Keep trying.

And as a response to Billtech’s comment above, the ev-mode hack mentionned in this discussion only concerns the activation of a function that Toyota already built into the Prius and made available to European and Japanese customers but unfortunately not to American or UK customers. The Prius computer remains in control of the safety and durability parameters at all times and will start the gas engine at certain thresholds to preserve the hybrid system. This hack is is as safe as any other Toyota option.

And it’s now standard on the new 2010 Prius model. Great!

I own my own auto repair business, since 1985, and want to relate some things that need to be known.

1. The batteries used in the Prius are able to maintain steady voltage & therefore power output at a steady rate, but then this voltage/power drops off suddenly. As opposed to most batteries, which gradually lose voltage & power over a longer period of time.
2. Toyota, with the intention, I am told, of optimizing the LIFE of the battery, chose to maintain the charge level of these batteries at anywhere between 40% and 60% charged, and NO more.
This puts it in that critical point, in my opinion, where it is always suddenly dropping. this is why it will only go at maximum, about 2 miles on batteries alone.
3. In any circuit (or powertrain, in this case), when voltage drops, amperage will rise, which can damage wiring in motors not designed for that higher amperage.
4. One of my customers found out about this when his car ran out of gas, and he drove it on battery power alone, less than 2 miles, at which time, the car died, was very difficult to start when he did fill the gas tank, AND he now found he had a loud whining noise from the left front.
5. This turned out to be, diagnosed by the dealer, as a burned drive motor, requiring a new transmission. Estimate to fix was $7600. In this case, after some difficulty sorting out the details, was finally covered under warranty.

So, I have thought about some alternatives, but the bottom line is:
Be cautious when modifying or altering this particular hybrid, due to the vulnerability of the system described above.

Thanks for that link. The procedure really is as easy as the video makes it out to be, but it’s always nice to actually see the steps in addition to reading about them from an instruction sheet. Nice find!

Ed

I found it helpful and a good complement to the paper instructions that come with the kit. It gave me the confidence to do it myself. It took me about 45 minutes and I went very slowly checking everything at least twice.

Good luck.

Vince.

It’s really not a very hard to do but it can be a bit nerve-rattling to take apart part of the dash. I don’t know if you’ll be able to find a mechanic who will do it “officially” since it’s not really a Toyota-sanctioned procedure but I’m sure that you can find someone who can help you out with it. You may even be able to find a mechanic to help you with it “on the side”.

Good luck,
Ed

I installed the EV-mode kit from Coastal on my Canadian 2007 Prius and it works great. The Prius in Canada is the same as the one in the US.

And as far as I know, the basic Prius comes with Cruise Control since 2004. Look it up in your owner’s manual.

Problem with CoastalTech is that they won’t ship to Canada. They say it’s international and they won’t ship international. Tell me how that makes sense! I was pretty upset but I wanted the kit so bad that I had a friend in Georgia buy it for me and send it up.

Depending on battery charge and driving conditions, you can go between half a mile and 2 miles on the battery alone. Not much – but lots of fun. You can go to about 1/4 of the accelerator. The power in EV-mode is limited to about 28 hp (that’s 20 Kw – the maximum power output of the Prius battery).

Of course, this gadget makes you wish for more. I’d like to have more power and more range on EV-Mode. And be able to recharge the battery when I feel like it by plugging-in at home.

Guess what? People have converted their Prius to do just that! They’re called Plug-in Hybrid cars. Look up http://www.hymotion.com and http://www.calcars.org.

Have fun.