Tech with a twist of lime! & FLHybrid Club.

Yesterday I installed an EV switch in my Prius, the EV switch/button, persuades the engine not to run when certain conditions are met.  The EV button will only work below 35mph and within certain environmental and performance envelopes.  The install took about 45 minutes of actual work, but much longer in gathering the parts and studying the installation method I chose (Evan Fusco's headlight flasher method).  The hardest part of the install was getting the new pin 27 seated fully, my brother and I took the Prius out for a spin and the mod worked flawlessly.  My first commute with the EV button was a success; I noticed several parts of all of my past commutes where my Prius does stupid stuff.  The most common thing my Prius does during a commute is running the engine when the battery is at an acceptable state of charge (S.O.C.) and the emissions system is already at operating temperatures, and I'm at a complete stop for some time.  Another time my Prius runs its engine needlessly is during some downhill stretches where doing so is unnecessary.  I understand most of this is because it doesn't know what the upcoming terrain might surprise it with.

The main reason for installing the EV mode on my car was that I wanted to be able to shuffle the car around its various parking arrangements without having a senseless engine start.  How does running the engine for 60 seconds, to move the car 75 feet at the most, benefit the environment or improve air quality?  My wallet also disagrees, seven seconds is barely enough time to get out of a garage, and is not enough time to back out of most parking stalls and start moving forward. (I know it's not much but costs add up over the Prius' 100,000-150,000 warranted period).  Now I can move across small parking lots and driveways without wasting gas or adding additional pollution to the air when shuffling my car.

I added three MPGs to my commute by cutting the engine at times where the Prius was being stupid.  I will mention more when I have had more time to get accustomed to the new functionality.

EV mode as with any aftermarket modification may void a portion of your warranty.  If you have any questions about my experience let me know so when I'm writing the next article I will cover your questions right here for all to benefit.

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