I just saw a commercial for the new HiHy. It has an EV button! Why was this not put in the Camry?? It would be so useful to have that button sometimes. You wouldn't have to try to "force" ev mode, or come to a stop to get it to switch over. I have a half mile street before my house that is perfect for EV mode. I can never use it in the morning, because it's too cold to switch over. It would be great for heavy street traffic and parking lots too. I don't suppose anyone has figured out a way to install this on a TCH?

Word is it's not possible. 08 Highlander comes with it, and apparently Prius comes with it outside the US (or NA or something), so it's actually built with the capability and people can add the EV button themselves. But what I hear is TCH has no capacity for having an EV button so there's really nothing to do.

And yeah I agree, before I even found out there was such a thing, I was wishing I had exactly that.

We already discussed it before. Most common believe is very long US warranty for batteries: running pure EV mode too much would keep the battery at very low state of discharge and shorten the life of batteries, presumably increasing their failure rate before warranty expires (up to 150k/10 yrs in some US states). Possibly Toyota implemented better protection of batteries in pure EV mode or the batteries are better than expected to be included in HiHy. Europe doesn't get extended warranty on batteries so they do have EV mode on the Prius from the beginning.

I don't really see the point of the button- it's only good in a few situations. It won't work in any of the following situations:

-It won't work if your speed is 25mph or greater.
-It won't work if the traction battery is low.
-It won't work if the engine is warming up.
-It won't work if the defogger is on.
-It won't work if the gas pedal is depressed firmly.
-It won't work if the hybrid system temp. is too high / too low.

(Source: Toyota Iguide http://www.toyotaiguide.com/iGuide_HighHy.htm)

So the only real circumstances that the EV button would actually work would be in parking lots or if you are driving very slowly- and the Camry Hybrid will most likely be cruising in electric-only mode anyway.

So in the original poster's scenario where they would use it while driving down the half-mile street near your house in the morning- the EV button wouldn't work because the gas engine would still be warming up.

I have experienced a number of times when none of the above mentioned conditions existed, yet the motor continued to run. Sometimes it is only for a few minutes but it still would be nice to force the EV mode.

Yeah, me too. Sometimes the conditions are perfect for EV, but the dang thing won't switch over. Even when warm!!

Do you two (wes878 and H2O Doctor) really drive that far at speeds below 25mph?

Maybe it's just my location, but the only time that I really drive below 25mph is when I back out of my driveway (About 100 feet) and when I pull into the parking lot at work (maybe 300-400 feet).

(And yes, those times when the gas motor refuses to turn off are really annoying)

Yeah, that half mile of street by my house is full of speed bumps, so it is perfect for EV. Also, there is quite a bit of time on the freeway when I don't make it over 25. (I drive in rush hour both ways.)

Any time you're not in "full hybrid" mode, can't go fast, but can't stop to wait the ~10 seconds for it to cut over would be a perfect time for forcing EV mode if possible. I've had tons of times when it would make a difference. Maybe less now that I understand better how full hybrid mode works, and what (more or less) it takes to get into it, but still.

Toyota says that EV mode (with the switch) won't generally improve mileage. Don't forget that all power must eventually come from the ICE and that since the ICE must be warmed up anyway that it might as well be driving the wheels. In other words, don't sweat this and enjoy the drive!