[oldfox]

OK, this is strange. Its cold 35 degrees, car not really warmed up yet. Going around 30mph screen shows engine not working, battery not working. Green arrows from wheels to battery. screen showing about 7mpg. Anyone have this experience? Know what is going on?

 

[mrv]

what type of Prius?

was the Prius at READY?

(it was 5 degrees F this morning when
I went to work. The Prius actually
took some time between me turning
the key, and the engine starting,
and the BEEP to tell me that the car
was READY. Same delay in the beep
when I left work this afternoon.
If I wasn't paying attention to the
READY beep, I might've put the
Prius into gear before it was READY
(which it doesn't like - done that
before...). This is on my 2001.)

 

[RSnyder]

Yeah, this is pretty standard for the Prius. The engine is running to warm up, but no power is being extracted from it since you're coasting. The display doesn't show everything going on under the hood. It only shows the engine running to provide power to the wheels or to recharge the battery. It doesn't show it running to warm up or (on the 01-03) to run the air conditioner compressor.

It also only shows one picture representing the combination of the two electric motors, so it loses a lot of interesting subtle interactions. But you're supposed to be watching the road, not the details of engine/motor management, so it's probably a safety thing. Its a tough balance to get right, show enough information to help the sales critter explain the car but not so much that drivers spend time staring at it in rapt facination.

 

[oldfox]

2004 Prius. Moving around 30mph so well passed the ready stage. No really provblem and everything OK after a few more minutes so guess the answer is not to worry mate!

My wife assures me that if I don't stop watching this damn screen I won't have to worry about the Prius since it will be in the wrecking yard. I wonder who among us will actually have the first accident due to watching the screen instead of the road? As though any of us would admit such a thing to the inquiring police officer.

 

[moocatdog]

OK, this is strange. Its cold 35 degrees, car not really warmed up yet. Going around 30mph screen shows engine not working, battery not working. Green arrows from wheels to battery. screen showing about 7mpg. Anyone have this experience? Know what is going on?

Were you coasting or decelerating at the time? If so, I would agree with RSnyder and surmise that your car was either warming itself up or had decided that a bit of battery recharging was in order. I find that my MPG readout often lags behind and/or fluctuatates as driving conditions change, so I don't pay much attention to it as a "realtime" indicator.
Drive happy,
Moo

 

[moocatdog]

OK, this is strange. Its cold 35 degrees, car not really warmed up yet. Going around 30mph screen shows engine not working, battery not working. Green arrows from wheels to battery. screen showing about 7mpg. Anyone have this experience? Know what is going on?

Were you coasting or decelerating at the time? If so, I would agree with RSnyder and surmise that your car was either warming itself up or had decided that a bit of battery recharging was in order. I find that my MPG readout often lags behind and/or fluctuatates as driving conditions change, so I don't pay much attention to it as a "realtime" indicator.
Drive happy,
Moo