BOUGHT A PRIUS!

Welcome to PriusChat! I hope your Prius makes you as happy as mine have.

Use B mode from the top when descending long downgrades. It keeps both the brakes and the battery cooler by absorbing energy as an air pump. (Other than long downhills, B has no real use)

 

B mode will not charge the battery. You can just let it go, don't need B mode.

The battery SOC meter is not the ACTUAL battery charge. It's only 40% - 80%. Doesn't go below 40 and doesn't go above 80. This way the battery can last for years and years

 

It will still charge. (it does not charge at all in N, but B just adds engine Braking.) what you will notice in B is that the harder you brake, the more noise the engine makes as it is 'wasting' more energy. Coasting will still send energy to the battery, you are reducing the MAXIMUM charge not the minimum. You are trying not to over heat the battery as that reduces life. (for a similar reason, do not try to avoid A/C, as it is cooling the battery as well as you)

If you lived on a coastal plain as I do I would never recommend B mode, but CO has real mountains.

 

congratulations, she's gorgeous! all the best.

 

This website is a good place to learn many, many things Prius.
My most basic of Newbie advice is:
Read your owners manual if you have it.
And initially, just drive it. Don't try to learn all things Prius and Hybrid all at once.
Calculate your gas mileage on a tank to tank basis, and don't freak out over what might seem like a bad MPG trip, or converesely even a great MPG trip.

 

Congrats!

In general a good procedure when descending steep hills in the Prius is:

1. On the touch screen, display the Energy Monitor screen.
2. Use the brake pedal to slow the car steadily trying to avoid any pumping, just steady on the brake pedal to engage regenerative braking. Use the brake pedal until you reach 7 bars of charge (if you know you're in S4 Warmup mode you can go to 8 bars, in S3 it sometimes limits to 7 which is why I say 7).
3. Once you hit 7 (or 8 in S4) battery bars switch to using the B mode to slow the car instead of the brake pedal. Use the brakes still as needed
4. At the bottom of the hill switch back to D, drive mode.

I do this as I go up and down I-70 in Colorado.

The reason for this is when the battery is "fully" charged the Prius will not charge the battery further, so it disables regenerative braking. However on the initial part of the downhill, you might as well use regenerative braking to get up to a "full" charge. When the battery is "full", on steep downhills it's best to use the engine for braking to reduce wear and overheating of the brakes just as you would switch to S on an automatic or downshift in a manual.

I used quotes for "full" as the Prius only uses about 40% of the battery's capacity, varying the true state of charge between 40 to 80%. The battery is not allowed to discharge passed 40% or charge above 80% as this would reduce the lifespan of the battery, which must be cycled thousands of times in normal use.

 

To reduce overheating both the brakes and the battery, use B from the top, so it takes longer to fill the battery all the way.

 

It's really not suppose to charge that fast. If it's charging really fast, it could actually be a sign of a weak battery.

Is this a 1 owner car?

 

Barton,

Looks like it is in good shape, and well maintained.
Warrantee is a plus!

Enjoy the MPG!

stt

 

Don't panic the new owner.
I have one "hill" moderately steep and moderately long, in which I try to remember to use "B" when going down. My battery will top off, and charge pretty quickly every time I go down that hill. Has since the vehicle was brand new.

I think it's more likely his battery is just charging per normal. They will charge pretty quickly going down a steep long hill.

If I'm wrong?.....he'll eventually notice other problems and get a code. But in the meantime? I'd assume his battery is charging like nearly everyone's does going down a hill.

 

OK, what you're describing sounds normal.