ICE on or off in traffic?

Some of us, myself included pay extortionate power bills to get out home temperature up to 20°C or higher for half the year of longer. 24°C in summer would be quite a hot day for us back in Blighty. Personally, I have to drive up a steep driveway to the road which is almost at top of a steep hill, so EV from 'go' is unlikely for me while the ambient air temperature is low.

You don't say your battery SOC when this happens, but it's unlikely the battery is overheating. There is a reliable safety system to prevent that. Is it normal? I don't know, but it may be and there are many others in your climate who will come in and advise you.

 

To get EV from cold, make sure heater and/or AC is off, press the EV button within 10 seconds of the "READY" light coming on and keep the acceleration low (so no good up a hill). I only do this if I want to briefly do something in the car which requires me to be in ready mode, or to move it on the driveway, the rest of the time I let the car decide what mode it's in.
I never use PWR or ECO either (I tried them just to see if they work), I don't see the point of dulling the pedal in ECO or making the pedal twitchy in PWR mode, I'm quite capable of controlling the amount of acceleration I need with the pedal in its more linear normal mode.

 

You must meet other conditions which are mentioned in the manual too. If the vehicle has sat for a while and temperature is below 68F (20C) you cannot use place it in EV mode. I found that out the other day. I tried it after watching a Gen 2 Prius leave in EV mode.

 

Yes, I forgot about that one, I find it's usually when the car has been standing for more than a day, it didn't happen when I used to use the car everyday, shutting it down at 5:30 pm then starting it up at 8:15 am next day.

 

I got to work at 7:30 AM & left just after 4:30 PM when I had the issue.

 

Is that sub-arctic Virginia you live, then?

 

Just tried it on mine a couple of hours ago (6:00pm), last used yesterday, parked up at 11.30am, stood for just over 30 hours, ambient temperature is 9 deg C, 3 bars on HV battery, climate off (but heated seat left on from yesterday), pressed EV button as soon as Ready came on and it went into forced EV and ICE stayed off, no problem.

 

Difference between US & UK or 2016 vs 2017 or both? I quoted from the US manual after my Gen 4 told me it could not do what I just watched a Gen 2 Prius do.

 

Possibly, I know with the early Gen 3 UK versions could and US couldn't so maybe its the same with the Gen 4.

 

In the information screen on the right side of the two, scroll down from your EV monitor to see the EV percentage you've been driving on the current trip. I find this to be an effective way to see how my overall driving was for short trips. It's just another tool to help. Instead of checking everything as you drive, check just before you shut down.

 

Thanks, Michelle.
That is different than hitting the EV Mode button. That is what I was referring to.

 

Maybe U.S. degrees are different than British degrees?

 

You mean 68F vs 20 C ? That is why I stated it both ways.