Learned Something NEW about my Prius

Maybe the gen 2 had just parked, say 10 minutes back? That's about the one time our 3rd gen will do it, and the one time it's kinda pointless.

 

not here - but japan offered an ev button - even on Gen II over there. Some of us imported the button and installed it ourselves. That's what put the EV bug in so many of us Pri owners way back then, to get more EV range.
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Oh yeah, I forgot that. So maybe being sort of a a hack it worked under most any circumstances?

 

Yep - i should say except goosing the gas too hard. There wasn't enough power to run EV with great acceleration so you have to go easy on how much power you try to use.
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Come to think of it, EV will work if the ambient temperature is warm enough.

 

Just reversed out at start up, then shifted to Neutral. Ominous "countdown" beeping stopped, and even with protracted wait, no engine start up. Definitely worthwhile, as long as you've got downslope driveway.

 

Thanks for being the guinea pig Mendel! I am currently in Dublin Ireland so I won't be able to try it until I get home. My driveway does slope downward a bit from the garage so it should work.

 

It was a grandkid pick up emergency.

 

Hope all is well!

 

Now if someone has a way to get the car back in the garage without starting the engine, i’m All ears

 

You have 15 seconds!

 

Or get a running start and shift to neutral.

 

A la Mendel Flintstone?

 

LOL!

 

Interesting visual.

Maybe he’ll placate us and change his avatar.

 

I remember the days of only 15 seconds worth of power ev, then putting it in neutral. Then you coast to a stop & turn ignition off & do it again until the traction pack is too low.
Yes, it was kind of Flintstonian, looking back.

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Here's my speculative opinion.
First of all, keep in mind you own a Hybrid, not a full EV vehicle, despite of the button.

Since you are operating a Hybrid, Toyota designers/engineers are designing for the greatest efficiency, for any type of usage it may be asked to perform, whether that is moving "feet" in your driveway OR heading out on a 180 mile road trip.
The standard Prius, in full operation is most efficient once the engine has been warmed up. This includes emissions, also keep in mind original Prius design was based around that benefit, as much as great gas mileage.

So I believe it's by design, that the engine turns on. Because the Prius is designed for the repeated possibility and likelihood that most often it's going to NEED the engine, and need the engine to be warmed up ASAP.
If you have to pick a operations design baseline, it has to be for full usage, they really can't design for those few times you may only want to move the vehicle a few feet.

The scenario the OP is frustrated about? Well it never bothered me. I guess I never expected that level of efficiency "perfection", and if I was moving the vehicle only a few feet? The gasoline burned was just not something I was going to focus on. As much as some standard Prius owners may not want to admit, the vehicle they own operates on a battery, electric motors AND an Internal Combustion Engine that does burn gasoline.

To me? I liked to enjoy and focus on the many more numerous times the HSD design was amazingly efficient. That was in traffic jams, when I could inch along for long stretches NOT burning gas. That was in drive thru's, when I could pull around without burning a drop of gas. And that was also with full operation, when the Prius would return those comparatively amazing gas mileage numbers.

And all those scenarios depend on a few factors, but one of them? Is that the engine is warmed up. And the only way the engine is really going to warm up, to charge the battery, provide cleaner emissions, and use the battery and electric motors, IS if the engine runs, which maybe unfortunately means, occasionally the engine is going to run, when "we" personally know we don't need it, and would rather it not.

That always seemed to me like a small price to pay, for all the efficiency the Prius did offer, in so many other driving scenarios.

 

The one problem with that few seconds of cold engine start up: there seems to be a corellation between that and a subsequent violent shake at start up. The one time I've had that, I'd done a few seconds of cold engine run the day before, so I'm a believer.

(Why do I hear "The Monkees"...)

 

Because of the above post happening with my also Prius I learned that if I turn the heater off, I can back out my garage, turn the lights off, feed the cats and close the garage door all before the engine will start.

Now that I have this irritating rattle at idle (like a loose heat shield) I can start driving normally without hearing any rattle.

Note: Rattle noise is only at idle with a cold engine, once I start driving, the noise stops. So it's temperature related.