Tested: Slippery Mode is best for highest MPG (in Hybrid Maverick)

[Impetus19]

This is the kind of nerding out the Prius community does and I love it.

My 2014 Prius V did not have a slippery mode BUT you were able to coast by pressing the accelerator a tiny amount. No regen or motor drive, 100% coasting. Was easiest to achieve while in eco mode due to the softer ramp of the drive by wire.

I wonder if the same is possible with the Mav. It’s easy to tell what’s going on using the info screen.

That said I do look forward to just putting the Mav in slippery mode.

Take some tips from the video below. It’s 13 years old but most if not all of the techniques are still valid. Pulse and Glide plus other tips like braking

You can also just flip the prius into neutral to remove any regen.

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[GPSMan]

Also a couple (maybe more than a couple) parameters need to be met to enter electric only mode:

1) battery must be above 30% always, above 40% sometimes. The sometimes comes in if you hit 29.9% or below you must charge to 40% minimum. If you START charging at 30% + you can drop back into EV while still in the 30's.

1A) Therefore, there are cases it is advantageous to purposefully tap the engine back on (quick tap of go pedal) before it kicks itself on. It will kick itself on at 29.9%. Cases include times you do not need or want a mandatory 10% charge with gas. Nearing the crest of a hill comes to mind. Or if you are 2 blocks from home.

2) Water coolant temperature must be at least 122 deg F. This happens in about 2 minutes of engine run when ambient is in the 60's or more. The colder ambient is, this will take longer. In sub-zero a plug-in engine block heater is going to help a lot. If you find a 150 - 200 watt unit, just plug in and leave it plugged in all night. If you have a 400 watt heater, put it on a timer. You only need 3 hours of plug time in a garage with no wind. Outdoors with wind; leave it plugged in all night.

3) Catalyst temperature. There was a minimum for this on the older generations. I'm still looking for the limit, if any, for the Mav. Catalyst will always heat up quicker than the coolant water. But, in cold air, will cool off quicker than the water.

3A) Therefore water temperature will probably limit access to EV in warmer climate. Catalyst temperature might limit access to EV in cold climate. I will not have cold enough weather to test cold SOP. Someone else can help with that.

Is there a way to keep the truck permanently in Eco mode? I noticed that every time I restart the engine, it goes back to Normal mode. It's a hassle having to switch mode every time.

not built-in

but you can buy or build an aftermarket chip/controller that basically does the button presses for you - it's in one of the threads here

 

[sprubs]

Also a couple (maybe more than a couple) parameters need to be met to enter electric only mode:

1) battery must be above 30% always, above 40% sometimes. The sometimes comes in if you hit 29.9% or below you must charge to 40% minimum. If you START charging at 30% + you can drop back into EV while still in the 30's.

1A) Therefore, there are cases it is advantageous to purposefully tap the engine back on (quick tap of go pedal) before it kicks itself on. It will kick itself on at 29.9%. Cases include times you do not need or want a mandatory 10% charge with gas. Nearing the crest of a hill comes to mind. Or if you are 2 blocks from home.

2) Water coolant temperature must be at least 122 deg F. This happens in about 2 minutes of engine run when ambient is in the 60's or more. The colder ambient is, this will take longer. In sub-zero a plug-in engine block heater is going to help a lot. If you find a 150 - 200 watt unit, just plug in and leave it plugged in all night. If you have a 400 watt heater, put it on a timer. You only need 3 hours of plug time in a garage with no wind. Outdoors with wind; leave it plugged in all night.

3) Catalyst temperature. There was a minimum for this on the older generations. I'm still looking for the limit, if any, for the Mav. Catalyst will always heat up quicker than the coolant water. But, in cold air, will cool off quicker than the water.

3A) Therefore water temperature will probably limit access to EV in warmer climate. Catalyst temperature might limit access to EV in cold climate. I will not have cold enough weather to test cold SOP. Someone else can help with that.

not built-in

but you can buy or build an aftermarket chip/controller that basically does the button presses for you - it's in one of the threads here

this is an impressive amount of effort to save a little gas. as a cheap bastard I applaud you but I know full well I could never keep this up.

also, given how everyone seems to want "sticky" settings on the drive mode over power cycles it would seem that would be a pretty simple software update for Ford to release.

 

[Bmr4mav]

You can also just flip the prius into neutral to remove any regen.

I'd never flip a moving vehicle to neutral that has an electronic connection from the selector to the trans. Old school mechanical linkage sure, that's similar to driving a manual.

this is an impressive amount of effort to save a little gas. as a cheap bastard I applaud you but I know full well I could never keep this up.

also, given how everyone seems to want "sticky" settings on the drive mode over power cycles it would seem that would be a pretty simple software update for Ford to release.

What do you mean? The driver doesn't do anything in that list. That's all automatically controlled.

 

[sprubs]

I'd never flip a moving vehicle to neutral that has an electronic connection from the selector to the trans. Old school mechanical linkage sure, that's similar to driving a manual.



What do you mean? The driver doesn't do anything in that list. That's all automatically controlled.

in #2 it seemed like a lot of thought was going into making sure to tap the gas under certain conditions, how far you are from home, the crest of a hill, etc. perhaps monitoring the battery levels and upcoming road conditions would become second nature for me. it just seemed like he was trying to game the system a little there through his own inputs into it. again, I'm not against doing this kind of thing but I also know myself

 

[GPSMan]

I'd never flip a moving vehicle to neutral that has an electronic connection from the selector to the trans. Old school mechanical linkage sure, that's similar to driving a manual.

Dear Sir,

You have that Bass Ackwards.
Shift around all you want with an electronic "shifter" and I put "shifter" in quotes because you are not "shifting" anything mechanical. It is just a computer input like a keyboard or mouse.
You can shift to R while moving in drive. You can shift to D while moving in reverse. The computer won't do anything unsafe. Shift to N all you want and as often as you like. N is just another "mode" like slippery or normal or tow. Literally it is.
N is just a "pretend" neutral. N is a mode that literally says "make no regen, put no power to the wheels".

In a car with mechanical linkages you can make a mistake, grind gears, and really mess stuff up. Miss the "detent" for where neutral is, and accidentally go to R while moving forward and you risk real damage. In drive by wire, this won't happen.
(If you don't believe me there are videos online to corroborate this. I myself in the Escape hybrid shifting to R while driving at 50 mph to prove it. Absolutely nothing happens. The computer system ignores an unsafe human input.)

 

[sprubs]

Dear Sir,

You have that Bass Ackwards.
Shift around all you want with an electronic "shifter" and I put "shifter" in quotes because you are not "shifting" anything mechanical. It is just a computer input like a keyboard or mouse.
You can shift to R while moving in drive. You can shift to D while moving in reverse. The computer won't do anything unsafe. Shift to N all you want and as often as you like. N is just another "mode" like slippery or normal or tow. Literally it is.
N is just a "pretend" neutral. N is a mode that literally says "make no regen, put no power to the wheels".

In a car with mechanical linkages you can make a mistake, grind gears, and really mess stuff up. Miss the "detent" for where neutral is, and accidentally go to R while moving forward and you risk real damage. In drive by wire, this won't happen.
(If you don't believe me there are videos online to corroborate this. I myself in the Escape hybrid shifting to R while driving at 50 mph to prove it. Absolutely nothing happens. The computer system ignores an unsafe human input.)

are you saying when you "shift" into neutral that nothing mechanically disengages? I get that the control isn't directly connected but if you put it into neutral and step on the gas I assume the engine would rev but you wouldn't accelerate. I think that would be the real risk here.

I agree that otherwise the computer will probably stop you from actually doing something imminently dangerous like shifting into reverse when you are traveling down the highway.

 

[MakinDoForNow]

this is an impressive amount of effort to save a little gas. as a cheap bastard I applaud you but I know full well I could never keep this up.

also, given how everyone seems to want "sticky" settings on the drive mode over power cycles it would seem that would be a pretty simple software update for Ford to release.

I suspect that ifFord I did so epa would require mileage certification mileage in ALL startup possibilities. Just what I need maybe 12 epa mileage ratings in window sticker!

 

[Bmr4mav]

are you saying when you "shift" into neutral that nothing mechanically disengages? I get that the control isn't directly connected but if you put it into neutral and step on the gas I assume the engine would rev but you wouldn't accelerate. I think that would be the real risk here.

I agree that otherwise the computer will probably stop you from actually doing something imminently dangerous like shifting into reverse when you are traveling down the highway.

No revving a Prius in neutral.

 

[sprubs]

No revving a Prius in neutral.

but you also can't accelerate, right?

 

[Bmr4mav]

but you also can't accelerate, right?

Can't do anything which means you can't get out of the way if you needed to.

 

[sprubs]

Can't do anything which means you can't get out of the way if you needed to.

okay, yeah. ultimately the same outcome so it's a safety issue. I think we are agreeing on that part

 

[Bmr4mav]

okay, yeah. ultimately the same outcome so it's a safety issue.

What do you mean? If the vehicle was left in drive than you can make the vehicle accelerate if needed. Very different which is why I choose to softly press the gas to coast instead of shifting to neutral.

 

[sprubs]

What do you mean? If the vehicle was left in drive than you can make the vehicle accelerate if needed. Very different which is why I choose to softly press the gas to coast instead of shifting to neutral.

I think you are mixing me up with the other guy who was disagreeing with you. I agree it's not a good idea to go into neutral while you are moving for exactly the reason you state. I can't agree with you any more than this

 

[Bmr4mav]

I think you are mixing me up with the other guy who was disagreeing with you. I agree it's not a good idea to go into neutral while you are moving for exactly the reason you state. I can't agree with you any more than this

You are 100% correct. Sorry about that.

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