edcastrovalley
1 kW
I recently installed a Coastal Tech Prius EV button in my 2007 Prius and made my Prius into an instant ev! As long as I don't go over 2 miles and I recharge it with the gas engine. At first I was a little disappointed with it however, it does have it's advantages. I found out that since I live in the hills of Castro Valley that I can engage the EV button before the engine starts and drive down the hill in ev mode. Heck, I even get a little regen action on the way down. Then, before the freeway on ramp I engage the gasoline engine for the rest of the way to work about 17 miles. At the end of the day when I leave the 3rd floor of the parking garage, I engage ev mode again and inch down the down ramps and drive a little through town battery permitting. I found that it's best not to go below 1/2 the battery capacity or the engine will run a lot to charge the battery back up. As a comparison of my results I normally get 47 to 48 mpg without EV mode driving to work but with EV mode I get 53 mpg. Not bad but that's only one sample. I need to do it a few more times to compare.
The EV switch actually is a chip that uses the cruise control cancel stalk to engage EV mode and you have to hold it for 2 seconds to do it. Installation was not too hard, you have to remove the glove box and find the right wire harness connector and switch out a couple pins with ones from the ev mode chip and then plug in the spade connectors. The biggest thing is to get the right pins otherwise not to hard. Installation time is about 1/2 hour. The switch is only $45 plus some shipping which seems reasonable.
Anyone else have one of these? You only need this in the North America otherwise you already have this button on the dash.
The EV switch actually is a chip that uses the cruise control cancel stalk to engage EV mode and you have to hold it for 2 seconds to do it. Installation was not too hard, you have to remove the glove box and find the right wire harness connector and switch out a couple pins with ones from the ev mode chip and then plug in the spade connectors. The biggest thing is to get the right pins otherwise not to hard. Installation time is about 1/2 hour. The switch is only $45 plus some shipping which seems reasonable.
Anyone else have one of these? You only need this in the North America otherwise you already have this button on the dash.