This is going to sound very stupid, but I don't see how to shift into B gear from D. It seems locked into place while I'm driving.
The shifter has a "rest" position, which is where it is whenever you're not in the midst of shifting with it. It always goes back to that sort of right, middle spot. So after you've shifted to D (left and down) ... and then let the shifter back to its rest spot ... B is straight down. -Chap
No, that is Reverse. Drive is down and left Neutral is Left, but there is hardly ever a reason to be in N
No matter what gear you are in, the shifter goes back to the rest position once you let go of it. (the white circle in the picture) From the rest position, D is to the left a little and down.
And N takes more effort: pull it over to "9 oclock", and hold it there for about a second. There's always confirmation on the dash, as to what gear you're in. I will occasionally use N, to roll the car's wheel into firm contact with curb, when parking on a hill. You could do it in D or R, but it's more controlled in N.
Supposedly, you use B when you're driving down hill so it'll recharge your HV battery, but I don't feel any benefit in it, or am I doing it wrong?
It's to reduce charging. To avoid a completely topped up battery, and the car falling back to using the friction brakes 100%, with a long downhill stretch still to go. It's not really well explained in the manual, for sure. I've never experienced this, even coming down our Mount Seymour. I do use B most of the way, go back to D on zones where the road levels out.
The exact opposite actually. B adds engine braking to slow charging of the HV Battery. This keeps it cooler and keeps the disc brakes cooler later once the battery is 'completely' recharged and all of the braking falls to friction. Cool is good, boiling the brake fluid is bad. So B is a wise idea from the top of a long descent.
Your potential energy is your mass and elevation. It's not physically possible for B to recharge more than D. I'm observing different things in my PIP versus Mendel and Jimbo. The HSI indicates double or more magnitude in regen rate in B vs D. Of course, it's no more than if you lightly put your foot on the brakes. You don't actually get anymore regen but it's easier on your legs. I only experience engine braking when the battery gets hot or full.
There are several reasons the Plug ins work differently than the hybrids 1) much larger battery means that you can descend about 2000 feet before the battery fills, compared to 600 vertical drop in the hybrid. 2)PHEV also has a much higher charge rate, so there is less excess energy lost that needs to be burned off in rotating the engine. As such, B in the Plug Ins is not all that similar to B in the Hybrids.
The opposite. B is an engine brake. You would use it if you are going to be going downhill a long distance so you dont over heat the brakes. You wont be charging the battery as much. It's the same as if you were driving a normal car and put it into a lower gear to slow the car down.
I looked in the Owner's Manual for something definitive, a good description of B mode, came up more-or-less empty. Excerpt from page 174: What's known has been cobbled together, regarding diminished charging in B, and the need to use it on long descents to avoid (or at least postpone) running out of "regen braking". Very little from Toyota, at least in the Owner's Manual. Is there something spelled out, somewhere?
I just drive from Ohio to North Carolina. Went through the mountains, of course. I hardly needed to brake. Wierd.
there may be more posts/threads about b mode, than any other feature. i don't think anyone really knows what it does.
