First to go over some basics that you probably already know, but just in case some of it is not clear, there are three modes that the car can be in:
ACCESSORY
ON
READY
The first two are activated by pressing the power button without pressing the brake pedal. One press for ACCESSORY, another press for ON. Pressing the brake pedal while pressing the power button puts the car into READY mode. The word READY will always appear on the display when you are in that mode, if it doesn't then you are either in ACCESSORY or ON mode.
It's important to note that ACCESSORY and ON modes draw only from the 12V battery and will eventually drain it. Only when in READY mode does it draw from the HV battery. Which of course can be drained also but it takes a whole lot longer, and also when the HV battery does get down to 0 then the gas engine will automatically come on to recharge the battery. Whereas in ACCESSORY or ON modes it will let the 12V keep draining until it is dead. Although in ACCESSORY mode it will turn off after 30-60 minutes which is what you experienced, but it won't stop you from repeatedly turning it back on to ACCESSORY mode and continue to drain the 12V for another 30-60 minutes at a time until you have successfully killed it. ON mode meanwhile will just keep running continuously until the 12V well is dry, which it will do much faster since ON mode activates the entire electrical system except for AC compressor and heater.
Also the HV battery is lithium ion which is designed to be cycled (i.e. drained and recharged). Whereas the 12V is a traditional lead acid which gets worn out when it is drained excessively, and draining it too low can greatly shorten it's life. Meanwhile the HV battery has built in safeguards to keep you from draining it enough to harm it.
So to avoid putting unnecessary strain on the 12V battery it's normally best to avoid ACCESSORY or ON modes except for brief periods. Although just using the radio in ACCESSORY mode might be okay for a couple of hours, it's just not great for the 12V battery. And it also requires you to have to press the power button every 30-60 minutes or so to turn it back on. You could avoid that by putting it in ON mode, however that activates the entire electrical system and will drain the 12V much faster, not to mention also lighting up all of the dash lights, so no real advantage to being in ON mode, you might as well put it into READY mode.
As for the DRL's, there's a trick to turn them off, simply activate the parking brake prior to turning the car on, and voila no DRL's as long as the headlights are not on and as long as the car is not in gear.
The dash can be dimmed using the brightness button behind the left side of the steering wheel. Also the infotainment screen has a separate brightness control, press the brightness button on the lower left side of the infotainment screen to cycle between day and night modes, each of which have separate brightness settings. The third setting is off which makes the infotainment screen go completely dark, although for some inexplicable reason the control buttons on the left side of the infotainment screen then go to maximum brightness. But at least that gives you just a small strip of light that can be more easily covered up.
What I would recommend for movie outings is the following:
- Put the car in READY mode. Another nice thing about READY mode is that you can run climate control for heat or AC. As long as the HV battery has a decent charge you will be fine running climate for two hours. And no real risk as the worst case is you run it down to 0 and the gas engine will come on, although even then it will only cycle on for a few minutes at a time if you are just sitting parked.
- Use the buttons behind the steering wheel to dim the dash to the lowest setting
- Press the infotainment brightness button and cycle the infotainment screen to off
- Make a small cloth or cardboard cover that will cover the infotainment buttons and the power button (the big red glaring one)
- Make another small cover for any of the climate or gear select buttons that are still on, unless you don't find them bothersome
- Make a cover for the main display, unless at it's full dimmed setting you don't find it bothersome.
ACCESSORY
ON
READY
The first two are activated by pressing the power button without pressing the brake pedal. One press for ACCESSORY, another press for ON. Pressing the brake pedal while pressing the power button puts the car into READY mode. The word READY will always appear on the display when you are in that mode, if it doesn't then you are either in ACCESSORY or ON mode.
It's important to note that ACCESSORY and ON modes draw only from the 12V battery and will eventually drain it. Only when in READY mode does it draw from the HV battery. Which of course can be drained also but it takes a whole lot longer, and also when the HV battery does get down to 0 then the gas engine will automatically come on to recharge the battery. Whereas in ACCESSORY or ON modes it will let the 12V keep draining until it is dead. Although in ACCESSORY mode it will turn off after 30-60 minutes which is what you experienced, but it won't stop you from repeatedly turning it back on to ACCESSORY mode and continue to drain the 12V for another 30-60 minutes at a time until you have successfully killed it. ON mode meanwhile will just keep running continuously until the 12V well is dry, which it will do much faster since ON mode activates the entire electrical system except for AC compressor and heater.
Also the HV battery is lithium ion which is designed to be cycled (i.e. drained and recharged). Whereas the 12V is a traditional lead acid which gets worn out when it is drained excessively, and draining it too low can greatly shorten it's life. Meanwhile the HV battery has built in safeguards to keep you from draining it enough to harm it.
So to avoid putting unnecessary strain on the 12V battery it's normally best to avoid ACCESSORY or ON modes except for brief periods. Although just using the radio in ACCESSORY mode might be okay for a couple of hours, it's just not great for the 12V battery. And it also requires you to have to press the power button every 30-60 minutes or so to turn it back on. You could avoid that by putting it in ON mode, however that activates the entire electrical system and will drain the 12V much faster, not to mention also lighting up all of the dash lights, so no real advantage to being in ON mode, you might as well put it into READY mode.
As for the DRL's, there's a trick to turn them off, simply activate the parking brake prior to turning the car on, and voila no DRL's as long as the headlights are not on and as long as the car is not in gear.
The dash can be dimmed using the brightness button behind the left side of the steering wheel. Also the infotainment screen has a separate brightness control, press the brightness button on the lower left side of the infotainment screen to cycle between day and night modes, each of which have separate brightness settings. The third setting is off which makes the infotainment screen go completely dark, although for some inexplicable reason the control buttons on the left side of the infotainment screen then go to maximum brightness. But at least that gives you just a small strip of light that can be more easily covered up.
What I would recommend for movie outings is the following:
- Put the car in READY mode. Another nice thing about READY mode is that you can run climate control for heat or AC. As long as the HV battery has a decent charge you will be fine running climate for two hours. And no real risk as the worst case is you run it down to 0 and the gas engine will come on, although even then it will only cycle on for a few minutes at a time if you are just sitting parked.
- Use the buttons behind the steering wheel to dim the dash to the lowest setting
- Press the infotainment brightness button and cycle the infotainment screen to off
- Make a small cloth or cardboard cover that will cover the infotainment buttons and the power button (the big red glaring one)
- Make another small cover for any of the climate or gear select buttons that are still on, unless you don't find them bothersome
- Make a cover for the main display, unless at it's full dimmed setting you don't find it bothersome.