Coastal EV mod is a winner!

Good point. I saw a used battery recently here on PriusChat being sold on eBay for around $500. It came out of a Prius that had been totaled.

The only comment about the "veterans" using these EV switches is we haven't actually seen the longevity in time yet to be able to tell whether or not there has been a real effect or not of using the EV switch. As the old saying goes......time will tell.

I did pose the question to my contact this afternoon about the EV switch. I just got the same response about it voiding the warrenty etc.

My own personal take is I see the car already going into stealth mode on its own. Once the car is warmed up I sorta have control over EV mode by how I drive it. So, I am going to take the conservative route and keep the car in stock mode and not push my luck. I am planning on keeping the car longer than other vehicles I have owned in the past. So, anything which reasonably gives me the edge to obtain that longevity I will do.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Cheers

 

Windstrings,

Once I get passed pulling off the side vent piece, I think the rest would be easy. I tugged at it for awhile but didn't want to take a chance in breaking it somehow.

Any words of wisdom for me? Is it just a matter of going for it?

Tnx, Glenk

 

Shoot I was scared to death at taking the dash apart. The electronics did not bother me I built a bunch of Heath Kits in my day, but the last time I took the interior panels off a car (1990 Ford Explorer) to replace the blown speaker in the back with a good used one it cost me more to replace the fasteners that I broke than the speaker cost. Toyota did a great job at making that part easy. Took me three tries to get the pin in far enough. Dave did a good job with the instructions. Almost makes me brave enough to try the back up camera, almost but not quite I am going to get help for that one.
Your excitement overwelmed me!

 

Does this mod help you get better gas milage? Surely its not just to silence the already quiet engine at an opportune time. Since the engine has to run longer to recharge the additional battery depletion and consuming gas to replace stored energy, what's the real benefit from this?

I guess if I just want to back the car out of my garage for another coat of Zaino, I could do with without the engine starting. Is it this sort of operation that the switch is best used?

 

Yes, that would be a very good reason. Moving from one location to another in a parking lot would be another. I could go to a couple of stores or to my parent's house from church if I had an EV switch.

It can save mileage, but not on all occasions.

 

I'd been under the impression that the EV mode was left out in the USA because it would wreak havoc on the EPAs testing process - you'd be introducing a whole new variable into the equation, and it seems they just chose not to deal with it. Regardless, this option is installed and waranteed everywhere else in the world - Toyota designed its software to deal with it appropriately, and so long as you aren't too aggressive in your use, and use a little common sense, you won't see any more trouble than the rest of the world.

That said, there always stands the possibility that something down-wire of it could fail, and they could use it as an excuse not to cover it. My husband doesn't think I should put it in unless I could remove it if needed - he took a look and has an idea to make it a step shy of removable. If it works out I'll post steps in case anyone would be interested.

 

The answer is yes and no. You can use the EV mode to improve milage if you first understand the Prius and how it works, use EV only when it can benefit you. Other than that it is fun!

 

You inspired me! I received my coastal EV mod about 2 weeks ago and "hadn't had time" to install it. After reading how little time it took you, we finally decided to try it out tonight and it works great! We were worried we hadn't put the orange wire in far enough, but couldn't get it in any further, so we put the plug back in and checked it, and it didn't work . So, I went back in to pull the plug back out, and discovered that I hadn't pushed it all the way back in. So, I did that, and my husband started it, pulled the cruise lever back for 3 seconds or so, and the ICE didn't crank up - it worked! We drove around the block, but kept waiting for the engine to come on. All in all, took us about 30 minutes.

Fantastic mod - lots of fun. Will have to see how much I use it on a day to day basis, but it will be great for moving the car short distances, etc. Plus fun for showing off, of course!

Edit: added that we turned EV mode on!

 

Windstring, Can you please install one for me <BEG>

 

True - I'll go back and edit that post for clarity

 

Yeah I wish!

 

Well i was so excited to my ev mod when i got it today. I can finally say that i've finally gave up working on it. I was able to do everything in the instructions...except for the last part---getting the orange wire to go all the way thru. It says in the instructions to try to pull the white plastic guard out. I did that, but i still wasnt able to push the orange down. Then i thought that maybe the white guard needs to be pulled back a little bit more...so i did, and i broke the plastic in the middle. then i messed around with it with a tiny screwdriver, and broke the plastic on the left side exposing the wires. I've put the plug back and out so many times that my hands is all scraped and scratch from the metal edges. I really wish i could get it to work. I just have to stop in fear of creating more damage to the plug and messing up my warranty. Is there anyone in so. cali that can help me??? I will go to you!!!!