Heater Output Reduced in Economy Running Mode

[AndyNWuk]

Compliments of the season.

I have owned my ZSEV since September 2020, but due to lock-downs etc. I have only achieved around 2500 miles so far, so mainly used for running around locally.

A couple of weeks back, the weather turned very cold and outside temperature was just over freezing at 2 degrees C in my area.

To conserve the main battery power, I had to do a short run over to the supermarket but did this in Economy Mode.

I noticed the heater in the car on this particular run only gave a very mild low heat output and I had to compensate this by turning on the heated seats to keep warm.

After turning the car off and on again at my destination, the heat output was restored again to warming the inside of the car very quickly and nice and cozy.

This has happened a couple of times to me recently and was contemplating in contacting my dealer for help.

Today while I was sat in the car after completing another local journey in Economy Mode and again experiencing a low heater output, after switching the Mode switch over to Normal running position, the heater output came back up and again switching back to economy mode the heat output dramatically reduced.

Has anyone else noticed this? Is this a normal feature to reduce the cabin heater output when in Economy Mode?

Just thought I would ask as I couldn't see any information in the handbook regarding the Heater Output being reduced in Economy Mode.

I normally drive in "Normal Mode" not "Economy" so haven't experienced this problem before.

Andy (Blackpool)

 

[teepee]

Yes, in Eco mode heater output is limited. You need Normal mode to get any real heat from it. Heated seats, though, aren't affected.

 

[BillyWhizz]

in my mg5 the air con has a econ button which is automatically turned on when you use eco driving mode you can turn this off to get full heating while still using eco driving mode

 

[Lovemyev]

The ZS EV is set to “Boot Up” in the default mode of NORMAL and Regen level 3.
In this default condition, you have full heating to the cabin.
If you then manually select ECO mode, it is set to reduce the heat provided to the cabin.
This makes perfect sense, because the cabin heater has a big affect on reducing the available range.
So, requesting more range and then increasing the demand for heat, simply does not go hand in hand really.
In Eco mode, you are trying to preserve range, not consume more !.
If that makes any sense ?.

 

[AndyNWuk]

Thank you all for confirming this and I totally understand what you are saying about the Economy Mode reducing the cabin heater output. I have only used Economy setting during summer months so hadn’t noticed the effect it had on the cabin heater before, but thanks again for the clarification, at least I know it isn’t any problem with the car.
All the Very Best for 2022.

Andy (Blackpool)

 

[Webbo]

I only recently discovered this as well after complaints from my wife

 

[Kithmo]

Funnily enough, my heater seems the same in Eco or Normal mode, it's not exceptionally hot, could it be stuck in Eco mode ?
There was a setting on the Prius where you could set the heating in Eco mode with the car in Normal mode, does the ZS have this somewhere ?

 

[Slipstream]

No the ZS does not have that setting I normally set of in normal mode car warms very quickly. Then switch to ECO car stays works well.

 

[Lovemyev]

Funnily enough, my heater seems the same in Eco or Normal mode, it's not exceptionally hot, could it be stuck in Eco mode ?
There was a setting on the Prius where you could set the heating in Eco mode with the car in Normal mode, does the ZS have this somewhere ?

Easy to check, next you are using the car in the NORMAL default mode.
Turn up the heat to the maximum setting and with a decent blower speed.
Direct the heat via the turbine side vents and after a couple of minutes, check the heat produced with your cupped hand over the vent.
Now without touching the heater settings, put the car into ECO mode.
After only a few minutes, you should now feel the heat / temperature of the air produced dropping away and cooling down.
If so, then by selecting ECO mode it has pulled back the power being supplied to the cabin heater.
This is how it is designed to work.
Throttling back the power to the heater element is done to preserve the range in the pack.