Is there a legitimate use for charge mode in the Prime?

That's my point; it won't be done away with.

 

Was there any point to that point? Has anyone here ever suggested it would?

 

Is there a point to you raising that point?

 

Well, yes, as it happens, just because it has taken some effort over the length of this thread to keep track of what point you were trying to make. Ranked roughly by the number of your posts in this thread where you have made each claim, your claims have included:

• that there is no engine braking unless you select B on the shifter
  #39 #42 #54 #70 #81 #89 #95 #101 #110
• that there is some meaningful distinction between "engine drag" and "engine braking", or B mode "does more than rotate the gas engine."
  #139 #142 #149 #154
• that HacksawMark somehow wasn't quoting directly from the owners' manual when he pointed out that the gen 5 Prime assigned an additional "regeneration boost" effect to the shifter B selection
  #45 #47 #50
• that HacksawMark was going "beyond the absurd to chase the illusion of winning" when he attached PDF of what you had insisted wasn't in the owners' manual
  #65
• that Prius engine braking works (like diesel Jacobs brakes) by manipulating the valves
  #39
• that fuzzy1's explanation to you of when the car employs engine braking was "a made up story"
  #83

There hadn't been anybody in 8 pages of thread talking about whether Toyota would ever "do away with" engine braking, until it became a red herring you raised just this morning in #154.

So I wasn't sure whether "engine braking won't be done away with" is now, as of today, the sum and essence of the point you'd like to make.

If so, that's great—I think we can all agree that engine braking won't be done away with.

 

You forgot a reason, the battery is cold and can't accept anymore current to slow down the car. I've seen it a few times.

 

If simple engine manifold vacuum were enough to hold a car from accelerating out of control on a long, steep slope, they wouldn't have designed an engine brake.

 

Bravo for cataloguing.

It's now back to the sullen non-reply non-sequitur stage it reaches when it refuses to concede a point, won't address arguments or evidence being presented, and doesn't want to go back to writing detailed nonsense of its own. It's done this cycle a number of times now.

I do hope it is a bot, and not actual brain damage or senility.

But as much as I can glean, I think this thread is now at:

• "B" is magic and has a special purpose - "engine braking". That's the starting premise which cannot be conceded.
• Having apparently (but not explicitly?) conceded that the engine will produce drag in D, B remains special because it does "engine braking", while the D can only give you "engine drag".
• Despite one getting up to 13kW of braking/drag from the engine in either B or D - measurements provided.
• No longer any attempt to claim a specific technical difference between "braking" and "drag" (or between the Prius and other cars) and even reluctant to admit it's still suggesting they're different, but the non-sequiturs are based on that.
• B="special engine braking" seems to be the fundamental "prompt" and everything else just follows without proper logic, like a typical AI wordstream. But its had enough negative feedback on what it has produced that it's struggling to produce anything new or concrete.

AI natural language models treat counter-arguments just like additional rules on what the wordstream should contain - an extension of the original prompt. They don't really do logic. But there's not a lot of output space containing both "argue why the special engine braking mode of P in the Prius is required" and all the counter-arguments presented here, so you could end up with something like we're getting now.

(Mind you, ChatGPT and others do tend to concede quite easily, normally - if asked a question, you can point out why an answer's wrong, and they will generally back down and agree. Even wrongly! This one is not working like that, maybe because it wasn't starting from a question like "what does B do in a Prius?")

 

No need to call bots stupid. They are easy to train.
ChatGPT responded as follows.

"In a Toyota Prius, the "B" mode stands for "Engine Braking." When you shift the transmission into "B," it increases the regenerative braking effect of the electric motor, which helps to slow down the vehicle more efficiently when going downhill or during deceleration. This can help recharge the hybrid battery while providing additional control and stability on steep grades. It's particularly useful in situations where you want to maintain a lower speed without relying solely on the brake pedal. However, it's not necessary for regular driving conditions, as the standard "D" (Drive) mode is typically sufficient."

 

Unfortunately, AI bots aren't good at filtering out false information. If a lot of people claim that the "B" mode is some sort of "super regeneration," the bot swallows it, hook, line and sinker.