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I got a PIP!!

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by Jordanhiggins2002, Feb 18, 2019.

  1. Jordanhiggins2002

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    So I just bought a 2012 with 100k and it was very hard to find one with radar cruise control. Lots had leather something else I wanted but the radar or adaptive was tough to find.

    My only question is my home is 2 miles away from the freeway all down hill to the freeway where I go 70+ mph. Shouldn’t I do something to warm up the engine before the freeway. The ice will definitely not turn on when I leave my house unless I make it turn on. It’s seriiusly all down him for about 2 miles.

    What to do?
     
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    No need to warm up, the car is designed to just kick in when the ice is needed

    You'll be less excited about the DRCC once you use it for a bit. In Socal, there's really no freeway to use it as most of our roads are gridlocked mornings and evenings
     
  3. gallde

    gallde Active Member

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    Well, actually... If you are fully charged and then go downhill, the ICE WILL "start", but only to spill power so the regen doesn't over-charge the battery. Happens to me quite often. But to answer your Q, just press the "HV/EV" button on the console to leave EV mode and the ICE will start. The PIP is designed to "preserve" the current battery charge for later when in HV mode.
     
  4. Data Daedalus

    Data Daedalus Senior Member

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    Congratulations on your new PIP.....I dream of owning a PIP someday. 1st or 2nd generation.....I’d be happy with either


    iPad ? Pro
     
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  5. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    Congratulations!! @JC91006 nailed it. The car will care for itself. The Prius is not fragile.

    Feel free to experiment, but there's no harm in just leaving it in EV when you leave home. If the hill to the freeway is so big that it needs to bleed off regenerated electricity, it will do so on its own using the engine. That will force the same warmup routine as the hatchback.

    When you get on the highway and punch it, the engine will start whether you're in EV or HV, but you'll probably get better gas mileage if you put it in HV just before or after you accelerate. (See note below.) The electric drive part of the system will help out the ICE while it's warming up. You can observe this (traffic permitting, of course) by watching your MPG bar and/or the remaining EV miles range. MPG will look crazy high for a while and EV range will drop even though you're in HV mode as the EV system loans power to the engine. Once the engine warms up, it'll repay the loan and you'll see the MPG bar look crazy low while the EV range goes back up to where it was before you switched from EV to HV. Then it will all level off.

    The old adage, "just drive it" applies to the PiP just as much as the others. But you do have more options to play with if you want to.

    (Note: You can drive in EV mode as fast as the car can go. But once you hit about 62-64 MPH in EV (lower if you're accelerating hard) the engine will run while the electric motor assists it. You'll see really nice MPG at 70 MPH in EV, but you'll also see your EV range dropping. When you put it into HV mode while in that situation, that range will be the new level that the system will center on as it uses and replaces battery energy.)

    One more thing to be aware of and it's a bit of a disappointment. Once you use up the EV range, you can no longer select the EV mode with the button. If the engine is warm, you can drive EV by judicious use of the "go pedal," but if you push the EV button, it'll beep and tell you there's no EV available. The only way to get it back is to plug it in or find a big honkin' hill to coast down.

    Enjoy! It's a fun car.
     
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    welcome to the pip club, is it base or advanced?

    do you still have your c?

    all the best!(y)
     
  7. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    He mentioned radar cruise control, so I'd guess advanced unless it can be added. Not sure about that.
     
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  8. Jordanhiggins2002

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    Thank you everyone for the replies. It was educational and I’ve been reading for a few months about the PIP.
    I came from a Camry hybrid and then a gs350 that I loved but the gas station loved me also. I was a avg 21mpg and got tired of the cost.
    Car payment plus gas a month was brutal.

    I paid a decent amount for this PIP as it’s an advanced model with Heads up display, radar cruise, and leather. I already love the radar cruise. Can’t believe my 2015 gs350 f sport didn’t have this but my new to me 2012 Prius does.
     
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  9. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Congrats!

    Yeah most people don't realise that the Prius is a pretty high tech car. Obviously the focus was on mpg and emissions but it had a lot of techy features that didn't show up in other cars until much later (like radar cruise which showed up in 2009 on the 2010 model or the Smart Key System [called SmartAccess in Lexus speak] which showed up in 2003 on the 2004 model. At that time, only the LS430 had it and also for the 2004 model year)
     
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  10. Jordanhiggins2002

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    Ya, I am shocked by the tech on a 2012 vs a 2015 f sport lexus.

    is it normal for the Prius to not free roll or coast very well? Is this due to regenerative braking? I will be inspecting the brakes probably this weekend and see if those caliper bolts are rusted and lube them up.
     
  11. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    Yes. Easy test is neutral. If not rolling free, check the caliper slide pins
     
  12. Jordanhiggins2002

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    so it doesn't free roll well? Yes or No (sorry i got confused)
    I will definitely check the neutral thing in about an hour.
     
  13. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    Yes, normal. You can see the regeneration in the display on the dash. Press the throttle pedal just a little and get it to the line between charge and the big center area and you're pretty much free wheeling then. (Some people pop it into neutral, but I'm not a fan of that practice.) This regen is calculated to approximate the feel engine braking you would get from a regular car if you take your foot off the gas.
    Screen Shot 2019-02-20 at 11.44.22 AM.png

    BTW, now that you have a PiP, you might want to update your profile info. It still says you have a Prius c. ;)
     
  14. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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  15. Jordanhiggins2002

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    Thank you, I updated my profile. I see in your picture the battery on the left is completely full. What does this mean, as yesterday i drained the ev to zero miles and the hv kicked in and the battery display popped up again completely full. is this the hv battery? confused a little
     
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  16. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    The picture in my previous post is just a snip from the Toyota brochure of a Gen 3 to show you where to look. It wasn't even a PiP, but it shows what I wanted to illustrate.

    We just have one big battery in the PiP. Once the remaining EV range gets down to about 0.6 miles the display changes to a full battery with more defined segments. This is just a zoomed in view of the bottom portion of the battery state of charge (SOC) which you're now using. This way, once the EV range is used up, you can see more clearly what the SOC is within that HV only region. If it kept showing the full battery scale, the changes would be too small to see. Hope that makes sense.
     
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  17. john1701a

    john1701a Prius Guru

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    I lived less than 1 mile from the 70+ mph with my PiP. Never bothered to warm up, since I was able to confirm just how well thought out the system really is. Toyota went out of their way to ensure the battery protected the engine. It's pretty easy to see for yourself. I captured a number of my drives.

    Watch how RPM is held low by the electric side while the engine is warming up.



    btw, if you have a downhill drive from your house that will always force some charge into the battery-pack, buy a charger that will allow you to set a lower "full" limit. JuiceBox Pro is one example, which is what I have.
     
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  18. PA Prius

    PA Prius Active Member

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    OP, how steep is that 2 mile "down hill"? If it is gradual and you aren't regenerating, then you are fine starting with the full charge. If it is hitting regen from the get-go then you may want to find another option. Depending which direction I go when I leave my house I have a very steep down hill for about 200 yards after first driving about that distance on the level. The ICE then kicks in about half-way down the steep hill because of being over-charged. So, if I am going that route I put it into N just before I think the ICE will come on and use the mechanical brakes to slow down. Oh, the problematic piece is that there is a four-way stop at the bottom of that short hill. Just imagine how much more efficient the world would be if all civil engineers were PIP drivers! No stop signs at the bottom of a hill.
     
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  19. Jordanhiggins2002

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    This Prius chat is amazing and everyone is extremely helpful. Awesome video and talk about specs. What gauge are you using?
     
  20. john1701a

    john1701a Prius Guru

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    For that particular video in the previous message, I used a generic OBD-II bluetooth reader along with the "Torque Pro" app to collect the raw data. Then I pushed that data through some software to render video... which got quite involved.

    Nowadays, it's way easier to just use the "Hybrid Assistant" app instead.