Several technical questions: 1. What information is available for display to the driver regarding energy in the traction battery? (e.g. % charged, miles remaining in EV mode, etc.) 2. I’ve seen literature about minimum (20% and maximum (80%) as recommended range of charge or the battery - is that the guidance of Toyota as well? 3. Does the driver have any control over minimum and maximum charge allowed? If so how is that controlled? 4. Stated range of EV use is 45 miles - is that from 0% charged to 100% charged or? 5. How does the range of charge allowed/recommended impact the EV driving range in miles? 6. What is Toyota’s recommendation for how often the gasoline engine should be used? (and minimum number of minutes it runs each time?)
1) %charge and miles available 2) toyota limits the charge in the software so you don't have to 3) unsure if there is a user settable charge limit within toyotas allowable charge range 4) range 'guesstamit' is for 100% of the user allowable charge range 5) there is no visible impact, but toyota is limiting the top and bottom to protect the battery, so you don't get to use that charge, for howevermany miles you would get from it. 6) idk what the manual recommends, but running through a tankful each year would be a good practice 7) keep in mind, this is a phev, not a bev, and should be treated as such. 8) batteries don't hold miles, they hold energy. the number of miles you can travel in ev is limited by many factors
6) If the engine needs to start it will keep running long enough to warm up; which is just a few minutes. The engine will start when the EV battery range reaches 0 miles but if you start driving down a hill at that point the gas engine will continue to run for a while. I have also experienced the engine starting due to hard braking downhill with a full or almost full battery.
#6 - from the manual (pp 86,87) ■Notice about fuel ●For Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles, fuel may remain in the tank for a long time and undergo changes in quality depending on the how the vehicle is used. Refuel at least 5.3 gal. (20 L, 4.4 Imp.gal.) of fuel every 12 months (refuel a total of at least 5.3 gal. [20 L, 4.4 Imp.gal.] over a 12-month period), as this may affect components of the fuel system or the gasoline engine. If the vehicle has not been refueled for a certain amount of time and it is possible that the quality of the fuel remaining in the tank has changed, “No New Fuel has been Added Recently Please refuel” is displayed on the multiinformation display when the power switch is turned to ON. If the message is displayed, refuel the vehicle immediately.
