About The Prius Plug-In Hybrid (2012 Model) - Toyota Prius ZVW35 Series Dismantling Manual

About the Prius Plug-in hybrid (2012 Model)

The Prius Plug-in hybrid contains a gasoline engine, an electric motor, and a newly developed large
capacity Li-ion battery. It is the first Toyota hybrid that allows the HV battery to be plugged-in and
charged by an external power source. Two power sources are stored on board the vehicle:
3. Gasoline stored in the fuel tank for the gasoline engine.
4. Electricity stored in a large capacity externally chargeable high voltage Hybrid Vehicle (HV) battery
assembly for the electric motor.
Depending on the driving conditions, one or both sources are used to power the vehicle. The following
illustration demonstrates how the Prius Plug-in hybrid operates in various driving modes.
EV (Electric Vehicle) Mode:
Utilizing the charge cable assembly connected to a 120 Volt outlet, the vehicle's HV battery can be
charged within 3 hours.
When the HV battery is sufficiently charged, the vehicle will basically run on the power of the motor.
If the vehicle exceeds 100 km/h or accelerates suddenly when traveling in plug-in EV mode, the
gasoline engine and motor work together to power the vehicle.
HV (Hybrid Vehicle) Mode:
During light acceleration at low speeds, the vehicle is powered by the electric motor. The gasoline
engine is shut off.
During normal driving, the vehicle is powered mainly by the gasoline engine. The gasoline engine
also powers the generator to recharge the battery assembly and to drive the motor.
During full acceleration, such as climbing a hill, both the gasoline engine and the electric motor
power the vehicle.
During deceleration, such as when braking, the vehicle regenerates the kinetic energy from the front
wheels to produce electricity that recharges the battery assembly.
While the vehicle is stopped, the gasoline engine and electric motor are off, however the vehicle
remains on and operational.
Plug-in Charging
Normal Driving
Electricity
Plug-in charging
EV Mode
Hard Acceleration
Electricity and gasoline Electricity Electricity and gasoline Electricity and gasoline
(additional electricity
extracted from batteries)
HV (Hybrid Vehicle) Mode
36
Engine
Charging batteries
automatically
stopped