EV Switch Useless?

i haven't tried it in a parking garage yet , because it hasn't worked anywhere else. the other usless thing is the blue tooth for my iphone.

 

Yes, the seat heater switches are very poorly located. I think they were hoping we wouldn't use them much.
I only use the EV switch in our condo parking garage, to reduce emissions. It will only go into EV mode if the engine is warm-does anyone know why? I have a degree in Engineering and I can't figure that one out.
Yes, the EV, ECO, and PWR switches shouldn't be next to the beverage holder-good point. I used ECO a lot for the first 6 months, but didn't see any difference in fuel consumption, plus it makes the car more sluggish.
Bluetooth works fine with our Samsung phone.

 

EV is ideal for moving the car around the driveway, garage and neighborhood defeating ICE cut-in. Learned muscle memory makes seat heater button location a snap. Console EV/ECO/PWR buttons are well located. Driving while drinks-holding isn't a great idea. That's a key and change cup, anyway. Bluetooth on the Windows Phone works great. Thought those iToys were "intuitive" by design? Guess not.​

 

If you put your drink in the cup holder then you don't have to hold it while you're driving!

You can certainly put whatever you want in it, but it's listed as a cupholder by Toyota: Toyota Prius Hybrid - 2013 Models: Prius v Two, Prius v Three, Prius v Five
They really intended that spot above the buttons to hold containers of liquid. Hey, at least it's not as bad as the 4th Gen Jetta that had cupholders that hung the cups right on the audio system! What could possibly go wrong??

I've read elsewhere that some think of the EV button as an "Engine Veto" button - if your ICE comes on at a light, you can often hit the button to stop it. I often hit it in parking lots at the end of a drive, but for the most part it's useless. And I would also have loved at least a PWR button on the steering wheel so you can just quick hit it for a merge or pass.

 

I just bought a 2013 Prius V (5). The eco, evo, power is not needed--the car automatically switches depending on how one is driving. In the test drive the lights switched automatically among the 3-and even if I pushed one it went to another if I needed the power or went slowly enough. I don't see that it is necessary at all.

 

My dealer told me the EV switch was put in because Toyota was anticipating that at some point in the near future battery technology would be such that you could drive the car on it at a reasonable speed for a reasonable time. We'd obviously have to swap-out the current battery for that one. But that's what they told me.

Totally agree that the button placement is dumb. And if you have retro-fitted heated seats, the switches are down on the side of the seat, near the lumbar adjustment. So there's no easy way to check to see if your passenger has turned his heater off

 

Nice drinks holder!

 

I'll wager the car tries to get the engine or catalytic converter up to operating temp quickly to reduce emissions. Not sure, but it likely has to do with reducing emissions. Cold gas engines have increased emissions.

 

In warm weather I use the EV button to allow me to get the ca in and out of the garage without starting it up (to get to my lawn mower, for example).
It's not really usable in the temps we have this time of year but in the summer I find it useful.

 

Bluetooth works great with my iphone 5...

 

EV mode works well in my neighborhood and in parking lots. It's designed to come out of EV at 25 MPH. I'd say you have a heavy foot if it doesn't work well. Emissions is exactly why it won't stay in EV when the car is first started. If any of the modes are useless, it's PWR. I've found it way too touchy for even my light foot.

 

Bluetooth works fine on my iPhone 3gs.

 

If you enjoy the sensation of a catapult launch, or a clutch dump at redline (not even), you'll like PWR...

 

My iPhone 4s works great with my Prius five. In fact, I often connect the iPhone for telephone and my iPad mini for audio at the same time. It's flawless..

 

I use PWR for left turns across 3 lanes of busy traffic when exiting the shopping center. And in a merge situation where I'm running out of lane space. Only times I've ever used it and it helps give me a quicker acceleration to speed as I run ECO mode normally. In those situations, battery charge and MPG are the least of my worries, I'm worried about protecting me and my car.

 

Same here. Moving the car around in a lot or driveway to avoid the ICE firing up. Most times if i quickly turn off the climate control and push the EV button right on startup it will run in EV mode on a cold engine. Doesn't always work, depends how the car feels, sometimes it will override my intentions and decide it wants to run the ICE anyway for a grand total of 15 seconds while i move it in the driveway. Got a mind of its own I think.

 

At least with the reg prius, if you start up, push EV, and it tells you no, you still have a few seconds to get where you want to go, before the engine* fires up. There's maybe 20 seconds of grace in total, and after frittering away 5 seconds on the EV request you can often still save the bacon, as long as it's just 20' out into the driveway.

* wonderful word, prefer it to ICE anytime

 

I find it depends on how cold it is outside.
anything below -10c, block heater not plugged in will result in near instant ICE firing on powerup(as quick as 1 second on those -20c days).
Warmer it is outside the longer the delayed start up, upwards of 20 seconds or so as you say.

 

re he button placement near the cupholders...I worked for a Toyota dealer when it came it and now own three as taxi's...it's a terrible location. Just had to replace a module. The dealer warrantied it, but warned that spill damage is not covered, so I am sure I will face the issue again with 3 of these in the field.

Anyone have any luck cleaning them out? Protecting them somehow?

Personally I use the power and eco buttons, but haven't tracked mileage one way or the other.