EV mode on 2015 Yaris hybrid

[Lynn Ballard]

When I switch to EV mode, the light does not stay on on the console so I don’t know if I’m driving on the Battery or not. Should it remain lit on the console and if so, and it doesn’t, what is wrong?

[CPN]

4 minutes ago, Lynn Ballard said:

When I switch to EV mode, the light does not stay on on the console so I don’t know if I’m driving on the battery or not. Should it remain lit on the console and if so, and it doesn’t, what is wrong?

Nothing is wrong Lynn. "EV mode" is really only for a silent exit from your garage or driveway early in the morning at slow speeds. Once you begin to pick up speed, the car will automatically cancel it and then manage the switch between engine and electric motor as you drive along.

EV mode is really a bit of a misnomer since when you "switch" (or try) to it, the vehicle's computer is still managing the drive train and will immediately cancel it anyway if it thinks it should. i.e. you can't actually force it to stay in that mode.

 

[Starensis]

It won’t activate if hybrid Battery is low and/or you’re over 30 mph.

[flash22]

More than 1/2" of pedal travel or turning the heater/AC on, it turns its self off - stick it in eco mode mode plonk it in drive and off you go

[Cyker]

TBH "EV mode" is the most pointless button on the Yaris hybrids - The Battery is too small for it to really go any useful distance, and I don't know about the Mk3 but on the Mk4 90% of the time pressing it just brings up one of a selection of "EV mode unavailable" messages  

My advice is let the car worry about what mode it's in and just drive the car in a way that is fun   uh I mean economical

[Catlover]

Re EV mode, yesterday I was on a country roads and I came up behind two horses. Hedges were tall and a bend was ahead. The lady on the lead horse indicated to me it was safe to pass, thinking of the horses I pressed the EV button and because I was only doing 10-15 mph is stayed in EV mode and I passed the horses “silently”.  I felt really good about that.

[Cyker]

I honestly don't know what I would do in that situation, as the AVAS is louder than the engine at low speeds and I'm not sure which is more likely to spook a horse!!

 

 

[TonyHSD]

1 hour ago, Cyker said:

I honestly don't know what I would do in that situation, as the AVAS is louder than the engine at low speeds and I'm not sure which is more likely to spook a horse!!

 

 

This avas you can turn it off right ? They doesn’t sound pleasant at all, I do prefer the natural electric motor whine while moving or braking, way more pleasant. The only Avas that is kind of nice is of bmw i3, all others including Toyota very irritating sounds 

[trashman1965]

It's on whenever ICE is off and car is moving. louder in reverse. No way to switch off.

I actually like the spaceship sounds 😁

[CPN]

9 hours ago, trashman1965 said:

It's on whenever ICE is off and car is moving. louder in reverse. No way to switch off.

Not quite true... It is only on below 16 mph...

[flash22]

EV mode is good for slow moving over a slippery surface, eg. mud and ice - high torque, low rpm

[Cyker]

19 hours ago, TonyHSD said:

This avas you can turn it off right ? They doesn’t sound pleasant at all, I do prefer the natural electric motor whine while moving or braking, way more pleasant. The only Avas that is kind of nice is of bmw i3, all others including Toyota very irritating sounds 

Annoyingly, as trashman says, you can't turn it off, so can't do 'stealth mode' like in earlier hybrids   With my windows down it sounds so loud, esp if I'm coming home at the dead of night or something, and I worry about annoying the neighbours!

The speed it comes on at seems to vary depending on whether you are accelerating or decelerating - I've had it on up to 18mph on occasion. I've also noticed it doesn't always turn off at 0mph for a couple seconds (Only noticed because I forgot to put my MP3 USB stick in one day and was just driving around with only the sound of the car - It's amazing how many weird sounds the car makes that are normally masked  )

It's such a weird sounds tho', like an alien space ship has something rubbing on a brake disc  

[RickyC]

You can try to remove the connector from emitter in the bonnet.  I've no idea if it causes some alarm.

[Cyker]

Yeah I thought about that but not sure where it is, or if that would affect things like MOT/insurance. Really I'd like to be able to turn it off and on as it can be useful when driving through Suicidal Pedestrianville.

If I do it won't be until it's out of warranty tho'!!

 

[RickyC]

Is on the front of the car ( on the right side looking from front ) close to ICE cooling fluid reservoir. Is a square black box.  

I agree that if you remove the connector you could have some issues with insurance in case you hit a pedestrian.   

Anyhow the sound is so strange that usually nobody cares of it.  I've rarely found a pedestran that hears the sound and moves apart or in some way reacts to a incoming car behind him.

[Cyker]

Probably filtered out by their noise-cancelling headphones as they are listening to music while texting  

[flash22]

54 minutes ago, Cyker said:

Probably filtered out by their noise-cancelling headphones as they are listening to music while texting  

Don't forget vaping and pushing a push chair at the same time