Eco <=> Normal Mode - Can you switch too much?

It will shut the ICE off in all modes if the conditions are right. There's no way to keep the engine running all the time.

 

Thanks Tom. Sure appreciate your comments.

 

No problem. I didn't mean to be so cryptic, I was posting from my iPad and in a hurry.

 

I leave mine in Eco mode all the time. I don't see a need to switch. I don't notice much of a difference between Eco and normal modes anyway, and never use the power mode.

 

I drive entirely in normal, as I say in another thread. The engine turns off when the car is stopped at a light. My understanding is that, aside from the differences in climate control the only difference is the response curve upon acceleration. All will do the same thing when the accelerator is floored, but they act differently if your foot is only part way down.

I want the car interior to warm up quickly when it is cold, and to cool down quickly when it is hot, so I don't see the climate control characteristics of ECO as an advantage.

 

My car has been in the ECO mode since March 2013... except for one time I accidentally switched it off. Next stop light the darn ICE started and I quickly fixed the "problem". When I had a non-plug-in Prius for 6 months it was always in the ECO mode too. We are in the high 90s and 100s many days during the summer, AC works great!

 

It's a computer program... no difference between Eco-Normal switching & switching between Microsoft Word & Excel. No harm done.

So far I've been using Eco Mode, since it gives me greater control over the throttle (more fine tuning). When I need more power, I just stamp my foot to the floor... there's no noticeable difference between Eco or normal or Power modes when you demand max acceleration.

 

It will do whatever is required, for what you are asking the ice to do, putting around ev, running on interstate the computer determines what is needed.