Question on Hybrids

Umm, have you read the owner's manual, and what, if anything, does it say in answer to your question?

Not having a hybrid myself (at least not yet) - & therefore no owner's manual, I 'read' the OP's post as a hypothetical question, & am also in interested in what the answer would be.

Cathy

According to the FAQ section on Toyota's web site:

"No. Though Prius can operate in electric-only mode when gasoline is in the tank, it is not designed to run without gasoline. Doing so could cause severe damage to the hybrid system, so drivers should be sure to keep gas in the tank at all times. "

Thanks.

Cathy

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ since the writer says the following -

For example, if I run out of gas in my Highlander can I keep driving normally until I run out of juice in my batteries?

I assumed he owned a Highlander, and was not asking a hypothetical question.....perhaps I was assuming too much.

You're welcome!

Thanks for digging that info out, Ray. In my slight experience, the Prius gives good warning when the tank approaches empty. If the last 1/10 (not 1/8 as I previously reported) of the fullness indicator is the only one lit, you get warning messages and that last segment blinks at you; and you have 50-55 miles in hand.

As a last resort, I wonder if one could switch to "EV" (Electric Vehicle) mode, which might move you down the road a little, or a lot, depending on how downhill the road is. (Though I hear that not all USian models of the Prius have EV mode installed.)

I was not aware that any Prius models sold in the U.S. had a manually selectable EV mode.

From the UK

On the Prius: if you have the ev mode available then a short distance on level roads is quite possible, certainly enough to get you to safety, just don't drive till the batteries are flat or they don't like it. I would imagine the same is true for the other hybrids. they all move off without the engine (under gentle acceleration.) even without an ev button.

mrcheerful

Ah, then that simplifies the issue enormously. (FWIW, on the UK "T4" package, the EV button is low on the dashboard just left of the steering column -- NB r/h drive in UK. I have yet to use it in a serious way, so the US may not be missing much.)

I tried it after posting the above. The battery started showing about 6/8-charged. Pressed the EV button and an icon lit on the dashboard. Reversed out then went onto the road. Drove away as usual, reaching 30mph easily, as if running normally. By then I had gone some 200 yards along the road. At that point, the icon flashed a few times then went out, as the car reverted to normal mode. The battery showed about 3/8-charged. Whether the switch back to normal was a result of battery charge becoming depleted, or the speed I was asking the car to do, I know not. FWIW, that road is really a lane: although it's well surfaced, only a twerp would exceed about 40mph. So I tend to accelerate gently. HTH.

I can drive my car 1000 miles without filling my tank

How far can I drive my car if I do fill my tank?

Did another test. Selected EV mode. Stayed below 20mph to stop the car switching back to normal mode, then drove along a level road for about 3/8 of a mile, which included a turn-off and the associated braking/accelerating. Car stayed in EV mode, using one segment of the battery indicator (meaning energy used could be 1/8-2/8 of capacity). Then I had to revert to normal (another press on the EV button) because other traffic came along.

So EV mode seems to work as advertised: short range -- less than a mile -- at low speeds, quite suitable for negotiating cramped, poorly ventilated but not-too-large spaces.

I've always wanted a vehicle like that to go down the drive to get the mail at my estate's guardhouse, along with the estate with a drive long enough to need one of those vehicles ;-)