Automatic switch to Power mode in snow....dangerous

JATO boosters on a Prius?
Hmmmmm.....Interesting.....

How do they affect your mileage?

Oh crap...you were kidding!

 

Depends on which way you point them.

Tom

 

I can't speak to the issue of the PWR mode automatically, in its full-on, neck-snapping, 134 HP (if you're flooring it) brute force, coming on as a consequence of there being snow on the roads. Perhaps the car has a real issue; others here have offered alternative hypotheses that seem perhaps a bit more plausible.

Regarding the ABS issue--and I remember this being viewed as a Big Damn Deal when it first became widely available--it *will* increase your stopping distance in snow, although not by much unless you're seriously overdriving the conditions on your local interstate, you see the Krispy Kreme "HOT DONUTS NOW" signs light up in your rear view mirror, and stab the brakes for all you're worth with the intent to back up to the exit you missed a mile or so ago (maniacally knocking snowplows out of your way with the phenomenal power at your disposal).

At low speeds in snow (especially if it is cold, crunchy, dry snow), you will be able to come to a stop a bit sooner without ABS; if you're gently 'threshold' braking, the tires skid slightly, under your control, and pile a bit of snow in front of them, slowing you down. I remember reading an article in Car and Driver long ago mentioning a rash of people in Mercedeses and BMWs and other high-end cars (the first to get the technology) punching holes in their garage doors before they got used to it their first winter with the new car. Rule of thumb in engineering and life in general: nothing is perfect. The tradeoff with ABS is that you can steer better in the snow (or in other skidding conditions), much as you would with threshold braking whereby you apply force to the pedal just until the grip begins to lessen, let up a bit, and repeat and repeat and repeat. Truth is, as good as we'd all like to think we are, the computer can do this far faster than a human can. IMO, it's a tradeoff I'm happy with, especially if armed with the knowledge that (stop the presses!) slippery surfaces are going to increase one's stopping distance.

My knowledge may be imperfect in the above area; however, one thing I can say with absolute certainty is, I'd never buy mwok's car. It is the most singularly troublesome vehicle in automotive history, ridden like Swiss cheese with every imaginable flaw (and many yet to be imagined, but be patient, gentle readers, be patient; they get rolled out like Microsoft patches at the rate of about one every two weeks, and occasionally in bursts...). It of course goes without saying that all of them are purposefully deadly, mean, nasty, ugly and just plain out to getcha. In fact, I've heard it is the only Gen III factory-painted in a bright, sunny yellow, with factory-added, mileage-reducing dimples, odd conical projections front and back, full of seeds and rife with a bitter taste. Oh yeah, and a special snow sensor, too. To activate the PWR mode. When it smells fear.

 

An impressive salute to Toyota technology! And yet this might not be so difficult to achieve -- as anyone familiar with the equestrian alternative to the automobile will understand. All you need is an adrenaline sensor. Smell the sweat of fear and the horse bolts. Nonetheless I admire Toyota's dedication in emulating the old thrill of the horse drawn carriage by incorporating this clever sensor.
For some this could be alarming -- but the old rules still apply: just hold onto the reins when that adrenaline sensor triggers the power mode.

 

Just wondering; Does it only switch from ECO to POWER mode in the snow? Has it ever done that before? Were you the only one in the car when this happened. The Prius is not designed to ever change modes without the driver selecting it. It seems we're missing a lot of information to make any determinations other than driver error at this point.

 

Read some of the other posts on this thread and also read some of the previous posts by the OP and you'll understand.

 

Yeah, I've tried this a lot in the past and frankly it's very, very difficult. ABS is, I believe, a major boon to auto safety. I do realize there are few (or at least were few) if any indications it truly reduces accidents but heck I like it. If for no other reason than when i'm about to plow through a stop sign in the snow I know that I'm literally doing all i can do now to slow down. Without ABS the pumping or threshold braking is exceedingly difficult to do properly.

LOL, the simple truth is that his car has NEVER by itself switched from ECO to PWR mode without him pressing the PWR button. Not ever has it or will it. Whether he's lying in the first post (probably) or simply very confused and is referring to the red power band while still in ECO mode, who knows, it really hardly matters.

I'm starting a betting pool on next MWOK thread. So far potentials are:

1) I blew a speaker while cranking Black Eye Peas at full volume with bass cranked to full, this car sucks, although for a moment I was having the time of my life
2) There is a paint chip on my hood, this car sucks
3) I got a flat tire while driving on the beltway, the worse road ever, Toyota uses junk tires on their cars
4) I got pulled over for speeding after the car accelerated by itself, which is Toyota's fault. Also the cop laughed about giving a ticket to somebody in a Prius.
5) I went over a speed bump too fast and the car bucked up quite a lot, did I damage the suspension?

 

I believe the "slide" you are experiencing is the defective Prius braking system, which feels like a "surge" when going over a bump. This is because the regen stops, and only the friction brake works when hitting a rough surface. Toyota claims to have fixed this with the ABS recall, but they haven't. Someone is going to get hurt, and then watch for the class action law suit ...

 

I do not know why this guy keeps his Prius. He posts nothing but fears about driving it. Can it get wet, can it drive on rough roads, can you stop it at a light? One paranoid irrational post after another. Seriously he should just get rid of the car and buy a big 4 wheel drive truck.

 

I have, and know of mwok's reputation on this board. He wants people to post responses about his problems, when it seems undoubtedly he's the source of most, if not all of them. The only way I can treat people like this is to ask common sense questions they should be able to answer and deflect it back to them.

 

That works if the people are not trolls. Per common trend Mwok has made like a tree and no more posts from him in this thread, but he'll make another soon enough with another insane question. And as I've done in the past when I see it I'll link to the other threads he's made and it's all just a big circle of life.