[ KB ] The Five Stages of Prius Hybrid Operation

I'd like to nominate this as a top-rated article in the Knowledge Base, but I don't see how to post a rating. Noting that no one else has rated any of the KB articles, I seem to be in good company.

 

Very much liked this quick tutorial on the stages of operation.

 

Hello all,

I agree this article is very good.

I would like to report that we, Japanese mileage freaks, found new stage called Stage-1B.

daniel wrote...
You cannot enter EV mode while in Stage 1.

However, you can enter EV mode if you have EV switch by following process when outside temperature is higher than 0C(32F) and your battery level is 6 or higher.

1. Push "START" on your vehicle.
2. Keep vehicle in "P" mode, the ICE will run for warming up after 10-15 seconds from pushing the "START" button.
3. Watch your energy screen on MFD, and you'll see a green arrow for charging.
4. After 56 seconds since starting engine, you'll see charging is now stopped.
5. Engage the EV switch and ICE stops, now you're in Stage-1B.

You should use ICE for accelerating by EV switching OFF, then you can enter EV mode for coasting and stopping at signal by EV switching ON.
It is very efficient warming up to run ICE only on accelerating until Stage-2.

Hope daniel will add this stage on the article.

Regards,
Ken@Japan

 

How easy is the install?
Can anyone post a pdf of the instructions?

 

Here's all you need to know:
http://www.priuschat.com/forums/kb.php?mod...ode=article&k=5
Difficulty...about an 8 out of 10.
I'm not sure of the .pdf instructions, but I do remember printing it all out with pics, from somewhere. I guess doing a search here on 'EV button' would surely get u the .pdf file. I absolutely love the mod, enables a nice added feature that other hybrids don't have (at least here in the US).

 

Re: Mode 1B -- neat!

Boy, I wish I had an EV switch in my car to try this out. I don't see any reason why it would be different in the US -- same software.

Can anyone with the OEM or CoastalTech EV switch confirm Ken's observations?

Thanks for contributing this, Ken!

 

Well, I can. I tried waiting for that minute and sure enough the engine shut off and I was able to use my EV button (headlite version). 'Course I was one minute late for work...yeah, why wait and not go anywhere. I LIKE the idea of going somewhere AND warming the engine for a cleaner exhaust. Call me crazy...

 

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Our experiment shows using this method is far better total mileage than without the process.

You can do it on the Stage-3, but you can't on the Stage-1A.

Regards,
Ken@Japan

 

What a great write-up...as I'm a little over a week from picking up and driving a Hybrid, it really helps to have this info on hand. I didn't pretend to know much about how this car worked, but now I understand a little better. It's things like this that make me glad I joined this forum...thanks again

Dave.

 

Stage 1B seems to work great for me, at least sometimes.

Starting up normally I generally get in summer, 25 to 40 mpg for the first 5 minutes.

Using the EV and 1B I get about the same sometimes, but other times it is higher.
Today I got 50 for my first 5 minutes, and that has never happened before!

The reason it all varies so much is I have 3 long traffic lights I may or may not have to stop for and idle at on the way to the highway.

So for me the 1 minute warm up in my driveway is more than made up for. That is preferable to idling at the lights for well over a minute often, and I'm usually not at a stage where the car wants to stop the engine.

Plus, I have considerable coasting possible I can do and no need to idle the engine there, also longer than 1 minute!

So if it works or not depends on lots of factors, but mainly terrain. I think on average I am benefitting from it.

Another factor: Couple of hills make it too much for the EV mode alone all the way.