Sort of an aside question... on the eco page of entune premium, when you click the history page: What does "clip" do?

 

It took me a while to figure out what clip does. It resets the "current" mpg display on the history page.

Since the built in computer resets the "trip" data, every time you turn off the engine, I used it to see how I did on a round trip where I drove to a destination, stopped, then came back.

It is one of 2 displays that you can reset and will accumulate until you reset again. The other is one of 3 choices on the "eco" display in front of you. The other choices on that display are Tank and Trip. I am leaving that re-settable one alone for now to see how I do over the first year!

For fun, you can hit clip as you are going to go down a long down hill, then hit it again at the bottom. That way your "best" will be amazing. :smile

 

The correct way to drive a hybrid is to use the brakes AS LESS AS POSSIBLE!
The regeneration is optimal using the driveline deceleration only. Applying the smallest amount of brakes will do. If you drive in mountain area's going downhill select a lover "gear" to slow down.
The "pulse-and-glide" method works the best while driving in normal modes...

 

Let's not scare a new hybrid driver too much about regenerative braking.

The correct way to drive a hybrid is to use the brakes AS LESS AS POSSIBLE!
The regeneration is optimal using the driveline deceleration only. Applying the smallest amount of brakes will do. If you drive in mountain area's going downhill select a lover "gear" to slow down.

Yes gliding is best but, on a long down hill, why not use light regenerative braking until the battery icon is near "full", then select the lower gear?

The more you smash on the break the more energy you're going to lose due to using your friction breaks. So if you're looking at the eco guage the closer the needle is to the "off" section means you're using less regen breaking and more friction breaking. Light breaking will engage the regen motors to slow you and will capture the most energy for the hybrid battery.

Do we know for sure when friction braking kicks in? I thought that it doesn't until the needle is to the very bottom, close to the "off" section

Pretty simple actually. When the needle reaches max charging, the friction brakes start to be applied.

Important to remember that ALL braking is bad for efficience, its just that regen braking is less bad.

The charging portion of the meter has a mark in the middle, its more efficient to avoid going past that 1/2 way mark. All this is speed related; the faster you are going the less brake pressure it takes to get max charging.

Do we know the significance of that half way mark? That it is less efficient to go beyond it?

My other vehicle is a Prius and I have a scan gauge which gives lots of info including the amount of charge being regenerated and the friction braking pressure. On the Prius friction braking doesn't kick in until the regen gauge is full (unless you have slowed to almost a stop).

If we don't use regen braking when there is the opportunity, won't the gas engine kick in more often to recharge the battery?

 

The more you smash on the break the more energy you're going to lose due to using your friction breaks. So if you're looking at the eco guage the closer the needle is to the "off" section means you're using less regen breaking and more friction breaking. Light breaking will engage the regen motors to slow you and will capture the most energy for the hybrid battery.

 

The more you smash on the break the more energy you're going to lose due to using your friction breaks. So if you're looking at the eco guage the closer the needle is to the "off" section means you're using less regen breaking and more friction breaking

I don't think this is quite correct. I'm not sure when the friction brakes actually engage, but I thought it was the opposite. The closer the needle is towards OFF the more charge you are producing. I read somewhere in here that the closer the needle is to charge (like coasting down the hiway) the more regeneration is taking place. That didn't make sense to me so I thought I would ask the Car Care guy on YouTube that puts out all the Toyota videos. Here was his response as to how the hybrid system indicator functions.


Thank you for watching my channel.

The hybrid system indicator is a simple representation of how your driving habits are and in no way shape or form directly related to how the hybrid system is operating. Allow me to explain.

The Charge section : The further away you are from Eco the more regenerative charge you are producing. You can see this when you are at highway speeds and you press the brakes lightly the needle will go slightly into charge, If you press the brakes harder it will move further indicating more regenerative braking which means more regenerative charging to the HV battery.

The Eco section : That is a very general indication of your overall driving habit. So the closer you are to charge the more economical you are driving. The closer to power the less economical you are driving. But when you are closer to Charge meaning when you are driving economically that doesn’t mean that the engine will be off, it could be on but still you are driving economically. A good way to look at it is, the lower you are in the eco section the more economical you are driving in the current state of the hybrid system ( Engine on, engine off, engine driving, engine not driving…etc)

Power mode: This one is simple, This is more of an indication of how much power of the hybrid system are you using headings towards max power. The higher you are in power mode the less efficient you are driving. When the power section reaches the highest at wide open throttle, you are at max allowed power from the hybrid system which is the least efficient.

Hope this helps clarify.

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Toyota Master Diagnostic Technician
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I believe this is increasing the amount of regenerative charging being done via braking, but I also know that at some point the friction brakes are engaging.

Pretty simple actually. When the needle reaches max charging, the friction brakes start to be applied.

Important to remember that ALL braking is bad for efficience, its just that regen braking is less bad.

The charging portion of the meter has a mark in the middle, its more efficient to avoid going past that 1/2 way mark. All this is speed related; the faster you are going the less brake pressure it takes to get max charging.

 

Yep, I am inclined to believe what you posted above. I think Toyota makes the synergy drive very intuitive and easy for anyone got maximize.

 

The sport mode "gears" are pretty inefficient for braking. Forcing the ICE to spin faster decreases the MG rpm, less charging. If you must brake the most efficient way is to use the brake pedal. When the traction battery is full the system will force ICE braking anyway, and blend with friction brakes. Using the speed control system works in most cases but may not be able to provide sufficient brake force on extended grades. Again, it will use ICE braking if the battery is full.

 

No new info here but confirming what other's have said. I have a 2014 Camry hybrid with almost 188,000 km on it and still on my original brake pads.

For efficiency spend as much time with the needle just above the "braking/regen zone". When you do need to slow down try to be smooth with the brakes and stay in the regen zone.

For me driving the hybrid is mentally like when I mountain bike (single track). Don't waste energy! Any mechanical energy bought and paid for with gasoline or my bleeding lungs is better used coasting or cornering; like a roller coaster. So better not to brake but when you do brake, stay in the regen zone! Driving other cars like my older V6 RAV just seems clumsy compared to a hybrid in terms of waste. Coasting with engine on, idling etc seem old school now.

The older RAV will be replaced with a XSE once they become available in Canada.

 

Yep, you’re 100% correct. I basically try to smooth out my driving as much as possible without being a nuisance. Sometimes you have to give the go pedal a little more just to make sure everyone gets through the light, etc.

You’ll love the new RAV. It’s a really really impressive machine.

As an aside: I started a trip with a slow brake down a hill today and after 15km, the trip eco meter was showing 4l per 100km. Pretty astounding.

 

The simple way to monitor this is with an OBD device and the Hybrid Assistant app on your phone or tablet. This shows that light braking gives best efficiency but moderate braking can give more regen before mechanical braking takes over. There is a very noticeable point when slowing to a stop where all electronic braking turns off and the last few yards need more pedal effort to maintain the same deceleration. This caught me out at first but I now anticipate it.

 

Myself I can hardly feel the transition from regen to friction braking. It is very smooth on the Rav4. My Ram truck (2019 with the Etorque) on the other hand it was very noticeable. You would have quite a bit of braking and then towards the stop you could totally feel the regen kick off and the braking was weaker.