Archives

We are on vacation in Florida, and I got lucky and got a hold of a Prius for the week.

I rented from Alamo. On line they said they did not have a Prius, and the clerk at the counter said they did not have any. They sent me out the parking lot and said I could take anything in row 2 (full size cars – free upgrade). But what is this in row 3(mid size cars)!!! 2 Prius’s. ran back to the guy in the lot and said can I get one of those. He looked surprised as he said sure but it’s not any cheaper. The person checking me out of the lot also looked at me funny when I took a mid size when I could have had a full size.

Grabbed a White Prius. :D

I am loving this car. Even has more power than my Vibe.
We have about 50-60 miles on it so far. Last time I looked the mileage it was about 45mpg.

I am embarrassed to say it took me about 10 minutes to figure out how to get it started. Only other Prius I have seen had a key that just had to be in the car with you, then just press start. With this car I have to stick the whole remote / key-fob into a slot on the dash.

No owners manual so we used my cell phone to Google info about the “B” on the shifter.
Ok so that “B” mode uses more (lot more) regenerative braking. I am thinking I should actually forget about using that mode as it makes it difficult to glide.
Am I right? Stay away from the B.

Tomorrow hoping for a leisurely drive from Orlando to Key Largo.
Trafic around Orlando has not been good.

Allen, I'm sending you my phone number via PM. I'll talk you through some stuff. :)

You are going to have a ton of fun in that vehicle!! :D

Hi Allen:

___Not only were you lucky, you are going to have more fun driving the Prius than you are probably going to have on vacation. I am saying that meaning in 10-years, I bet someone will ask about the vacation and the first thing that comes to mind will be “I drove Prius” :D

___Stay away from B. Learn to glide off the energy screen (no arrows). Since you are probably not SG-II equipped, when you know its warmed up, stop fully somewhere until the ICE shuts down and you know you are in a solid S4.

___Around town, gently P&G. During any acceleration, do not allow Loop currents by avoiding the small MGSet mimic to show power to the wheels on the energy screen. Only engine to the wheels and engine through the MGSet back to the pack and you will find it golden :)

___Good Luck and enjoy your week long vacation in the warm weather!

___Wayne

I always told my customers that until they were ready for advanced techniques to stay away from "B" unless they were descending a mountain pass and needed to slow down.

This sounds like similar luck to what I encountered in Florida in the spring. The desk agent tried to upsell us to a Prius. Declined, despite several discounts. Select any car in the Compact corral, she said.

What car was most squarely under the Compact sign? A Prius. 49.9 mpg over two weeks, before discovering CleanMPG.

====

"B" is for descents from mountains. Being barely above sea level, Florida has none.

I've also learned to never accept an offered car rental upgrade, as half the time inventory limitations mean that I'll be getting it for free anyway. But too often the only meaningful 'upgrade' is the fuel consumption.

"do not allow Loop currents by avoiding the small MGSet mimic to show"
-MGSset?

"solid S4"
-S4? looking around i found a referance to 5 stages. but could not find any info on what they are. only had a short time as the family is getting ready to go.

"do not allow Loop currents by avoiding the small MGSet mimic to show"
-MGSset?

"solid S4"
-S4? looking around i found a referance to 5 stages. but could not find any info on what they are. only had a short time as the family is getting ready to go.

See my 5 stages of prius operation spreadsheet at priuschat's knowledgebase. This is the URL: http://priuschat.com/forums/knowledge-base-articles-discussion/43356-prius-stages-operation-operating-mode-availability-reference-aid.html

For some reason, the pdf I posted wouldn't open today. I can email the thing to you if needed. Anyway, the 5th stage is stage 4 (go figure), and to get there you need a coolant temp >= 163.4F followed by a 5 to 10 second stop in which the ICE shuts itself off. All of its tricks are then available to you.

MGset refers to the 2 Motor-Generators that coordinate with the ICE to propel the car.

I think what he's saying is accelerate less agressively than the point at which you see arrows from the battery going to the wheels. Best mileage comes from avoiding such draws on the pack.

Hi Allen:

___Hobit posted this a few years back and we hae done posts on it for what seems like forever...

http://www.techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/cars/five-stages.txt

___Th eonly thing I can add is I have seen S4 as low as 157 in both the Prius-I and -II but w/out a ScanGauge-II, you will have to figure it out by drivetime before you perform the idle check.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

___Th eonly thing I can add is I have seen S4 as low as 157 in both the Prius-I and -II but w/out a ScanGauge-II, you will have to figure it out by drivetime before you perform the idle check.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Allen,

Given you are in Florida for the week, I'd idle check after maybe 2-3 minutes. 3 minutes for Orlando, 2 for Miami. :)

talked to Sean about 30min ago,
I am coaching my daughter with Sean's tips.
We have already gone from ~48MPG to ~52MPG

Woo Hoo!!

Hi Abcd...,

Remember to push down on the brake pedal when you push start. If you don't, the car will go into an accessory mode. Then pressing the start button again it goes not another more featured accesory mode. Then pressing the button again it will turn off. And only then can you apply your foot to the gas pedal, and pushing start get the car to come up in "Ready", which enables power to the wheels based on your transmission selection.

Hi Abcd...,

Remember to push down on the brake pedal when you push start. If you don't, the car will go into an accessory mode. Then pressing the start button again it goes not another more featured accesory mode. Then pressing the button again it will turn off. And only then can you apply your foot to the gas pedal, and pushing start get the car to come up in "Ready", which enables power to the wheels based on your transmission selection.

LOL...... Thank you!
That explains my issues startinq it sometimes. :)

Hi Allen:

___Read the following as it should help :)

Pulse and Glide_plus Warp Stealth in the Prius II for maximum_FE… (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1224)

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Love the info guys!
It's really helping a lot.

Is this super highway mode?
on the freeway, ice is worm, energy screen shows only ice in use. Then We start backing off the gas until the energy screen shows a flicker of electric power to the wheels.

gas only we are getting 50-60mph @ 55-66mph

once we get the electric to flicker to the wheels we can hold 60-72+mpg @ 50-66mph

so is that flicker super highway mode?

yesterday 45+mpg city
todays trips
1. me- ~48mpg highway
2. daughter- with a few tips ~54mpg highway
3. me- after watching my daughter & voice mail tips from Sean ~59mpg highway.

Hi Allen:

___Without a ScanGauge-II to watch IGN and TPS, the high SoC Energy Screen flicker is a clear sign you are in the "zone" while on the highway :D

___When you get good at P&G’ing the Prius, your around town numbers are going to scream upwards too!

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Lucky guy, I'm always wanting one.

I'm always trying to convince me that I don't need a prius despite I can't reach its FE with my cars by now.

Enjoy your hybrid trip,

Denis.