly, will this cause extra wear and tear on my tension battery? I dont see the point in saving more on gas if I will need to replace my hybrid's battery sooner than necessary.

    Lastly, unlike many of you wise forum-goers, I paid $2000 for my Platinum warranty FROM MY DEALER! Ugh! The absolute last thing i would like to do if void this warranty by doing minor, and possibly poinless, mods.

    Has anyone done this and, if so, what changes could i expect in the way my new hybrid honey behaves?

    Thanks everyone
     
  2. TheForce

    TheForce Stop War! Lets Rave! Make Love!

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    1. Dont buy the one from juicedhybrid. Its a copy of the one from coastal and they even stole the picture from coastal. As far as I know this is still the case. I would suggest either spending a little more and get the OEM look with the real EV button or installing a button from radioshack to get the job done. There is no delay in using the OEM button or a button you get from radioshack. You can get the OEM button from World's Largest Prius-dedicated Accessory Shop :: Sigma Automotive I have no affiliation with that site.

    2. It can help improve your MPG but only if used correctly. There are many posts here and on cleanmpg.com on its proper use.

    3. The car still keeps the battery in the safety limits even when you use the EV button.

    Over all the button is really only helpful if you have you car converted to a plug in where you can actually benefit from keeping the car in EV only mode.
     
  3. 2k1Toaster

    2k1Toaster Brand New Prius Batteries

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    Helpful vs. Efficient are different in my book. As far as efficiency, the other place it would be helpful (other than being a PHEV conversion) would be if you do a short trip around a parking lot. So park infront of store A, then you want to go get gas in the same plaza, then pickup something else at store B in the same lot. All those are perfect for EV.

    Now I use my EV button differently. I use it as the above but also just for consideration. I am constantly leaving my house in the middle of night. So I keep it in EV mode until I leave the immediate neighbourhood. This lowers my MPG, but it doesnt disturb the neighbours. I would like to think that my neighbour with the diesel truck would do the same if he could :)
     
  4. Annette

    Annette New Member

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    Thanks for replying so quickly!

    Who's Coastal?

    Do you know if doing things like this with void me?

    Lastly, do i need to cut up my car to put the real button in? or are there spaces in the dash alreadly.

    Im a woman who doesnt really know alot of these things... sorry
     
  5. 2k1Toaster

    2k1Toaster Brand New Prius Batteries

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    Coastal = "Coastal Tech": Electric Only Mode

    Their part uses the cruise control I believe to activate it. I much prefer a button.

    You can get the OEM button which fits with no modification here: Toyota Prius 2004 ~ 2009 NHW20 Interior Accessories :: Sigma Automotive
    (Look half way down the page for "EV Button")

    You will have to completely disassemble the dash to run a wire correctly from the driver side to the passenger side hybrid ECU which is below the glovebox on the right.

    Being a girl has nothing to do with it. You can do it in a couple hours if you take your time. If you are good, you could do it in 20 minutes.
     
  6. 2k1Toaster

    2k1Toaster Brand New Prius Batteries

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    And you will more than likely void your hybrid drivetrain and traction battery warranty. Overuse of the button or misuse is an issue and will wreck the battery. But given the amount of people with battery failures before 100k miles (very very very few), the warranty is pointless anyways.

    Remember that the Toyota bean counters are very smart. You don't get to be #1 being stupid. They know they can offer 100k mile warranties because the batteries will not die until after that period. If they did, then they wouldnt make money. If your battery hasnt died yet, it goes to reason that it will not until well after the warranty expires. And even then you can pick up a used one or reconditioned one off of ebay really cheaply.
     
  7. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    IF you should have a premature battery failure or other electrical problem after installing the EV button and Toyota claims it is due to the EV mod then it will be incumbent on you to prove that it is not the button's fault...not an easy task. I don't have the time to search now, but naterprius is a member here and once had Toyota refuse to replace his HV battery after premature failure b/c he had the EV mod...he finally got his battery on condition he remove the mod. There's no assurance they'll be so friendly in the future.

    that said, many hundreds of us have had the EV button for a long time and have had no issues. Toyota can't simply void the entire warranty, but they can refuse warranty covered repairs on anything they blame the button/mod on causing.

    Otherwise, I agree with the posts above, the JuicedHybrid guys totally ripped off Coastaletech.com and I will never give them business. Their attitude is aweful.

    You will NOT improve your FE with the EV button...with very rare exceptions and only in very slight amounts. and you can definately damage your FE with the most common ways the button is used.
     
  8. hobbit

    hobbit Senior Member

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    Coastal Electronics is a guy who lives in Indialantic FL who was
    producing various add-ons for the Prius, and may still be but we
    don't hear a lot about him these days. His notoriety comes from
    horrendous, or maybe that's just nonexistent, customer support.
    His "EV mode" controller is a hack that tries to draw enough
    power off the cruise-control lead to fire a grounding transistor
    to the EV lead. Here's some detail on what's in the widget:
    http://techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/cars/coastEV.jpg
    The community has found it rather prone to unreliable operation.
    .
    Whether you use something like this or roll your own [pdf link]
    you still have to add a pin to the ECU plug and arrange to
    momentarily toggle it to ground to go into [and back out of]
    EV mode. It's pretty simple, and the benefit of a direct switch
    is that it toggles *exactly* when you want and doesn't have any
    side-effects like the high-beam-switch hack would -- yet another
    option on control. Once you get familiar with how it kills the
    engine, you really want instant action because in proper usage,
    however infrequent, it's going to function just like taking your
    foot off the go-pedal does in stage-4 operation.
    .
    Plenty o' reading material, and whether you use it a whole lot
    or not, installation is fun and gets you familiar with digging
    around in the ECU wiring -- never a bad thing.
    .
    Second on the disrecommendation for Juiced, by the way.
    .
    _H*
     
    1 person likes this.
  9. JimboK

    JimboK One owner, low mileage

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    Another vote against JuicedHybrid. And another in favor of the home-grown version. Here is my installation writeup.

    I disagree somewhat with Evan's position about how little it helps fuel economy. I do agree it can hurt FE if used wrong, and most initially seem to want to use it wrong. It's counterintuitive, but it should not be used for extended electric-only propulsion. But I am convinced that with proper use and under the right conditions -- which admittedly not all drivers will have -- it can improve FE significantly. See this for more.

    And while I'm being disagreeable, ;) I also disagree with 2k1's assertion that it will wreck the battery -- potential warranty denials aside. The car is very protective of the battery and automatically shuts down EV mode in a variety of conditions that could stress the battery. Overseas versions of the 2004-2009 Prius and the 2010 North American model have a factory EV button. I doubt Toyota would have included it if it was likely to damage the battery.

    That won't stop Toyota from trying to deny a warranty claim, as others suggest. Here is the link describing Naterprius' experience. Install at your own risk.
     
  10. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    As I posted, it can, under very few and very specific conditions help FE, but as Hobbit pointed out, most of those situations are automatic once you learn how to get into S4 which is much more efficient.
     
  11. Annette

    Annette New Member

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    Wow! You guys are great! Thank you so much.

    As far a the "im a girl" comment, I just meant I dont have a lot of experience one cars/wiring, etc. I got a big brother who would never let me touch any of that stuff. He scoffed at my wanting to change my own oil...

    You are all so helpful though. I haven't read most of the links yet, as the technical talk starts to fry up my brain, but what I HAVE decided is to really get used to driving my Prius, AS IS for a while and feel how it responds.

    I've switched from a bulky, yet really fun to drive, Mazda CX-9, to a sweet Red 08 Prius, which is way more fun to drive in a completely different way. I haven't even filled my tank up yet, from the dealership.

    Two more quick questions. 1. If i need warranty repairs, could I not just remove the mod and the button, and act like it was never there? and 2. What is stage 4 operation? , er.. nevermind, I just saw that link, ill read and post all my questions later!

    THANKS Everyone!
     
  12. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    Certainly removing the mod would help avoid questions/issues. But if you take it in for service, it is possible they could note the mod in hour records. There's also, for some, an ethics question in doing that.
     
  13. Annette

    Annette New Member

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    I do agree with you, Im a big fan of honesty. I purchased my warranty to protect those fancy hybrid bits that I dont understand. Why would I do a mod that might only help a bit and potentially void my warranty on those components i was so worried about for just a few extra mpg, when i dont even know how to properly drive it yet. :)
     
  14. JHSmith

    JHSmith 2020 Avalon Hybrid Owner

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    If you purchased your Prius (and warranty) recently, you may be able to cancel your extended warranty purchase. (If you want to get an extended warranty, you can buy it ANYTIME until JUST before your normal warranty expires.)
     
  15. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    Also, in a practical view of the situation, even if you didn't feel there was an ethical issue, if your car died in the middle of BFE and had to be towed to the dealer there's no way you'd have time to uninstall your mod, even if your car was at home when the problem started, would you remember to do it or have time? Some might, but I can certainly imagine many situations where it wouldn't work.

    Look, I did the original "how to" write up for the EV mod, I'm one of the first few people in the world to do my own EV mod on a 2G Prius. I still have my EV button and am glad to have it and use it at least once a week (when I can't get into S4 but need to shut down for a glide). I have helped many people do the install and I encourage it and I'm confident that part of the reason the 3G Prius has an EV button is b/c of the popularity of the mod on the 2G.

    All that said, you need to know what you're getting into and the potential risks and realistic potential benefits so you can weigh the decision. I'd do mine again in a heart beat and am still itching for someone to figure out how to do an EV mod in my wife's Highlander hybrid, but it's not for everyone and you should know what you're getting into.
     
  16. Annette

    Annette New Member

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    I wholeheartedly agree. I think I need to really figure out my prius before i go off changing her. I just want to look into it more.

    As far as returning my warranty, im not sure I could or would really. Its been written into my loan from the dealer. Why fix it if its not broken, and if it is broken I sure want to be able to fix it.

    You guys are great. thank you
     
  17. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    Even if the warranty is in your loan, if you paid the typical dealer price you might wanna get your money back, invest it somewhere, then buy from Warrantyshack.com for a LOT less than you paid originally when you get closer to the 36mo/3yr mark....and by then you may feel comfortable enough to not repurchase anyway. But, again, let your comfort level guide you.
     
  18. Annette

    Annette New Member

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    Well, i've jsut ordered a quote from Warrantyshack.com but to get my $1750 back, so i now contact dealer or the toyota financial services?