Yaris Hybrid EV button

[Steve Whits]

My wife has had her Yaris Hybrid 6 weeks now. We’re still getting used to it (especially the gear selector compared with my Auris) but the most frustrating thing is where they’ve put the EV button under the handbrake, has anyone moved theirs and if so how and where to?

[Mick F]

It's a bit daft putting any of the buttons there.

However, I don't know what the EV button is for.  I can press it, and what??  All I usually get is a double beep.

The car does very well on EV and with practice, I can keep it there ok, but what is the EV button for?  What does it do?

Mick.

[Mike J.]

41 minutes ago, Mick F said:

The car does very well on EV and with practice, I can keep it there ok, but what is the EV button for?  What does it do?

When you can get it to work (it should always enable with high Battery, warm engine and stationary) it allows you to use more electrical power - beyond normal EV use. But it trips out if you enable cruise and if you go above something like 26 mph. It can be used to turn off the engine when at the lights, so you can go into neutral without wasting energy.

[Nick B]

The only thing I have found the EV mode useful for is to try to stop the engine starting when moving the car from the garage to the drive and back again (creeping 5m).

Even this fails for me about half the time because the Battery charge is too low. (I think it can also fail because the Battery is too hot or too cold, the coolant is too cold or the demister is on).

 

 

 

 

 

[Steve Whits]

I use EV on the Auris and Yaris when in slow moving traffic, in car parks and at any time doing less than 20mph. Battery needs to have a reasonable charge and a warm engine for it to be available. The Auris actually displays excessive speed if I go over 20 and it gets the 2 beeps when it disables it.

[Mick F]

Thanks for your answers guys.

EV driving is easy, all you need to do is be gentle on the throttle and you can get to 40mph on the flat.  I fail to see what the EV button is for and what it does above and beyond what you can do with your right foot.

At start-up, the engine starts to warm it up a few seconds after pressing the Start button.  You have no control over that.  I've never actually tried pressing the EV button immediately after getting the Ready light, but I'll see if it stops or at least delays the engine starting.Due to living in deep valley, we always get home with a full Battery - or at least nearly full.

Driving gently along the valley floor into the village with a cold engine, it will be running to warm up, but I seem to think/feel that all the engine is doing, is warming up and we're actually driving on electricity even though the EV light is off.  You can hear the electric motor and you can hear the engine doing no particular work other than warming up and charging the Battery as you go.  Put your foot down a bit, and the engine will do some work - you can feel it taking up the drive.

I'll have an experiment with the EV button straight after start-up next time out.

Mick.

[martswain]

EV button, only ever used it for the 30 feet garage-driveway-garage move.

It will sometimes work when the car is cold, if the ventilation system is OFF and not calling for heat, once you drive away the engine will start and EV will not be available until it has warmed up and the hybrid Battery has sufficient charge.

Forcing EV mode by the button actually allows the HV Battery to go below it's normal "low" level which then means the petrol engine will run longer to charge it back up after EV cuts out, adversely affecting economy.

Having experimented with 4 Toyota/Lexus hybrid cars, my conclusion is that the EV button is only of use for moving the car very short distances.

My hybrid days are over for now, enjoying having 200+ BHP in the fastest production Yaris to date !

[Mike J.]

1 hour ago, Mick F said:

EV driving is easy, all you need to do is be gentle on the throttle and you can get to 40mph on the flat.  I fail to see what the EV button is for and what it does above and beyond what you can do with your right foot.

At start-up, the engine starts to warm it up a few seconds after pressing the Start button.  

As mentioned, the EV button will allow you to use more power in electric mode. You can go beyond the midpoint of ECO display.

The engine will not start up immediately if you have the heating turned off.

[Mick F]

26 minutes ago, Mike J. said:

As mentioned, the EV button will allow you to use more power in electric mode. You can go beyond the midpoint of ECO display.

The engine will not start up immediately if you have the heating turned off.

Ok, I'll experiment, but most times I try to use the button, it refuses to stay enabled.  I'll check out the power meter.  May be a few days as we don't use the car daily at all, usually a couple or three times a week.  The delights of being retired! 

I wouldn't want the heater off, but as we use the always use Auto climate control button, maybe there are times when the heater isn't used ............... but I would think that is rare.  Maybe when the summer comes and the car is internally hot, it could be different as the aircon cooling is electric.  It's the aircon heating that comes off the engine.

I understand that parts of the SE of England had a few days of a heatwave last week.  It made it to 19degC here in the Tamar Valley for one day only.

Mick.

 

[Mike J.]

1 minute ago, Mick F said:

I wouldn't want the heater off  .....

Neither do I, but if you want EV mode from start and the temperatures are low, then the heating must be off for EV mode to even have a chance.

[Anthony Poli]

Ok, I'll experiment, but most times I try to use the button, it refuses to stay enabled.  I'll check out the power meter.  May be a few days as we don't use the car daily at all, usually a couple or three times a week.  The delights of being retired! 
I wouldn't want the heater off, but as we use the always use Auto climate control button, maybe there are times when the heater isn't used ............... but I would think that is rare.  Maybe when the summer comes and the car is internally hot, it could be different as the aircon cooling is electric.  It's the aircon heating that comes off the engine.
I understand that parts of the SE of England had a few days of a heatwave last week.  It made it to 19degC here in the Tamar Valley for one day only.
Mick.
 

It is easier to forget about the ev button under normal circumstances, it is only useful for parking or preventing the engine starting while playing with the radio or sat nav.

The car will still operate in ev mode, even at higher speeds.

Toyota have done a poor job at ensuring the dealers and their own website don’t mislead customers about ev mode. It’s only once you search the handbook, that you find out the limits and what it is useful for.




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[Mick F]

Experimentation complete.

It's useless generally, and only seems to have one thing it'll do ................ preventing the engine running when stationary.

Moving down the drive, or driving gently, or parking, or manoeuvring,  the car will happily stay in EV without the EV button being pressed, so the EV button has no use dynamically during normal driving.  As I said before, you can get up to 40mph in EV anyway.

Mick.

[Anthony Poli]

35 minutes ago, Mick F said:

Experimentation complete.

It's useless generally, and only seems to have one thing it'll do ................ preventing the engine running when stationary.

Moving down the drive, or driving gently, or parking, or manoeuvring,  the car will happily stay in EV without the EV button being pressed, so the EV button has no use dynamically during normal driving.  As I said before, you can get up to 40mph in EV anyway.

Mick.

Its like the eco normal button, no point in the button.

with the ev button you can get about a mile, without it you can get a damn sight further on electric only.

[Mike J.]

5 hours ago, Mick F said:

Experimentation complete.

It's useless generally, and only seems to have one thing it'll do ................ preventing the engine running when stationary.

As mentioned before, you can use more power with the EV button pressed, so it can keep you in electric whilst keeping up with city traffic pull-aways. Normal EV will only allow power up to the midpoint of the ECO area. EV mode allows at least one marking above midpoint.

[Mick F]

No you can't.  Not with ours anyway.  Not more power at all.

If you select EV with the button when stationary, the EV Mode light comes on on the dash.  If you press gently on the throttle pedal, off you go in EV.  Press a tiny bit more, and the signal double beeps and the EV Mode light goes off.  All you get is the ability to stop in park without the engine cutting in and out.  It stays off.

The car will not in any way shape or form perform any better in EV Mode than it does normally in EV drive ................ other than the engine not cutting in when parked.

I can drive away gently, park, manoeuvre, pull away quietly down the drive, do anything in EV within reason gently, and the EV Mode Button changes nothing.  No way does it make the car stay in EV Mode drive any longer or more than in EV Normal.  Full Battery, engine and cabin warm.

I did a full and thorough experiment ................. and Mrs Mick F started to sigh and complain about it. 

Mick.

[Anthony Poli]

No you can't.  Not with ours anyway.  Not more power at all.
If you select EV with the button when stationary, the EV Mode light comes on on the dash.  If you press gently on the throttle pedal, off you go in EV.  Press a tiny bit more, and the signal double beeps and the EV Mode light goes off.  All you get is the ability to stop in park without the engine cutting in and out.  It stays off.
The car will not in any way shape or form perform any better in EV Mode than it does normally in EV drive ................ other than the engine not cutting in when parked.
I can drive away gently, park, manoeuvre, pull away quietly down the drive, do anything in EV within reason gently, and the EV Mode Button changes nothing.  No way does it make the car stay in EV Mode drive any longer or more than in EV Normal.  Full battery, engine and cabin warm.
I did a full and thorough experiment ................. and Mrs Mick F started to sigh and complain about it. 
Mick.

I have had a one off time where ours did let me get upto 30 while on a hill. It took me by surprise at the time. It was on a hot day.

Between our 2010 Auris and 2013 Yaris, the Yaris will accelerate faster in EV, with or with the EV button pressed.

The Yaris sucks when it comes to regen braking, I can only get upto 2 30Wh blocks. You can only barely press on the brake, otherwise it just switches to the mechanical brakes.
The Auris I can put a more significant amount of power back into the Battery over the same stretch.


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[Mike J.]

4 hours ago, Mick F said:

No you can't.  Not with ours anyway.  Not more power at all.

It does with mine. Without the button pressed, EV trips out above the midpoint of the ECO range. With the EV button active, I can go beyond the midpoint.

[Mick F]

This is odd then.  I haven't found anything other than I have said.  No way does it help to keep the EV drive going more and faster.

The way I see it, the engine is used for three things .....................  One, to keep the cabin warm. Two, to charge the Battery when required. Three, to provide motive force when required.

With the EV button pressed, it stops One and Two, but not Three ............... or that's the way it is with ours.

Mick.

[Mike J.]

2 hours ago, Mick F said:

No way does it help to keep the EV drive going more and faster.

True, but that is not what I have said!!!!!

It allows you to use more power when pulling away - without the button pressed, EV trips out above the midpoint of the ECO range. With the EV button active, it can go beyond the midpoint - this gives you more acceleration so you can keep up with the traffic light pull-away.

[Peter S]

I use it for creeping up on people in car parks. Seriously it's only good for under 25 mph and very light acceleration like in car parks etc. As others have said , it will stop the engine running to keep it warm when stationary.

[Mick F]

2 hours ago, Mike J. said:

True, but that is not what I have said!!!!!

It allows you to use more power when pulling away - without the button pressed, EV trips out above the midpoint of the ECO range. With the EV button active, it can go beyond the midpoint - this gives you more acceleration so you can keep up with the traffic light pull-away.

Sorry, but I still don't agree

Ours doesn't do that.  It's no different to normal EV.

Mick.

[Manelda]

I use it for reversing  

sounds like a milkcart then

 

[Mike J.]

1 hour ago, Mick F said:

Sorry, but I still don't agree

This EV mode attribute happens on my car - I don't need your agreement.

[Mick F]

1 hour ago, Manelda said:

I use it for reversing  

sounds like a milkcart then

 

You can only reverse in EV.  The engine has no reverse gear, in fact there is no reverse gearing at all.

You reverse by dint of the phases of the electric motor being reversed, so the motor rotates backwards.

Mick.

Edited April 27, 2018 by Mick F
Typo

[Mick F]

10 minutes ago, Mike J. said:

This EV mode attribute happens on my car - I don't need your agreement.

Of course not! 

Mine doesn't do what yours does.  I tried, and failed, to see any difference whatsoever.  Maybe I ought to try again .................. but without Mrs Mick F getting bored.

Mick.