Cold Weather Tips
Created January 1, 2008, at 9:51 pm by lkozark
Just wondering if anyone had any tips for cold weather driving. I consistantly get 30-32 mpg except when the weather turns cold. Now I'm getting 24-27 mpg.
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4 years ago
You might want to consider some of these:
1. Dress warm and avoid using the heater as much as possible. If you turn the climate control to OFF, no coolant will circulate in EV which will prevent some cooling of the engine. The electric heater coolant pump will run in EV when the climate control is in any position but OFF.
2. Use the warm-up strategy Ford patent and used in the FEH/MMH wisely. This means slowly accelerate from a start-up and let the electric motors provide the torque to the wheels. The strategy controls the idle of the engine and retards the timing to heat the engine and CAT quicker.
3. End your drive with a low HV battery state of charge (SOC) so your charging the battery after the warm-up strategy ends. Watch the Charge/Discharge needle to see when the Discharge needle moves to the Charge side to notice the end of the warm-up strategy. The warm-up strategy will end if you accelerate to fast or the Battery SoC falls below ~33%. Normal operating range for the HV battery is 40-60%, but the warm-up strategy allows the battery to go down to ~32%.
4. Get a Scangauge II and program SoC and other gauges available at the Scangauge.com site. Monitor coolant temperature and and other gauges that will improve your mileage. I have two SGII gauges mounted in my FEH to monitor.
5. Install a engine block heater if one didn't come with your vehicle. Plug the heater in 3 hours before a cold start to heat the engine and HV battery. It doesn't have to be freezing to take advantage of the block heater.
6. Consider a radiator block in cold weather. This will allow your engine to retain heat and increase mileage in cold weather.
7. Use the same 87 octane fuel all the time. If you mix 10% ethanol with straight 87 octane, you mileage will drop because the computer has to relearn long term air/fuel ratio maps. This causes a 5mpg drop in my mileage.
8. Keep that tire pressure at least 44psi which is sidewall max in the stock tires. I keep 50psi in my stock tires.
9. Face-out and get moving as soon as you turn the key. No idle warm-up is needed because of the warm-up strategy.
10. Use EV as soon as possible. It might take shifting to neutral and lightly tapping the brake pedal to go EV in cold and real hot weather.
GaryG
4 years ago
Thanks for the suggestions. I have found that leaving the heater does allow me to go EV sooner. :)
4 years ago
I would agree with GaryG statements except for tire pressure. If you are turely in the snow country, you need winter tires--not the stock Conti Eco-Plus tires. I have the Goodyear Triple Tread tires with the 60,000 mile warranty. Try using something like 38-39PSI for these tires due to winter conditions dictating a difference in tread design and purpose.
3 years ago
I live in upstate NY and it gets COLD here in the winter! Took delivery on my 08 FEH w/nav package (energy flow display included) in Sept. Mileage averaged 30 in normal driving without much change in driving habits. Now that the weather is consistently in the low to mid teens (and E10 has reared its ugly and oh so expensive head here in the North Country) my mileage is about 27....not bad for two fundamental changes (weather and fuel) that should get a predictable 10% decrease in mpg. I've been much more cognizant of my techniques and have followed some of GaryG's advice. My friend's Prius went from >45mpg to around 32 this winter so I'm feeling pretty smug about my FEH!
3 years ago
Glad I could help Randy and you may find some of those techniques become good driving habits that save money in the long run. One very important key to good mileage is keep the RPM's as low as possible. Both the stock RPM's and speed gauges show higher than the Scangauge II on my '05 FWD FEH. On the SGII, I try to keep the RPM's between 1,500 and 1,800rpm's with only a very quick burst for speed when I have to.
I love the Prius and want to get my wife one ASAP. Some hypermilers I know have got 120mpg out of them but most people have a hard time averaging the upper 40's on a tank. I parked next to a guy at BJ's a while back and he ask me what kind of mileage I got. I had almost 600 miles on the tank and my average MPG was over 47mpg on my tank SGII. He didn't know me from Adam so I knew just telling him wasn't going to convince him. So I turn the key to the on position to let him just take a look at the Navi and my SGII. You should have seen his face. He said I was averaging a little better than him with his Prius. Poor guy, I think I ruined his day at that moment. I had to add a little insult to his injury by stating my best 20 mile round trip was 70.3mpg. I don't think the guy knew about hypermiling or that some Prius owners average over 60mpg tanks.
3 years ago
thanks for sharing, i really appreciate your tips..
3 years ago
Welcome to Hybridcars.com crazy racer! It's always nice to be appreciated, so thank you. Just curious, what does ofc staff stand for?
3 years ago
This is off the topic but Toyota is rumored to be brining out a new design for the Prius for 2009. I even read a "car line" with the Prius name. Then there is plug in Prius that will eventually be available. Rumor has it Toyota using two normal hybrid battery packs for the plug in version.
3 years ago
ofc staff is my job, you know, assisting all your superior or boss in the office....
3 years ago
Hi Billy
It is my understanding that Toyota has dropped the idea of the two regular Prius batteries and is going for one lithium ion battery now. EV speed will increase to 62mph, but Toyota is talking about only selling these units to Governments and Fleet purchases only at first. This means you and I may have to wait a few years (2012?) before they're available. The good news is Toyota may sell the regular Prius with a design that can be upgraded easy with the more costly lithium plug-in battery at a later date. I think Toyota is going to offer this upgrade to compete with after-market plug-in companies and sell the new panasonic lithium batteries Toyota is part owners with. All this will help drive the cost of the lithium batteries they make down. Hopefully Toyota will have the possible upgrade design before I buy one for my wife.
GaryG
3 years ago
Gary, I'm going to wait for the plug in Escape Hybrid to appear on the market. My 2005 warranty (extended) runs thru JUne 2012.
As for the dual hybrid battery setup in the Toyota, that is what I had been reading as they haven't solved the lithium ion battery issues yet. I also read, they may use a one larger hybrid battery as a partial solution until the lithium ion battery arrives.
3 years ago
Hi Billy
Did you read this?
"By MICHELINE MAYNARD
Published: January 14, 2008
The chief executive of the Toyota Motor Corporation said Monday that he is pushing his company’s engineers to develop a plug-in hybrid-electric vehicle with a lithium-ion battery before 2010, raising the stakes in a race with General Motors.
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The comments by Katsuaki Watanabe came at a briefing here on the sidelines of the Detroit auto show, which opened to the press on Sunday.
Mr. Watanabe said he welcomed a competition with G.M., which plans to introduce its own lithium-ion hybrid, the Chevrolet Volt, around 2010.
He said the contest would help reduce the “negative aspects” of automobiles, and ultimately help the environment.
“To compete against each other” in such a battle “is something to be congratulated,” Mr. Watanabe said through an interpreter. “We don’t want to be the loser in that competition, of course.”
On Sunday night, Toyota, the world’s largest producer of hybrid-electric vehicles, announced it would produce a plug-in hybrid vehicle equipped with a lithium-ion battery by 2010, for sale first to big commercial customers like corporations and government fleets.
Toyota’s best-selling hybrid, the Prius, runs on nickel-metal hydride batteries. Lithium-ion batteries, like those used to power digital cameras and other small electronic devices, can potentially hold a longer charge than nickel-metal hydride versions, but they are also more expensive.
The Volt is set to run on lithium-ion batteries. Last fall, G.M. announced that it would build the Volt in its assembly plant in Detroit in 2010, although executives have said production might start after that.
On Monday, Mr. Watanabe said he was urging Toyota engineers to have the vehicle ready before that target, even though he acknowledged it would take Toyota “a year or two” to conduct vehicle tests and assess the results.
“Yesterday, I said by 2010 we will introduce plug-ins, but before that is my desire,” Mr. Watanabe said.
Plug-in hybrids differ from the current hybrid vehicles in that they can be recharged externally, from an ordinary power outlet. In a conventional hybrid, the battery is recharged from power generated by its wheels.
Toyota and Panasonic have a joint venture in Japan, called Panasonic Electric Vehicle Energy, that produces batteries for the Prius. Toyota said Sunday that the venture, 60 percent owned by Toyota and 40 percent by Panasonic, would add a separate line at its assembly plant to produce lithium-ion batteries.
Toyota also said Sunday it planned to develop a new hybrid-electric car specifically for its Lexus division as well as another new hybrid for the Toyota brand. It said it would unveil both at the 2009 Detroit show.
Mr. Watanabe said Monday that the new hybrid car would be larger than the current Prius. The Lexus version will be the first hybrid car developed specifically for the luxury division, which offers a hybrid engine as an option on several models, including the RX crossover vehicle and the LS luxury sedan.
Mr. Watanabe also said Toyota planned to offer diesel engines for its Tundra pickup truck and the Sequoia sport utility vehicle “in the near future,” but was not more specific.
Some environmental groups have pushed for plug-in hybrids, called PHEVs, or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, as a way to save on gasoline, thus curbing emissions.
But some experts say plug-ins may not be the ultimate answer to cutting pollution, if the electricity used to charge them comes from coal-fired power plants.
That is also a concern to Toyota, which has asked researchers to determine not only whether consumers would be willing to pay for a plug-in, but also the effect it would have on the environment, James Lentz, the president of Toyota Motor Sales, said in an interview Sunday.
Nonetheless, G.M., Toyota and Ford Motor, the world’s three biggest car companies, all are developing plug-in hybrid vehicles. Along with the Volt, G.M. has said it plans to produce a plug-in version of its Saturn Vue hybrid. Ford has not yet given details of its plug-in hybrid, which it first discussed in 2006.
Indeed, Toyota executives initially questioned the practicality of plug-in hybrids, saying consumers preferred the convenience of hybrids that did not have to be recharged. Toyota has sold more than one million hybrids worldwide, including more than 800,000 Prius cars."
3 years ago
Thanks for more information on plug in hybrids. That will be my next vehicle--assuming the price point is adequate.
2 years ago
To Gary or whomever,
How do you see EVs evolving in the next 5 or 10 years from now and will all this quick-start business be a a thing of the past, etc.
Are we not still in the infant stage of EVs?
2 years ago
Hi Bob
I'm not sure the electrical grids can handle pure EV's any time soon for any large percentage of population. I personally think having a choice of a plug-in hybrid with a gas or diesel engine would be a ideal choice right now. I just don't think giving the power companies total control of our lives is a good idea. I'm happy we are reducing Big Oil's control by having a choice of the present hybrid market and the plug-in future. In fact, I'm looking into a combination solar and wind alternative for my home. Here again, a back-up system to the grid with two electrical supplies for night and day. I like the idea of my electric meter running in reverse and getting a tax credit for my investment.
Also, I'm ready today with switching over to a plug-in hybrid and doubling the rated mileage with hypermiling techniques. These techniques not only save gas but also saves battery charging. Pulse and Gliding in neutral with the engine Off in EV is one of the best technique for saving gas and battery SoC. Right now in my FEH, I'm saving gas only because that's the only thing that can charge the battery. My wife drives a FEH also so if we had two or three (my Son) pure EV vehicles to charge at night every day, I could see we would be at the mercy of the electric company real fast. Maybe one pure EV vehicle in the family with a solar and wind supplements to the grid might work out for short trips. With a plug-in Hybrid you don't need the grid because you can charge the battery with with gas or diesel anytime. The hybrid can go on extended trips without plug-in requirements. EV vehicles will take time and money to charge the battery no matter what so they have that limitation. I guess what I'm trying to say is I would not be in the market for a pure EV vehicle myself, even if I could purchase one now.
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