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Old 01-20-2020, 11:48 AM   #125 (permalink)
MetroMPG
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Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: 1000 Islands, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 22,530

Blackfly - '98 Geo Metro
Team Metro
Last 3: 70.09 mpg (US)

MPGiata - '90 Mazda Miata
90 day: 54.46 mpg (US)

Even Fancier Metro - '14 Mitsubishi Mirage top spec
90 day: 70.75 mpg (US)

Appliance car Mirage - '14 Mitsubishi Mirage ES (base)
90 day: 62.14 mpg (US)
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Cold weather Prius Prime = not an EV!



I accepted the Prius bribe to look after my friends' house & pet again for a few days. This time I'm learning more about the cold weather behavior of the car...

For example: it was -18C / 0F when I went to use it, and the engine fired almost immediately on power-up. So I shut if off, made sure it was in EV Mode before I turned it back on, but the ICE fired again.

So it burned dinosaurs along most of the subsequent ~28 km drive. (While using about 20% of the pack capacity.) I even stopped part way through the drive & switched it off & on again to no avail.

I don't think it was heater demand because I turned the temp & fan settings down and the defrost off, yet the ICE continued to run.

Possibly due to battery pack temperature? The car had been sitting for several days - a true cold soak. And the pack was full, so it didn't benefit from the heat of recent charging.

Coincidentally, a Chevy Bolt went by in the other direction while I was puzzling over the Prius ICE and I thought: they're sure not having this problem!!
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Project MPGiata! Mods for getting 50+ MPG from a 1990 Miata
Honda mods: Ecomodding my $800 Honda Fit 5-speed beater
Mitsu mods: 70 MPG in my ecomodded, dirt cheap, 3-cylinder Mirage.
Ecodriving test: Manual vs. automatic transmission MPG showdown



EcoModder
has launched a forum for the efficient new Mitsubishi Mirage
www.MetroMPG.com - fuel efficiency info for Geo Metro owners
www.ForkenSwift.com - electric car conversion on a beer budget
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