Yaris Cross - EV mode

[Bob66]

22 minutes ago, Paul john said:

“Rabbit hole alert!”

Try it and let us know the results

That's not an answer...to the question...do you have any evidence to back up your claim, or can you point us in the right direction...maybe a link, or is it just an assumption...that driving in B mode will damage your car?

[Aldino]

When it happened to me that the engine wouldn't turn off, it had been raining for 7 days, the humidity was high. 

[forkingabout]

You can drive in B mode all you want without damage BUT it's more efficient to just leave it in D for normal driving.

B mode is meant for extra engine braking for long downhill stretches. 

 

[Paul john]

57 minutes ago, Bob66 said:

That's not an answer...to the question...do you have any evidence to back up your claim, or can you point us in the right direction...maybe a link, or is it just an assumption...that "driving in B mode will damage your car" ?

I aint a mechanic. Just saying its not designed for long term use. im not definitively saying it will damage i implied a possibility of damage with the word “could”

as for evidence…. 

https://exclusivelyhybrid.com/prius-shifter-b-mode/

like i said happy for you to disagree, try driving in this mode all the time and report back the results to the forum 

[Moleman]

5 hours ago, Paul john said:

I aint a mechanic. Just saying its not designed for long term use. im not definitively saying it will damage i implied a possibility of damage with the word “could”

as for evidence…. 

https://exclusivelyhybrid.com/prius-shifter-b-mode/

like i said happy for you to disagree, try driving in this mode all the time and report back the results to the forum 

That's not evidence, it does not even agree with your possibility!  Says the opposite.

[hind]

It just worsens the economy on daily use.

[anchorman]

15 hours ago, Paul john said:

“Rabbit hole alert!”

Try it and let us know the results

I do it all the time.  I knock it into B (S on my Lexus) and forgot all about it.  Nothing to report and I wouldn’t expect there to be.  Absolutely nothing changes except the way the drivetrain computer manipulates the motor generators.  

[forkingabout]

Think I've tried S mode on my C-HR once & that was only to try it out.

No significant hills around me to warrant using S ( or B ) mode.

 

[Bob66]

22 hours ago, Paul john said:

I aint a mechanic. Just saying its not designed for long term use. im not definitively saying it will damage i implied a possibility of damage with the word “could”

I've read that link....no mention of the possibility, (could) of any damage, in fact it reduces brake wear ?

[hind]

33 minutes ago, Bob66 said:

, in fact it reduces brake wear

Mine are used so rarely that the dealership had to grind them a little on the yearly checkup to restore smooth surface 😛 I use them for emergency braking only, so using B is definitely not for me. TBH I was surprised how hard it can brake with just the regenerative braking. 

[Bob66]

4 minutes ago, hind said:

Mine are used so rarely that the dealership had to grind them a little on the yearly checkup to restore smooth surface 😛 I use them for emergency braking only, so using B is definitely not for me. TBH I was surprised how hard it can brake with just the regenerative braking. 

I use B mode on steep downward inclines, generally. It was the reference to causing damage that was alarming....as I often forget to put it back into D mode !

[hind]

Out of curiosity, how steep (elevation difference) and how long (in metres) is that incline where you have to use B? In my area the two steepest ones are 600 m long / 40 m difference and 2.3km long / 80 m difference and I wouldn't even think about using B there, regular regen braking is more than enough. 

[RickyC]

2 hours ago, hind said:

Mine are used so rarely that the dealership had to grind them a little on the yearly checkup to restore smooth surface 😛 I use them for emergency braking only, so using B is definitely not for me. TBH I was surprised how hard it can brake with just the regenerative braking. 

Probably you don't dtrive in a big town full of suicidal pedestrians and a light ( uasuallly out of sync ) every 100 meters 😉

[hind]

We have both but you're right about the road crossing culture, I felt very uneasy to cross the road in London when the red light was lit for me, even with everyone else just casually going 😛 I guess that's how you determine who the foreigner is 😄 

[TonyHSD]

B will not cause damage but adds unnecessary stress to the hybrid system and only should be used in specific situations like continues downhill descends, there is no distance specific or time but as soon as you drive on level ground better to flip to D. 

The B what actually does is two things: 

1. Increase regenerative braking power via the electric motor 

2. Starts the engine to provide braking resistance to the driving wheels- similar to low gear on petrol manual car. 

When choosing B the hybrid system will regenerate more energy faster ( this comes with more heat added to the inverter and the traction battery) .
In Toyota hybrids the traction batteries are usually set to remain between  40-80% state of charge all the time . Anything outside these numbers the system will start the engine to either change or discharge the Battery to more appropriate levels.
Driving in B will actually trigger these two processes faster and more often and this is why Toyota recommends in their owners manual only to use B in specific conditions and not as your regular drive gear. 
 

[ColinB]

My RAV4 has the option of virtual gears by knocking the gear lever to the right, I occasionally use this when going down steep hills. More often I set the cruise control and let that control the speed as long as the hill isn't too steep.

[Cyker]

11 hours ago, hind said:

Mine are used so rarely that the dealership had to grind them a little on the yearly checkup to restore smooth surface 😛 I use them for emergency braking only, so using B is definitely not for me. TBH I was surprised how hard it can brake with just the regenerative braking. 

Yeah, it's got a surprising kick doesn't it?!

It's like putting a manual car in 2nd or 1st gear!  

 

8 hours ago, hind said:

We have both but you're right about the road crossing culture, I felt very uneasy to cross the road in London when the red light was lit for me, even with everyone else just casually going 😛 I guess that's how you determine who the foreigner is 😄 

...and *thank you* for NOT being one of those people!!

I hate it when people see you're coming and *still* cross when the pedestrian light is red! I had a close call with one guy on the way home, who started jogging across a dual-carriageway then sort of gave up half way and slowed to a walk, and I had to brake and swerve to avoid him!

 

5 hours ago, TonyHSD said:

1. Increase regenerative braking power via the electric motor 

Just note I think that is only the case on the older ones - The newer HSDs seem to dump all the energy into the engine in B mode; The level of regen never goes above the first level according to the meter, and I definitely get far less regen from B than I do from long braking down the same hill!

[Aldino]

Today, my engine started up again and dosent switch on hybrid while driving in the city.   it quickly charged the hybrid Battery to 100%. I turned on B mode again and everything quickly returned to normal and the hybrid system started to turn on EV mode. The 4-month-old car has already started to get annoying. It doesn't look like Toyota quality and reliability. 

[Cyker]

I did find if you're doing a lot of stop-start traffic and the engine never gets to operating temperature, or only spends a very short time at operating temperature, you will see more of these regeneration events.

I was getting them more frequently while I was waiting for my windscreen to be repaired and averaging 6mph, but now I've gone back to using faster roads regularly I almost never see this problem any more.

[Aldino]

If the hybrid Battery often goes to 100% and the engine  overcharged Battery, this reduces its shelf life.  

[forkingabout]

Just book it in with your Toyota dealer to look at as they will have the expertise to diagnose any issues with the vehicle - your obviously unhappy its not performing as you expected - we here on the internet cannot help you any more.

[TonyHSD]

17 minutes ago, Aldino said:

If the hybrid battery often goes to 100% and the engine  overcharged battery, this reduces its shelf life.  

Battery never goes over 80% and when hit 80% the engine actually will discharge the Battery. 
Your cars has nothing wrong and all these behaviours are totally normal and there is nothing annoying here. This is how Toyota hybrid system works and ev  drive alone should not be a target or important. If you have no warning lights you have no faults. 

[Aldino]

If the car display shows that the Battery is fully charged, does that mean that it is at 80% in reality. 

[Aldino]

Today I measured the voltage of the 12 V Battery, and it came out to be 12.1 V. I started the car, but today the hybrid system behaved normally. Could that 12v Battery be the cause of all the problems? 

[TonyHSD]

2 hours ago, Aldino said:

Today I measured the voltage of the 12 V battery, and it came out to be 12.1 V. I started the car, but today the hybrid system behaved normally. Could that 12v battery be the cause of all the problems? 

Yes for both questions. 
When the car display shows full bars it is actually at 65-79% , at 80% charge the system will start the engine to reduce charge in the Battery.
This process also happens when you travel downhill and the Battery gets fully charged from the regenerative braking (80% ) and engine unexpectedly start at high rpm. , sometimes even after you had finished descend and the car is at level ground or stopped at junction.
Many Toyota hybrids owners aren’t aware of these processes as they had never seen batteries topped up which usually doesn’t happen very often unless you drive long downhill or you have weak hybrid Battery. I had bad hybrid battery and I also drive downhill every day and this is how my car behaved for many years.  I replaced the hybrid battery and since then I had never experienced anymore engine discharging the battery because the hybrid battery it’s new and has high capacity to store energy. 

Now back to 12v battery. 
If you have weak 12v battery but still able to start and drive , the hybrid system may get loaded as the low 12v battery requires more time to get recharged and the system will need more energy from the hybrid battery, which will need more energy from the engine.
Even with good soc the engine will  kick in more often and remain on for longer time when the hybrid battery is extra loaded like in these specific situations, low 12v battery, AC working hard to cool down cabin or when outside weather is very hot or very cold. The hybrid system will monitor these variables and turn on engine more often to preserve your hybrid battery and extend its life. 
 

I had bad 12v battery as it was very old 13.5 years and recently has died. 
When the battery was dead totally 8v measured , I managed to jump start the car to drive to Toyota dealer to buy new battery.
The car was on the 12v battery showed 10.5v while in ready mode, my new hybrid battery was for a first time since I replaced low and remained low and the engine was constantly running and when off shortly after was on again. 
Your 12.1v battery needs recharge with a smart charger or start the car and leave it in ready mode for 40 min with all accessories off.