EV Mode MPG averages

You won't see much. In fact, you can lower your MPG if you're too cavalier with EV mode. There are situations where it works well. Things like large parking lots or a series of poorly timed lights in heavy traffic. It is also nice when you need to move your car a short distance. Basically it's great for times when running the ICE is pointless and a waste of fuel. Your avg MPG isn't going to shoot up by 5 or anything like that. There's also the coolness factor.

 

You need to do a search of previous threads on PriusChat. There is loads of good information. The short answer is not much. This feature is a fun toy which if used skillfully can help milage noticablely and if used carelessly can actually harm performance. Those who have it are enthusiastic about it.
The search button is in the upper right of this page. When it open there will be a box for a search category. Put "EV" there and hit Enter. You will have many threads to choose from. Happy Reading!

Edit: Sorry tripp, your post hit while I was typing.

 

Allan, Ha. I saw that you were looking at the thread too and was wondering which of us would hit "Add Reply" first.

 

I've had the EV mod installed for about two tanks of gas and agree with the other responders - if you use it right, it can help save (some) gas.

The times I use it most are getting in and out of my garage and the parking lot at work. It used to kill me to have the ICE come on 7 seconds after starting up after work, only to have to creep along with the other cars to get past the traffic light at the entrance. All the while I would be getting almost zero mpg.

With EV, I can creep along in electric mode and only engage the ICE when the light turns green. At that point I'm getting 25-30mpg and I smile.

I can also attest to the fact that abuse of the mod can hurt your MPG. My daughter talked me into trying to get all the way from her school to our home in EV mode. It was only about a mile but we were down to three bars on the battery gage by the time we arrived. I paid the price the next morning when the ICE ran for what seemed to be forever recharging the battery!

It's a cool mod and I love it. It gives you one more tool in your mileage arsenal.

 

What is EV, what does it do, and what does it cost?

 

I did my own flasher EV mod, 'cause it's basically free of charge, very easy to reverse, doesn't have a 2 or 3 second delay like the Coastal kit, and I wanted to see if I would actually use it. Since it can only be used below 34 MPH, it is rare that I do use it since it's pretty easy to EV at 40MPH just by feathering the gas pedal. Since most of the city portion of my commute is 45 MPH, I can't manually EV anyway.

That being said, I can't see removing it for the reasons that the others have stated. With the flasher mod, I hate the fact that at night if I want EV, my headlights will flash high beam, so I'll probably convert to a push button in the near future.

 

Depends a LOT on how and where you drive.

• Mileage increase, maybe a little. For instance, I can do the last .7 miles home on EV where I can't force the car to stay in EV with pedal pressure (small ups and downs on a generally downhill road). Without the EV mod, I can't keep speed and keep the ICE off.
• Acelleration close to what you can do with the engine. DON'T use it to drive to the store, you'll just run the battery down and the engine will run more later to boost it back up. But, there is a left turn on that .7 miles. If I'm not in forced EV, I have to acellerate VERY slowly back to 25 to keep the ICE from coming on.
• Until the engine has hit a certain temp, the car won't go into EV on its own unless you have stopped for 7-10 seconds (engine shutdown I think) There are some places I drive where the max speed is 30 MPH, few stops. If the car is warm enough, or I have stopped, it will drop into EV on some sections. If I have timed well (and been lucky) so as to not make a stop (Prius heaven!!) I use EV on those sections. I kick out at 4 bars, no need to run it to 2 and have the car kick it out and start charging the batteries.
• If you are at the store and know you will be sitting at the light when you exit (and CAN'T stand to be in a vehicle with a running engine that isn't moving ) set it just after you start the car, assuming your battery state is reasonably high.

 

"Electric Vehicle" mode. Allows you to cruise on the electric motor more. There are several EV solutions, with different costs. Do a search on the board and you will find lots and lots and lots of information about this.

 

my best use of EV is the last mile when i know i will be parked for an extended period of time. like my commutes to work and home at night.

the reason, and i dispute what some have said here. your ICE has to run to warm up the vehicle, i think its much more efficient to be charging the battery at the same time.

whether the ICE runs to warm up (this does happen even in what would normally be EV mode when still cold) you can be in a mode that looks like as EV but still be getting poor gas mileage


check out this pic. taken right after i got my car WAAAY before i installed my EV switch. forgive the focus... only so much i can do at 4:30 in the morning. but here is regen @99.9 mpg right??? but the warmup cycle overcomes that in spades. OAT was about 60º it was August.

if charging the battery??? how much lower would this figure be??? remember, i am COASTING here. i SHOULD be at 99.9 mpg...

http://priuschat.com/forums/album_pic.php?pic_id=753

this is why i think that charging your battery on warmup is not going to dramatically affect your overall mileage.

 

I think you always lose over 60% of the ICE's energy whenever you charge the battery. It's much more efficient to be accelerating while the ICE has to run to warm up the vehicle. Not only does it get you going, but when you have to slow down, you can then convert that used kinetic energy to charge up the battery. Sounds almost like a free ride to me.

 

That is close, total. My understanding is the conversion is 80% effecient. Thus, if you produce 100 watts, 80 make it to the battery and 64 come back out usable.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bruceha_2000 @ Mar 22 2006, 06:58 PM) [snapback]228801[/snapback]</div>

Interesting, where do you get that?

I'm basing the over 60% loss on hybridcars.com, it says 36% efficiency is almost the same as the figure Toyota quotes for the Prius II, but they don't say what the figure Toyota quotes is.

If you do 80% efficiency on all 4 conversions: kinetic->electric->chemical->electric->kinetic, you get 41% efficiency overall.

Anyway, I'd like to really know. Can you hook me up, [you] ? [it's never going to get old]

 

I think it can help a bit but it not much. End of a drive where the car will cool off is the obvious one. When the battery gets charged up you can run it down with EV. I have used this on two occasions. First long down hill to a flat area. For me that is Down town Olympia. Once in a while because of traffic, terrain, and tailgaters the SOC gets high. If the speed limit is 35 or less I will hit the EV and take advantage of the extra energy before it gets high enough that the MG1 spins the ICE to get rid of a high charge. If you keep an eye on the SOC you can use that to your advantage.