A cruel truth may be sinking in about my Gen 2 Prius

idk, maybe you're overthinking it, but what do i know? (that's one reason i bought a plug in)

 

7 seconds? The horror.

 

I think you might be, although I'm not really sure I understand what your problem is. If I am running errands and the car is warm, It doesn't excessively idle on subsequent starts. The only time it will run while stopped is to do the idle check as it passes from stage 3a/3b to stage 4. I can live with that as once in stage 4 it is much more responsive and easier to get higher MPG over extended distances.

 

Engine is idling excessively when on stage 3a. For that you can use EV button (if speed is low enough) or go to stage 3b (if speed is high enough) or make full stop and let it idle for those seconds to get to stage 4.

Other times Prius can idle excessively is when it’s below freezing, heater is on and engine has not reached 60…65c or 140…150F (once engine has reached that it won’t idle until engine temperature has dropped a lot). Fix for that situation is to change blower setting into something other than windshield (that seems to lower the required engine temperature for some reason). Or to use EV button (if speed is low enough). Or turn heater to MAX COLD (which will just blow outside air in).

But easiest thing that you can do while driving to get better MPG in cold temperature is try to park it with 4 or less bars of battery. That way instead of just idling, the engine will charge hybrid battery.

Also Prius really benefits from using grill block. I use upper grill block unless it’s part of summer when I might use AC to cool. Lower grill can be blocked 80% if temperature is colder than 6c or 43F.

 

It's "Good Truth" that has always existed.
I believe one of the fundamental concepts behind the development of HSD was the idea that The Prius would be a vehicle well suited to be used in congested, high smog, city like environments. So tail pipe emissions have always been a priority with HSD.

I think some owners become too obsessed with...The King Of Thrones...Fuel Efficiency.

Regardless of how many seconds it may take for the engine to turn off, or how long it takes to get to operating temperature, to allow this. I always kept a "Big Picture" viewpoint. That is:

When I drove a Prius, I appreciated that I WAS driving one of the most fuel efficient vehicles possible. PERIOD.
I also appreciated that it's emissions were low.

Could an even MORE fuel efficient vehicle be designed if less attention was paid to keeping emissions lower? Probably. But IMO that wouldn't leave you with a better end product. Just marginally better gas mileage.
And IMO embracing this attitude just harkens back to a problem the world faces now. That is too many years only looking at the "results" that benefit us as individuals...immediately. That is fuel efficiency....but not looking at the big picture....fuel efficiency and keeping the air clean.

So in closing....instead of obsessing that you are burning fuel...while waiting for HSD parameters to be met that allow for engine shut off, be happy that those same parameters make The Prius a low emissions vehicle, and that you will be operating a vehicle with as much thought put into supporting air quality as creating fuel efficiency.

 

Unfortunately those low emissions only matter if you drive in those congested, high smog, areas. In a global scale just keeping the fuel consumption down will minimize the environmental effects.

 

Now you're starting to sound like a vw ecu programmer.

 

If you want high mpg and don't care about emissions, you can buy a diesel.

The Prius USP is to provide low co2 and other emissions, AND high fuel economy. Its bottom line design purpose is low emissions over and above fuel economy.

As for the emissions only mattering in smog cities, I'd say that every little helps, even on a global scale, especially multiplied by many millions of cars.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

It really just depends on what you think is the main objective. If it’s global warming (climate change) then it’s almost only about co2. Diesels don’t get that low of co2 because same volume of diesel has more energy than gasoline. So burning same amount of diesel produces more co2 than burning gasoline.

Diesel cars are also bad for short journeys. And if you own diesel car here you have to be yearly tax which makes diesel only feasible if you drive a lot.

My point really just being that I don’t really like that Toyota did go for a lot better emission level than what law required them to do. If they would have stick with the same level as other cars are required they would have gotten even better MPG and less CO2.

 

I disagree.
That's the attitude that has Mother Nature on the ropes.
The idea that low emissions ONLY matter if you are driving in congested, high smog areas.

It's NOT- Either/Or....not either low emissions OR low fuel consumption...it can, and IMO should be both.

And while I would not make any Don Quixote like claims to believe that any individual driving a Prius anywhere is magically healing the earth with the singular benefit of being a low emissions vehicle....it's a choice both as a HSD engineering feat...and a choice for us as drivers and consumers. And even as individuals..wherever we are....it matters..and it helps.

 

With car engine it has to be some type of compromise. I really didn’t mean that we should remove regulations. What I meant is the difference between (honestly) meeting all regulations while going for lowest fuel consumption (CO2) and going to level Toyota did. Off course in the big city lower emission is the better option. But in the countryside?

 

I would estimate that Toyota could make the Prius about 1% more efficient if they made it about five times dirtier. Many of the things that make a Prius more efficient also lower emissions as a side effect.

Sorry, I still don't understand exactly what you mean. Do you mean that Toyota should make dirtier Prii especially for people who never drive in the city?

 

Damn but that makes a lot of sense. You should have run for..., never mind, too late.

 

Improving emissions at the cost of fuel economy is a false improvement.

Thousands of times more pollution is created while extracting, transporting and refining crude than burning your gallon of gas. Getting crude releases large amounts of arsenic, lead, mercury and cadmium into the environment, how do we classify/compare these pollutants to emissions?
How do we classify the 5% of crude lost as spoilage ? Aka spilled, or in the wrong layer of soil, or lost as voc?

Simply put your car is cleaner at the expense of massive pollution in someone else's back yard.

The only way to improve global pollution is to reduce petroleum use at all costs. Your car is incapable of releasing more pollution through burning than the upstream pollution to get your gallon of gas to you.

 

On certain type of driving, yes. But on other type of driving effect on fuel consumption can be a lot more while effect on emissions could be a lot less. High consumption effect mostly is caused when engine is only run to get catalytic converter up to temperature.

Where did you get that idea? Of course I’m not trying to advice Toyota on what to do. And if I was I wouldn’t post it here.

 

My 2007 German spec. Prius does not always start the engine after having been turned off for a couple minutes. Sometimes it does, but it seems to depend upon the inside, outside, engine, and cat. temperatures.

There could be something amiss, or there could be slightly different programming for the US spec. Prius in order to optimize results in the more demanding US consumption and emissions tests.