Is Too Much EV A Bad Thing?

The OP posed driving 8 miles each way to work on EV and an overall ratio of 95% EV and 5% on the ice. On that basis I would suggest the ICE should be operated for an extended period periodically to get the oil hot

 

the computers take care of the ice warm up and exercise it as needed. most of us end up driving hv more than we thought we would or like.

 

Is that really needed with a synthetic oil?

 

No matter what type of oil, you don't want condensation building up. It wouldn't hurt to hit the button and run the car in HV mode to warm everything up.

 

I think this is a non-issue. Let's say I charge twice per day and this is 10K miles per year and keep the car, 10 years. That is 100K miles. If I drive 2K miles per year with the ICE...or maybe 5K...that means the 10 year old car will have 20K or 50K miles on it. And this is somehow a bad thing? Doubtful.

Mike

 

Oil sludge is a real problem for ICE. It occurs when cars do not heat up properly.

Oil sludge - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

I don't see anything in that article that would indicate a problem with a PIP with an infrequently used engine. First, the PIP has a synthetic oil. Second, why does getting the oil hot remove moisture...where does it go? Third, everyone should follow the oil change recommendations from Toyota.

Mike

 

Old cliche an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

 

Oil sludge is a primarily by product of high engine temperatures not moisture. The more you run your engine the more sludge produce. However, the engine will run at an interval specified by Its computer to assure all components are properly lubricated.

 

Condensation in the engine comes from combustion. The PCV system allows the build-up to be pulled out and burned.

 

i guess we'll know for sure in a few years.

 

I'm not the expert perhaps Sludge is not an issue with synthetic oil. I still fall in the camp of give the car a good run every so often and allow it to burn some of that gasoline.

 

Just imagine what the situation was years ago... low grade oil in an engine that routinely got superheated.

Prius runs on the cool side and the oil is far better. Heck, a simple draining of the pan reveals how drastic of a difference there is compared to those traditional vehicles of the past. Even the filters have changed since then.

 

No worries. ICE starts up every 124 continuous EV miles. I know it's in our nature to tinker but those Toyota engineers really have thought of just about everything.
The one and only Prius Plug-in FAQ! | PriusChat

 

the Volt runs an Engine Maintenance Mode (EMM) after 6 weeks if the ICE has not been used. I almost made it that long just before Thanksgiving with about 1300 EV miles.

 

i'm changing mine once a year, but i don't keep cars very long. of the 7-8,000 miles i'll have put on her by the anniversery date of 04/26, about half will be on the engine. if you intend to keep it for over 100,000 miles, every 6 months is probably a good idea.

 

The Volt manual says every 24 months max, using a synthetic oil.

Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt.

 

If you think of what the manufactures says on oild changes, You should probably change the sooner of 2 years or 7000 ICE miles. The Volt has a oil-change suggestion algorithm which is a mixture of time and miles. Mine will be change every 2 years because that is the time limit.


FUD = Fear Uncertainty and Doubt. Fear, uncertainty and doubt - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

You don't have to go into that kind of detail for your oil change interval. (OCI) The manual says the OCI is 10k miles or 12 months, whichever comes first. If you're driving mostly EV, it's not likely you'll make 10k miles in 12 months. If you have a low EV ratio, then It's not likely you'll make 12 months.