When I purchased my Prius (last 2 weeks ago) the sales guy was saying before turning off the car I need to press the "P" (Parking) button first, but I accidently turn off the car first before pressing the P. Anyone done this before or will this effect the power or parking in anyway?
1)Please familiarize yourself with the search feature, this question has been covered innumerable times. 2)There are 2 schools of thought here. a)It is, mechanically/electronically, perfectly OK to just hit the power button without first hitting the Park button. You won't hurt the car, it will, electronically, go into park first, before shutting down. So hitting P first is completely unnecessary. It's what I've done for 6 years and many of us do that. b)It is considered by many to be a better habit to use the P button first, then hit the power button to avoid the possibility of having the car move if you forget to put the car in P when stopped, but not shutting down.
Its perfectly ok from the cars point of view, but you must forfeit your Prius drivers license for 3 days. :madgrin:
I'm in the "there's no need" camp. It automatically does it. And if you're that forgetful that you need a routine to make sure you don't forget to Park if you're stopping without powering off, well...
I disagree. I think it's actually a better habit to skip the P button and hit the On/Off button, which will automatically put the car in park. There has been a number of people here who put the car in park and forgot to turn off only to return to find it's still on. At least if you're in the habit of ignoring the P button and you try to get out without turning off the car, it will panic and notify you.
The Manual states that pressing the Start Button will "AUTOMATICALLY" put the car in Park, same as pressing the Park Button first , then Pressing the Start Button to turn the car OFF. As Dr. Fusco indicated above, there are two camps of thought, I used to be in group B, but Dr. Fusco has shown me the light, it REALLY is not required to press two buttons, when pressing the Start Button will accomplish both steps...I've been converted! Save pressing the Park Button for those times when you want to put the car in Park, yet still leave it running. David (aka Blind Guy)
If you hit P but don't hit Start (car still "On") won't there be an alarm if you leave the car with the smart key on your person?
Yes, it will beep three times once you close the door; however, people have confused this with the alarm on beep (usually while in a hurry or distracted) and left the car while it's on and unlocked. It's happened to some forum users here. It won't go into panic like if you open the door while the car is in drive or that long annoying beep if you attempt to lock the car while a door is ajar, both of which are far more noticeable.
I just press power and I have never forgotten to press park if I am geting out of the car for a short time so leave the Prius in ready mode, eg, when locking a gate after coming through it.
