Driving mode advice

SashaG · July 26, 2020

Hi. I am picking up my CT on Friday - 4500 miles on the clock. I am so excited after years of a Ford Focus! I have never had an automatic so need to get used to that. I have a couple of questions I’m hoping you can help with:

1. At traffic lights, do you put on the main foot brake (manual handbrake equivalent) but leave it in D to keep charging the Battery?

2. I will be doing some high gradient hills with some tight corners: I presume go up in Sport mode and come back down in Normal mode with B selected? Or perhaps come down in Sport mode with B for better handling?

Thanks in advance

BoutTime · July 26, 2020

Personally i do this:

At traffic lights I keep it in drive with my foot on the brake (middle pedal).

On steep hills I leave it in drive going up. Coming down I leave it in drive unless it's long and steep then I use B which will fire up the engine.

Thackeray · July 26, 2020

1 hour ago, SashaG said:

I will be doing some high gradient hills with some tight corners: I presume go up in Sport mode and come back down in Normal mode with B selected? Or perhaps come down in Sport mode with B for better handling?

Coming down hill is when you can regenerate electricity. On a conventional manual car I always change down and use engine braking, the idea being to save the brakes fading. But on a hybrid you have two generators that can slow you down as they spin to generate electricity. So my strategy is just to use the brakes and aim to keep the energy meter just around the limit for maximum regeneration.

That means keeping the pointer within the range labelled 4 in the picture. As you brake the pointer moves anti-clockwise towards its limit. When it reaches the limit the generators can't produce any more braking effect and the mechanical brakes come on. At this point, energy is just being thrown away as heat through the brake discs.

If you select B it will add engine braking to the mix. If it's really steep you might want to do this. But if you do it too soon the generators may not produce as much electricity to store in the Battery as they would if you didn't use the B mode.

Having said that, feeling comfortable with the handlng is probably a higher priority than electricity regeneration, so I should just choose whichever you feel is most appropriate to the road.

SashaG · July 26, 2020

Brilliant thanks both. I’m quite into technology so I’m really learning how to get the best out of the hybrid system.

Thackeray · July 26, 2020

1 hour ago, SashaG said:

Brilliant thanks both. I’m quite into technology so I’m really learning how to get the best out of the hybrid system.

Before my current car I didn't know very much about the hybrid technology, though I'd driven conventional automatics for many years. I expect you may have already done a lot of research and found out how the hybrid system works. But in case it's of any use to you (maybe it will fill in some gaps that you were wondering about) here are three links that I found very useful in understanding how the car works in the first few months of owning the car. I'm still learning how it works. Apologies if you already know all this.

This is the best graphic I've seen of how the hybrid transmission works. It's now around 15 years old, I think, and it uses Adobe Flash which is being phased out. Your browser will probably ask you to allow Adobe Flash to run in the second graphic. But if you can display this second graphic it's a very clear demonstration of how the planetary gear set operates. This second graphic doesn't display at all on an Android device but it should appear on a Windows computer. http://eahart.com/prius/psd/

Then, if you'd like to see what the transmission looks like in real life, here's a video that shows how it is put together. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_mc17CoyJs This demonstrates the P410 transmission which was used on the CT200h for a number of years. I don't know if the latest models have a different transmission but I don't suppose there have been any significant changes to the fundamentals.

And lastly, here's a link to a video showing an app called Hybrid Assistant, which I found interesting in showing what was going on in the system as the car was being driven. https://hybridassistant.blogspot.com/p/screenshots.html.

Britprius · July 26, 2020

3 hours ago, BoutTime said:

Personally i do this:

At traffic lights I keep it in drive with my foot on the brake (middle pedal).

On steep hills I leave it in drive going up. Coming down I leave it in drive unless it's long and steep then I use B which will fire up the engine.

Using "B" mode down hill does not fire up the engine. It actually turns it off, and then spins it at speed with MG1 (motor generator 1) the motor used for starting the engine. This uses the energy created by MG2 "driven by the wheels to act as a load to slow the car.
If you apply the accelerator in this mode the engine will start but it's speed "RPM" will reduce not increase.
Unless you are coming down a very long decent it is better not to use "B" mode as the energy is then directed to the HV Battery charging it, and saving the energy. Gentle braking will provide even more regen for the charging saving more energy.

John.

Thackeray · July 26, 2020

5 hours ago, SashaG said:

but leave it in D to keep charging the battery?

Yes, you can leave it in D - this is what most people do. But that isn't what causes the high voltage Battery to be charged. All that's needed for the HV Battery to be charged is for the car to be in the Ready state. Then the engine will come on if the High Voltage Battery needs charging. This will happen whether you're in Drive Park or Reverse. On the IS one exception is that it doesn't charge when in Neutral - this may be the same on the CT200h but I don't know for certain.

Britprius · July 26, 2020

The CT will not charge the HV Battery in neutral. Leving the car in neutral should be avoided whenever possible. In neutral both motor generators are in effect disconnected a legal requirement so that no drive can be sent to the wheels, and also the engine cannot start. If the engine is running when the car is put into neutral it will continue to run until it reaches temperature when it will stop. It can then not restart.

John.

Stompe · July 26, 2020

Just be careful in Sport mode.... When you floor the peddle, it will rip your face off, push your eyes to the back of your head, Cornering you pull so much G, the seatbelt just about holds you.. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!! 😂 😂 😂

royoftherovers · July 26, 2020

24 minutes ago, Stompe said:

Just be careful in Sport mode.... When you floor the peddle, it will rip your face off, push your eyes to the back of your head, Cornering you pull so much G, the seatbelt just about holds you.. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!! 😂 😂 😂

Similar in my GS too.

T`was much worse than my N.A.S.A..... test when I applied for membership of the Mercury 7! (lol)

colin79666 · July 26, 2020

As for your query on traffic lights, my tactic depends on the situation. If I think it will be a short stop I just leave it in D with my foot on the brake. If ages or going to blind someone behind I apply the parking brake but leave it in D. Only if I'm going to be stopped for several minutes so I stick it in park. Never use neutral as it stops the Battery being charged, that is really only of use if you broke down and needed to be moved off the road. For a longer recovery it needs to have at least the front wheels lifted as the transmission is locked when the power is off.

BoutTime · July 26, 2020

2 hours ago, Britprius said:

Using "B" mode down hill does not fire up the engine. It actually turns it off, and then spins it at speed with MG1 (motor generator 1) the motor used for starting the engine. This uses the energy created by MG2 "driven by the wheels to act as a load to slow the car.
If you apply the accelerator in this mode the engine will start but it's speed "RPM" will reduce not increase.
Unless you are coming down a very long decent it is better not to use "B" mode as the energy is then directed to the HV battery charging it, and saving the energy. Gentle braking will provide even more regen for the charging saving more energy.

John.

I've only ever used it on long descents and previously I've flicked over to sport mode to check engine rpm. I've mistaken that to mean the engine was actually running. Thanks for putting me right.

SashaG · July 26, 2020

My husband is obsessed with getting high mpg so I’ve renamed ‘Eco’ mode as his name; I like good mpg but also like to get a bit of a thrill sometimes so ‘Sport’ mode is my name 😁 I trialled it on the one I’m buying.

SashaG · July 26, 2020

Sorry haven’t worked out how to show someone’s post in my reply but in short thanks all and to Thackeray for the links - love that kind of thing.

Britprius · July 26, 2020

1 hour ago, SashaG said:

Sorry haven’t worked out how to show someone’s post in my reply but in short thanks all and to Thackeray for the links - love that kind of thing.

To show someones post just click on the word "quote" at the bottom of the post, and then type in your reply.

John.

OldTrout · July 27, 2020

Sacha

Welcome to club. As you can see this is the place to come for advice. However even before you collect your car you might now be worried.

My advice: Get in car with key in pocket, press start, when ready comes up select D and drive without worry until at destination. Put in P, switch off. Let the car look after everything which it will do very well.

John