My last Toyota was a 2017 Prius Prime: I traded a 2017 Prius Prime for a 2019 Tesla Model 3 in large part because of the control laws. This video makes me angry, again. Inside the pack: Bob Wilson
lane alert instead of lane keeping - it would 'nudge' the car back toward the center but lacked basic PID logic to stay there. After the third "nudge' it was headed to the ditch. too easily enabled ICE - when I want 'EV only', that is what I want, not unexpected ICE operation. Bob Wilson
I've worked with computers long enough to know that they do what you tell it to do; NOT what you want it to do.... I don't use and turn-OFF my lane keep assist, Don't need a nanny or back seat driver trying to tell me what to do. If you have that turned-on, you better be using your turn signals; otherwise it'll always nudge you anytime you get close or go over a line. I've never had my gen4 enable ICE when it didn't have to - in fact I force the ICE ON when I'm up to speed on the highway; because it's more efficient beyond 50+mph. Switch back to EV mode when I'm on city surface streets again.
In my 2024 RAV4 Prime, LKA (Lane Keeping Assist) feels too intrusive, so was quickly turned off. I didn't use it long enough to determine if it was trustworthy. "EV-only" has worked worked perfectly, apart from the one coldest ski morning in Colorado where "Start" went instantly to HV mode, skipping EV.
I suspect the premature ICE activation may have been a first model year, bottom trim problem and operator training error. Over the air update was not a feature so the replacement Model 3 solved my Prius Prime problems. There were other irritants in the control laws (I.e. software.) But lane assist and excessive ICE were enough! The 25 mile EV range when my daily work commute was 20 miles didn’t help and the 16 A maximum charge rate only on J1772 just salted the wound. My 72 mile EV range 2014 BMW i3-REx had 30 A charging and 50 kW fast DC charging Bob Wilson
ICE activation also bothers me in my Avalon. There seem to be quite a few hills around here that I end up parked at the top. So, as I go down the first, at about a speed the car could coast in neutral in and maintain the same speed, the engine just has to idle all the way down the hill. Then, when I get to the bottom, it's warmed up, so it kicks off, and then runs on battery as I go up the next, turning the engine on and off, on and off, until the battery is fully depleted, and now the engine runs the whole way down the next hill to try to charge the battery back up again.
I’m comfortable with the way our ‘24 hycam works. 50 mpg is nothing to complain about for this class of car. I don’t care about when the engine fires or doesn’t. Boston to Florida, $75. Plus tolls
