New Prius owners (almost)

In general, the EV mod doesn't really help gas mileage. Remember, every little bit of energy to take from the batteries has to be put back in, somehow. Braking will do some of this, but if you use an EV mod, odds are most of it will come back from running the engine.

In general, people have found taht they can go about 1 mile on EV.

Recharging the batteries is really dependant on the situation. if it's a long downhill you can brake down the entire way, you could recharge the quickly (think rocky mountain down hill) and then the recharge will stop because the batteries are full. On the other hand, if you're going on a slight uphill, you'll be running the engine to keep going, but probably not recharging the battery at all, so you could go all day with it fairly low.

In general, don't worry about the SOC (state of charge) of the batteries. instead, drive it and have fun. when that gets boring, you can start experimenting with the different techniques posted on here (such as pulse and glide) to try to improve your mileage. the key to taht is to learn how to feather the pedal such that you have no arrows on the MFD, thus gliding.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Spindle Legs @ Aug 8 2006, 11:36 AM) [snapback]299643[/snapback]</div>

I think most new owners come to the table with huge expectations of performance, changing their driving habbits, pulse and glide, the perfect stopping technique, getting new sunglasses and a haircut to achieve the magical savings..

Mostly, when you get your new car, drive it as normal as normal can be. Bring some of your expectations gently to the process such as not driving everywhere 80mph, but mostly just drive normal. The first tank will be so much lower than that 50mpg you want (are expecting) to get and then you'll be a bit deflated.

About 5 tanks of gas later, you're not thinking too much about it and probably getting around 50+.

 

DISCLAIMER: I just got my Prius last Friday, I'm by no means an expert.

1) No.. Because you've got a section with 50mph, pure EV mode is impossible. The Prius has an absolute top-speed of 42mph on electric-only, and generally doesn't do more than 35mph in this mode. On warm days, you might be able to use the gas-flutter method to get into EV/Stealth for the low-speed second half. On cold days, the engine may run anyways as it might not be warmed up yet.

All that said, generally speaking you're better off just forgetting about what mode you're in. Let the computer manage things to fit your driving style. The only thing you might want to avoid is if you've got a habit of flooring the accelerator when the light turns green, just to have to hit the breaks to wait for the next light that's a block away to turn green. That's bad for MPG in any car.

Sure there are driving tactics like pulse-and-glide that can improve your MPG. And if you really want to do them, go for it. However, you don't need to use special driving tactics to get good MPG out of the Prius.

Look at the User guide that's been compiled from community advice by John1701a:

Prius User-Guide

2) I don't know, I don't have the EV mod, and . Also, other factors weigh more heavily than distance, such as how many hills you have to climb, temperature of the battery, and if you have the A/C on (which is electric). I'd venture to guess you could go quite a ways in EV mode on a flat surface at 20-30mph.

3) Not very far, and the Prius will generally auto-manage the level of the battery anyway. It seems to try to keep the battery somewhere between 40% and 80% full, running the engine into the generator as needed to achieve this. I'll have to time it some time, but it seems to be able to charge about one "bar" of battery in a minute or so. There's something like 6-8 bars, so the Prius can charge itself completely in a fairly short trip.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(MattInMD @ Aug 8 2006, 10:16 AM) [snapback]299671[/snapback]</div>

Excellent! Just what I've been looking for. I don't have mine yet, just trying to get familiar with what it has in it and stuff.

I'm looking forward to learning all the little ins and outs of features and use, but overall I doubt I'll "play" with it much in way of modification or whatever ... I just want to drive it and understand it.

Godfrey

 

Sounds like an easy bike ride. Leave the car at home, and save lots of gas.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Godfrey DiGiorgi @ Aug 8 2006, 01:13 PM) [snapback]299698[/snapback]</div>

Sorry, but you're going to have to download it again. I published the newest edition just a few minutes ago. There's a lot of updates and a bunch of new photos.

Oh well, better late than never.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(subarutoo @ Aug 8 2006, 03:25 PM) [snapback]299734[/snapback]</div>

That might depend on the condition of the road and 'bike lane' if there is one. I could ride my bike half way to work on bike paths, then take my life in my hands the rest of the way on roads with no clean shoulder and a lot of traffic. I drive my Prius instead.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Spindle Legs @ Aug 8 2006, 12:36 PM) [snapback]299642[/snapback]</div>

There are a ton of variables:
1. Will a EV Mode control help with the gas mileage when traveling both ways on this route? How?

Probably not. EV is not for hills, or frequent stops. You'll just drive the battery SOC down and the engine will have to run to recharge it. Since the first half of your trip is at 50, you'll be charging the battery on the down hills and depending on the steepness of the hill, possibly on the uphills as well. The engine will then be warm and the car will drop into electric on its own on the last half once you get up to speed if the terrain is fairly flat or somewhat down hill. The EV mod is helpful in area where the car WOULD go into electic on its own but you haven't made stage 4 and haven't stopped. It is also useful if you want to move the car into the garage, out to the street or whatever but don't want the engine to start. This won't appreciably affect your overall MPG, but some of us Prius owners can't stand it when the engine starts and WE know it didn't need to I also use my EV mod if I'm leaving the grocery store parking lot since the odds are high that I'll be sitting at a red light before I get on the main road. Then I cancel it. I only do this if the SOC is above 4 blue bars. See the previous comment about the engine running when it doesn't need to.

2. How far can you travel using battery only?
Depends on the terrain. There is a section of my commute that is 25 MPH and about 1.2 miles long. It is also very slightly down hill. The car will do it on EV without the mod and if I have 6 blue bars, I still have 3 or 4 at the end. However, if you have even a slight uphill, the battery will drop to 2 purple/pink and the engine will start in a lot shorter distance. This is true whether you force EV or manage to have the car stay in stealth.

3. How long must you travel to recharge the batteries?

1. No set time or distance. It will charge the battery any time you take your foot off the accelerator.
2. If do not need all the electricity being generated by the engine to run the electric motor to hold speed, the excess will go to the battery.
3. Any time you use the brakes (not too heavily) the battery will be charged (down to 8 MPH)
4. The battery is being charged and discharged all the time. If you watch the consumption screen, it bounces between ICE and electric. Sometimes both pushing the car, sometimes ICE only or Electric only. Sometimes the ICE pushing and providing power through the electric motor or doing that AND charging the battery or 'coasting' - charging the battery only, sometimes no flow at all. And all this happens on 25 MPH roads and on the interstate.
5. If, for some reason, the battery gets down to 2 pink/purple bars, the engine will turn on, or if it is already running, run at a speed necessary to charge the battery.

Don't worry about it, the car takes car of the battery all by itself.

 

I am on my second tank of gas...got 31 mpg on the first and am averaging 45 mpg now....I am using some of the techniques mentioned here ...I highly recommend downloading john's guide as well...

I upped my tire pressure...I have loads of up and down hills....I made two trips to the mall today...about 20 minutes going there...on the first trip I watched the MFD diligently, using pulse and glide and coasting and regen braking....my mpg at arrival was about 44.8 mpg...

Second trip out later in the day, I just DROVE, watching my speed limit and trying to stay within a 30-37 mph limit...some pulse and glide, coasting to lights and stops when I see them ahead....got same mpg.

Main thing is to enjoy the car. I happen to love all the techy stuff....so it's fun for me....but I don't let it get in the way of driving the car with enjoyment....it was hot...on goes the AC....

terri