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Dashboard setup for “economical driving”

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Fuel Economy' started by JohnF, Apr 30, 2016.

  1. JohnF

    JohnF Active Member

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    Comments by pakitt and unus_mundus in another thread awoke me to the fact that the Gen 4’s dashboard displays can be configured to suit the user. I’ve had the car nearly two months so I should have been aware of this before now. For “economical driving” (avoiding the “hyper…” term because it gets people too excited), it’s useful for me to see:

    current (instantaneous) mpg
    average mpg over the route so far
    speed
    battery state of charge (SOC)
    load
    whether the gas engine is on or off

    I had already set the MID (on the right, p.114) to the Hybrid System Indicator [HSI] p.119), which gives me load and state of charge (I ignore the “Score” section; MPG is my "score"). I found having two lines on the Load curve distracting, so I turned off the “ECO Accelerator Guidance” (p.142) to simplify things.

    I hadn’t realized that current mpg is available on the “subscreen” of the “instrument cluster” on the left so I switched to that (p.112). The other two options would just duplicate info that the HSI already gives me.

    I floundered a bit getting things reset but eventually got what I wanted. It might have helped to read the section from the beginning on p.91.

    So this is what I have. Obviously the "EV" light tells me if the gas engine is on or off. I was using the ScanGauge "RPM" display for that, and its "MPG" reading to give me current consumption, so I don't need to look down at it any more. I'm very pleased with it: everything is nicely grouped and very readable at a glance.

    The little yellow triangle on the left side of the current consumption bar is a really clever touch: it shows the average mpg so far (on whichever tripmeter one is using). So one knows if the current consumption is above that, the average mpg will be rising.

    Oh, and please don't get excited that I'm going only 11mph in the photo: it seemed sketchy to shoot photos while driving on the open road so I took this with my iPhone while on the access road in my condo complex, where the speed limit is 15mph.

    IMG_0191.JPG
     
    #1 JohnF, Apr 30, 2016
    Last edited: Apr 30, 2016
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  2. krousdb

    krousdb NX-74205

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    Exactly the same as my setup. Great minds think alike.
     
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  3. pakitt

    pakitt Senior Member

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    Mine will likely look the same. But because I have HUD standard, I can have the HSI in there at least the first few weeks I get used to the drive train behavior compared to my gen3 and then switch that to speed only.
    I'll keep the blue bar as long as I feel I need it.
    So if the HSI is displayed in full glory in the HUD, I wonder what I can display in the right screen of the MFD...
     
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  4. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    It'd be nice if you could save a setup.
     
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  5. JohnF

    JohnF Active Member

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    You mean saving setups by name if different people are using the car and want to see different things? Yes that would be nice, especially if it included individualized settings for the side view mirrors.
     
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  6. Jim in NC

    Jim in NC Active Member

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    Same setup for me, with 1 difference. When I picked up my car at the dealership I felt lost with the default display settings they had it on.

    My 1 difference is that I like to see the 2 lines on the HSI. I can ignore the second line if I choose, but I have been trying to correlate the other line to what it would do for mpg. I have found that when I followed it, my mpg is better.

    The displays on the NAV screen are worthless. You probably shouldn't be looking down there anyway.
     
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  7. pakitt

    pakitt Senior Member

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    I think the Nav screen is really helpful to look up song names and radio. Not much else since everything else, is already shown in the MFD.
    And I still did not understand if resetting the fuel consumption historical on the NAV will reset the MFD values as well or not....
     
  8. JohnF

    JohnF Active Member

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    Whatever works for you. Nice that Toyota built in the option to have it either way.
     
  9. NorthernHSD

    NorthernHSD Member

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    How do I get current mpg to the MFD? My manual doesn't tell that too easily. :(
     
  10. JohnF

    JohnF Active Member

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    Since you are in Finland, the page numbers in your manual are probably different from mine.

    Find the "Instrument Cluster" chapter (chapter 2 in my manual). Then in that find the section on "Main Display". A few pages into that should be a section titled "Switching contents displayed on the sub-screen". The US manual shows a graphic of our three options, all vertical bars:
    (1) Hybrid System Indicator (Power/ECO/Charge)
    (2) Current fuel consumption (which is what I like)
    (3) Hybrid battery (traction battery) status (state of charge of the hybrid battery)

    It explains how to switch them, though I had a hard time getting the system to do what the manual said. Good luck!
     
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  11. NorthernHSD

    NorthernHSD Member

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    The Finnish version does mention only that it is possible to display instant consumption, but there is one sentence which hints that it works only cars without RSA (Road Sign Assistant camera detection). This car is equiped with camera, so probably this is showing speed limits there then.
     
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  12. Blizzard_Persona

    Blizzard_Persona Senior Member

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    ^^^ just picked up my 2016 three w/ ATP and spent over an hr trying to find this damn sub screen! I got it to go to the Split screen, but from there there are no other options to set the screen to current mpg, which I really want like you have.. I've tried every combination of buttons and directions on the display... Nothing...I can only get it to display the graph, which is the redundant one just like the display a couple inches to its right!?!?

    Exactly, I read and re read that chapter and it's pretty much useless. Not easy to decipher.:mad:

    Lot of work to simply show our current mpg, yet a very important tool that I can't believe was not programmed to be on the screen from the factory... Help me find it pls:cry:
     
    #12 Blizzard_Persona, Aug 9, 2016
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2016
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  13. bhtooefr

    bhtooefr Senior Member

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    So, all of this is done with the right hand steering wheel controls (the arrow buttons on the right side, the button in the middle of those arrows with a circle on it, and the back button that's next to those buttons), hybrid system running. This is assuming you do NOT have the split screen function enabled (instant MPG, battery level, or hybrid system indicator on the right side of the left display), and it's assuming a left-hand drive (US/Canada or most of Europe) car. If the split screen function is already enabled, skip the next two paragraphs.

    When you press the left and right arrows using the right hand steering wheel controls, you'll get a bar along the top of the right hand screen with a few icons. Press the right arrow until the gear is highlighted, and you should be in a settings menu.

    Once in that menu, press the down arrow until "Simple/Split Screen" is highlighted, press the center (circle) button, then press the down arrow to highlight "Split", press the circle button again, then press back twice.

    At this point, you should see an additional indication on the right side of your left screen. If you're already at the settings menu, pressing right once will bring you to where you need to be. If not, when you press left or right, the bar along the top of the right screen will now extend onto the left display. Press left or right until the one icon on the left display is highlighted.

    At this point, pressing up or down scrolls between the options - HV battery level, a miniature hybrid system indicator, and instant MPG.

    Once you're done, press left or right to get off of that. I personally press right once, and then press up or down as needed to bring up the hybrid system indicator.
     
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  14. Blizzard_Persona

    Blizzard_Persona Senior Member

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    Absolutely perfect walk through!! Above info should have been in the manual :D

    I'm all squared away now. Thanks a million!!(y)
     
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  15. Coast Cruiser

    Coast Cruiser Senior Member

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    Ok, with all due respect to you fine gentlemen, I'm going to be the "Rebel" in this conversation.

    For me, personally, I find all that stuff to be too distracting. Too complicated. Too "gimmicky". And frankly, unnecessary (for me.) I find that I get superior gas mileage by simply driving my Prius like a normal car, in the PWR mode, and ignoring all those graphs and gauges. My mpg has gone up 3 to 4 since I switched to PWR, and my Prius performs much better and smoother.

    To each his/her own.

    Tar & feather me.

    Take away my magic "Fob." :LOL:

    (A steady and consistent 63 mpg from full tank to empty. City driving. No hyper-miling. Not driving slow. Keeping up with, or surpassing the flow of traffic. 63 is good enough. (y))
     
  16. Colin Jones

    Colin Jones Member

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    Yes - that's the same as the UK version. I would have to switch off RSA (which is also in the settings), in order to use the sub panel for something else. With RSA switched on it's dedicated to showing the current speed limit signs.
     
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  17. LabDad

    LabDad Junior Member

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    Thanks for the clear, detailed guide.

    Is there any way to get instant MPG displayed numerically (e.g., "65 MPG") in addition to (or instead of) the bar graph? I could see this value on the Energy screen of my 2008 Prius, and it was one of the things I relied on most to optimize my efficiency. I'm driving a 2018 Prime.

    Thanks.
     
  18. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    Yes and No. It's on this display:
    upload_2018-12-31_17-10-31.png

    I find this is the better display to have up - it's more accurate than the hockey stick (which is duplicated in the HUD. Ignore the "EV" light on the hockey stick if you do use it - it's only approximately accurate.

    upload_2018-12-31_17-7-56.png

    This circled "EV" can be the source of frustration - it's inaccurate.
    upload_2018-12-31_17-12-51.png
     
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  19. bhtooefr

    bhtooefr Senior Member

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    If you're basing that on the car consuming what appears to be no fuel while at light loads, but the EV indicator being unlit... the engine's actually spinning when that happens.

    (Source: I have a ScanGauge in my Gen 4.)
     
  20. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    I was basing it on my ear - hearing the ICE turn off plus
    upload_2019-1-2_20-56-28.png

    particularly when driving slowly, there are times when this display indicates it's driving from battery to wheels ONLY and you can hear the ICE turn off - but the EV light stubbornly stays off. It happened enough times that I got rid of the hockey stick. One must be wrong - and I'm sure it was the EV light.