PHEV save button

[steverally]

New to forum, so please accept my apologises if this has been covered before.

Whilst driving and having a good amount of EV range left - 25 miles, I was under the impression that if I were to press the 'save' button, this EV range would remain until called upon later.
Tried this today, was driving in eco mode and was surprised to see on the 'info' display the EV range drop, also on the speedometer display, the engine was showing as not running and power was being taken from the battery.

Have I got something wrong in my understanding of the system operation?

 

[Regulo]

Welcome.
Not wrong, it works like this. You hit "save" and the car will run on battery for a while, then it'll charge up the battery, then run on battery, and so on. So the range shown will "oscillate" up and down, but average out at what you had when you hit "save". If there's more than 80% charge, I believe you'd drop to 80% before "save" will kick in. Am I right, Anko?

 

[anko]

Battery charge should drop not more than 1.5%, roughly equivalent to 1 mile of range. From the opening post, I got the impression it was much more here. If this was indeed the case, the usual suspect would be "low fuel level", as Save and Charge mode will not engage when running on the last 5 liters of reserve.

Did the Save light come on in the dash?

Although .... 25 miles of EV range left .... Was the battery simply not too full?

 

[steverally]

Thanks for the replies. Low fuel was not an issue as 3/4 full. Just think i'd expected once the 'save' button had been pressed it would automatically run ICE and not take anything more from battery. As soon as the EV range started dropping i chickened out and cancelled 'save' mode.
Will give it a longer try on another run now bearing in mind what you've both said.

First impressions of car, fantastic, still getting used to all the modes, displays and driving methods, but its not too different to my previous hybrids, those being Toyota Prius, Lexus CT and latterly Lexus IS300h. Economy initially better by having plug-in facility.

Really great comments on forum have helped prior to purchase and through first week of ownership.

 

[geoffshep69]

Bear in mind also that the Save button acts to keep the battery level within a narrow range around the level that you had when you pressed the button. This is different from the Range figure, which is purely a guesstimate based on recent driving, so its entirely possible that the battery level remains around the same percentage, but the range figure changes depending on your driving. For example, if you pressed Save and then started driving on the motorway at 75mph I suspect the Range figure would drop, because based on that style of driving you will get less distance from your saved battery level than you woud if you were driving around town.

 

[jaapv]

I think you hit the nail on the head; look at the bars, not at the guessed range.

 

[LarsErikOsterud]

Works very well with a trailer or caravan.
With SAVE on the highway it uses direct ICE drive and charge a bit downhill.
When driving uphill it uses eletric engines in addition for extra power.
But all in all the level of the battry stays about the same.

 

[jaapv]

For that scenario I would prefer "Charge"

 

[LarsErikOsterud]

When driving at higher speeds (like on the higheway) there is no difference on SAVE and CHARGE.
Since the ICE speed is controlled by the car speed (directly connected to the front wheels).
If you get a stop (traffic jam etc) THEN the ICE will stop if SAVE but run at full speed when CHARGE

 

[jaapv]

Actually, depending on load, the car can be in either series hybrid or parallel hybrid between 50 and 130 Km/h approx.
If you use an EV box parallel hybrid will not engage under 130 Kph, but you can do the same thing with your right foot.
On the overrun and downhill it can charge higher than the save level if you use charge. Nor is the amount of charge a 1:1 function of engine speed; it is a matter of the power fed to the engine. If you are on save and hit the top level of your save setting in parallel mode it will not take power from the (spinning) generator any more, to save fuel.

If you search the forum,you will find quite a few threads and charts ( mainly by Anko) explaining the complex interplay of the drivetrain.

 

[LarsErikOsterud]

When I drive in SAVE mode it uses battry at slow speeds, series hybrid up to about 70-80 and direct drive over that.
Have seen not very much variation in that (have driven a lot in the summer holiday
Also in SAVE it charges downhill and use battery in addition uphill (rear wheel drive I guess).
But the battery keeps at about the same level.

 

[jaapv]

That is correct about the function of the Save button, and using Charge will get the battery up to 80 % , this being the same function at the 80% level, as is the default of the buttons off mode again the same at the 0% level.
However, it is possible to drive the car at up to 120-130 Kph on EV only (with Charge and Save off.) Also it can go into series hybrid at any speed under 130. at full power demand.

I have the EV box installed, which modifies throttle response (nothing else!) to make this the default behaviour of the car, but using a sensitive right foot will do the same.
For instance using the screaming tyre takeoff technique you described, if you keep the pedal floored the car will remain in series hybrid all the way and delay parallel hybrid mode.

On a side note, as I said in a previous post, the fact the ICE is running to supplement power to the wheels in parallel hybrid will not necessarily mean that the generator is actually supplying electricity to the battery.
Additionally, if you demand full power, for instance accelerating or climbing a steep slope at speeds over 80 Kph, you will hear the engine revving up in series hybrid mode, an effect that some find rather disconcerting and call "screaming", which implies that it is disengaged from the wheels.

 

[anko]

If you get a stop (traffic jam etc) THEN the ICE will stop if SAVE but run at full speed when CHARGE

More like 1100 - 1500 rpm.

 

[anko]

If you use an EV box parallel hybrid will not engage under 130 Kph, but you can do the same thing with your right foot.

Are you sure this is what you meant? I don't think that using the evbox will delay parallel drive any more than not using it.

 

[maby]

That is correct about the function of the Save button, and using Charge will get the battery up to 80 % , this being the same function at the 80% level, as is the default of the buttons off mode again the same at the 0% level.
....

I don't think all PHEVs are programmed the same in this respect. Ours (late 2014) will attempt to charge to 100% and actually get pretty close to that level. The engine never stops attempting to charge the battery but, of course, as it gets close to 100% the charge rate drops to the point where the engine is running but there is no detectable increase in SOC.