Did the EV Button Hurt My Mileage?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer @ Apr 1 2006, 06:17 PM) [snapback]233567[/snapback]</div>

I use mine largely at the end of a trip where the car will be parked for at least an hour or two and if I find the SOC high (very rare). I think it helps but now will have to test it. Trouble is with the weather being so variable this time of year it is tough to be sure. What we need is 5 or 6 regional Prius User testing labs! Yep that would do it. B)

 

I've occasionally used my arcade style - in an attempt to deliberately rack up the best 5 or 10 minute average bars possible. When I do this excessively, there is a noticeable overall hit taken to the surrounding tanks MPG.

I stand by the laws of physics on this one, and believe that the EV mode switch can only provide any appreciable MPG benefit in a very, very limited set of circumstances that most of us will never experience. In average use, it may cause short term increases, but larger decreases long term.

It's a toy. It's a feature. It's *damn neat*. But it's not a MPG saver.

-Ken

 

My commute involves about 2 miles of stop and go traffic and a little hill of two, all 30mph until I hit the interstate where the ice is going to spin anyway, so bringing to SOC down to 3 bars doesn't really matter, and I get 2 miles "for free". I was never able to get EPA numbers over 20 miles stretches until I started using the EV switch.

This is another example of the car not being able to predict the environment around me. I believe in the laws of physics, but also our power to use them to our advantage. I let the Prius think of "the little things" while I keep my eyes on the big picture.

Dave







My commute involves about 2 miles of stop and go traffic and a little hill of two, all 30mph until I hit the interstate where the ice is going to spin anyway, so bringing to SOC down to 3 bars doesn't really matter, and I get 2 miles "for free". I was never able to get EPA numbers over 20 miles stretches until I started using the EV switch.

This is another example of the car not being able to predict the environment around me. I believe in the laws of physics, but also our power to use them to our advantage. I let the Prius think of "the little things" while I keep my eyes on the big picture.

Dave

 

We intend to get one because our house is about 800 feet above town and we always drive 2 miles of the hills to go anywhere in the city. With our 2001 and 2002 Prius, we found ourselves coasting down the hill with the engine idling to warm up the catalytic converter.

I cannot believe it would not be better to use the EV button in this situation, since when we hit the bottom we have a fully charged battery.

George

 

I can relate to all of the posts to date:

1) EV overuse results in a huge drain. This is not just depleting the battery down to 3 SOC, but "overuse" should also be considered as down to 4 or even 5 followed by light driving where electric power remains prevelent (unless you're a master of deadband... I'm still novice/intermediate there).

2) Parking lots, driveways, and bleeding off the green seems to help at little cost.

3) Anticipatory driving (hey... isn't that a main part of Prius driving anyways) when the ICE just plain runs for no reason other than to seemingly annoy.

4) Getting on your way from START downhill. I do this every morning. I usually have 6-7 SOC at START and can EV across mostly level / slightly uphill roads to the top of the hill. Ride the brakes all the way down to stay under 34 mph and I'm still at 4-6 SOC when I pull the stalk again to engage the ICE for normal driving (I tend to do this rather than allow the software to kick me out).

5) Yeah... it's neat too.

I can't justify significant savings either in mpg or net benefit vs. cost. But I do enjoy it and gain satisfaction from turning the darn ICE off when it is not supposed to be on. I also "feel" like I'm getting something for nothing in #4 above. I'm fine w/ that

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Apr 3 2006, 06:30 PM) [snapback]234446[/snapback]</div>

That is good advice 52 to 63 in fact anywhere over 60% that you can use a bit of boost is not bad! Bleeding off the green is good.

 

Will somebody please tell this newbie what the hell EV is?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(marjflowers @ Apr 3 2006, 08:27 PM) [snapback]234507[/snapback]</div>

Well, a search on "EV" will find several topics. In short, EV stands for "Electric Vehicle." When activated, the ICE (or Internal Combustion Engine) won't run and you'd run on the battery alone for about a mile or two (as long as the battery is up and you're going under 34 mph). The switch itself isn't available in North America (it's a Japan and Europe item), but the software is. Basically it's doing a quick ground from one pin in the computer. The EV will not activate unless the conditions are right, and will drop out if the battery gets too low or you're going over 34 mph. Used correctly you may save some gas, but remember, the battery gets charged from the ICE so it may run longer just to keep the battery up to snuff.

There are 4 main ways to get this in your Prius. You can get an OEM switch from Sigma Automotive (about $50), order one from Coastal Tech (which uses the "Cancel" part of your Cruise Control stalk and also costs about $50), convert the "flash to pass" part of your headlight stalk (this one's free as you use your own wire), or add a button (almost as cheap). Whatever you want is up to you. The OEM switch looks factory installed (but harder to install), Coastal's is the easiest to install, but there's a 2-second delay to activate, the flasher is the cheapest, but you lose the "flash to pass" part (a minor problem at best) and the "add your own button" is about as cheap, but you have to figure out where to put the button.

I don't use mine that much so there isn't much to say about my mileage. I mainly use it to go from the nearest store to home.

 

Please somebody tell this poor newbie what the EV switch is. I checked a post with abbreviations and acronyms, and it said EV is "Environmental Vehicle." Didn't make sense to me.