To EV or Not to EV. That is the question

Beware of the imperial gallon!

 

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I see on the stock EV button but do not see the wire harness were did you find that. Also will we still need the EV part from Coastal or does this do the same thing?

Rowan

 

The EV switch and wire harness don't acutally come with wires. They come with the switch and the connector piece that the wires go into at the back of the switch. All wires and clips are provided by your favorite Radio Shack dealer.

You wont need Coastals switch. The install instructions can be found HERE under the Knowledge Base/Other Articles

I have not installed mine yet. I am waiting for other items that I will install at one time.

 

I see that no one has ever had their warranty voided because of an EV switch, BUT has anyone had a battery/electrical problem that was a warranty issue that also HAD an EV switch installed?
I mean say you got in for a non battery/electrical issue and maybe the tech saw the mod, but didn't give a crap because it could not be the cause of the issue. And that is why they have been overlooked and/or not implicated.

Just a thought

 

It's just not worth the trouble. I used it 2 or 3 times to demo to friends and not once again in the last 6 months.

 

I have to say it is very much worth the trouble. I use mine alot. Coming into a parking lot where I know I'll be under 20 MPH, I just cruise in EV mode.

Coming home from work at the end of my commute, I turn on EV mode for my sidestreet that is 20 MPH tops, usually much less.

And moving the car form here to there (out of garage, to the other side of street, etc.) is very cool to NOT have the gas engine fire up.

No hassles here, but I also did the headlight flasher cheapo version. I'd kinda like the EV light to illuminate and all but I'm totally happy with this version.

MPG gain? No, none. Or not enough to make a big difference. But, then again, it isn't ALL about MPG. Sometimes the cool factor, the zen that is Prius driving overrules the pocketbook savings or MPG gains.

My smiles per hour certainly increases when in EV mode (remember those ads from pre-owned Toyotas!) And that alone has a direct and positive benefit, for both me and the people I interact with, IMHO.

 

Has anybody tried just attaching an EV button next to the SKS enable/disable button? Maybe with even a duplicate original toyota SKS button?

Of course it's harder to reach, but looks easier to get a thread a wire there and to attach a new switch.

 

I thought of that, but as you said, it's harder to reach so I discounted that.

 

I'm really curious why the button is not in the US Prius.
The programming is there and the unused pin receptable is open.
Just an invitation to add the EV option.
It would have been an easy matter to by-pass that area of code, so the button would not work if added or fill the pin receptable with a dummy, un-removable plug.
Be interesting to hear Toyota's answer on this.
As far as the warranty, is the battery warranty different where the button is standard?

I use the EV button whenever I start the car, to prevent the ICE from starting.
As soon as I'm on a straight road, or the SOC is at 4 bars, I step on the accelerator to let the ICE kick in.