So for the first time, I took my Prius on the beltway. I had to use a very dangerous ramp and right at the ramp, there is a big hill with lots of potholes (bridge construction). Anyways, I saw an opening and blasted the pedal on normal mode...I look in my rear mirror and a big suv is tailgating me. I'm hitting speeds of 65mph in a 55mph zone and he is still tailgating me. Is it okay to push the engine to the max (flooring)? I doubt I can even enter the beltway without flooring. Also, on one of the interstate, there is "fast moving" bumper to bumper traffic. For an example, you you move 50 feet and brake....rinse and repeat. I notice that to get upto that speed, the engine has to turn on. So the engine is "engaging" each time...that can't be good? Also, after about half an hour of driving, the battery is fully charged (due to the speeds) and I can hear the battery fan working (it actually sounds like it's roasting).
All of your concerns seem to be non-issues... Yes, it's fine to push he car hard, the only thing it's bad for is your Fuel Economy (and the environment) As for the engine engaging all the time, yes, that is how Hybrids function, and that is what they are built to sustain. When you mention that you move 'fast' for 50 feet, then brake, rinse and repeat. Maybe you should practice driving your Prius as though you have 'no brakes', in that you are in traffic, and anticipate the inching along pattern of the traffic, so you are not flooring it, just to brake. This will usually chew up your battery, and MPG, but is you ease up a bit, and act as though you have no brakes, you will get much better mileage. (btw, when i saw no brakes, that just means use them as little as possible, so that you are not wasting 'energy' transforming forward momentum into heat and brake dust.) As for the battery being fully charged, I have rarely seen that, unless going back down mountains, etc, even in heavy Chicago 'rush hour'. The fan working on the battery only means that it's doing it's job, so you are fine.
Technically, it's any highway that circles a city, as in a belt. To the OP, your Prius is fine with that sort of driving. As for me, I couldn't stand it. My recommendation is to find somewhere else to live as soon as you can. I did 20 years ago, and it's one of the best things I ever did. Tom
mwok86 you make the worst threads ever. What is wrong with you? You already made a thread asking if flooring the car was bad for it: http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii-2010-prius-main-forum/84189-did-i-do-any-damage.html Are you for real? Anyway to answer your question, if the car is floored above the speed of 55 for more than approx 2 seconds you've almost certainly cracked the heli-bearing in the transmission. Symptoms of this may not appear immediately but typically people with this issue will experience a locking of all wheels, normally at highway speeds, and only when travelling above 60 mpg and going around a corner. Always ends in a fatality. Always! I advise selling the car and buying a bus pass. And to answer your next thread, yes if you press the buttons on your key fob they will wear out and it's $1200 to get a new one. I don't mind highways but I moved states to avoid spending the rest of my life in heavy traffic. Was also a great decision, have not regretted it once. It's just no way to live.
Why would any manufacturer design a product so that using it, broke it? If it was unsafe to floor it, they would not let it go to the floor. I never didn't floor my 1989 Corolla All-Trac, full throttle just barely moved the car faster. The good news is it isn't always you. Sometimes you just kill Nuns or orphans.
There is construction on the DC beltway, and I used Power mode just to accelerate and merge, then switched it back to normal. One gets tailgated even when I think I'm tailgating and can't go any faster anyway: they'll just have to go around. Come to think of it, one of those tailgaters was another Gen III prius!
Good God. People need to stop worrying. You'll get an ulcer. I just came back from a trip to Phily from DC. Up I95. Never went below 75mph...and some stretches up to 90. If you've ever driven that stretch, you know the speeds can be obscene. No issues. No problems except my MPGs dropped from low 60's to low 50's. I was still impressed I got over 50 mpg. Used the PWR mode the entire 265 miles.
PLEASE TELL ME you did not both have your cars floored. The combustible resonance frequency between two Gen 3's floored unless they are MINIMUM 100 feet apart is enough to totally debur the transaxle housing, I thought everyone knew this. It says it in the manual.
There's no question that acceleration is dangerous. Safest answer is to preserve a constant 0mph. But it's time, surely, to start a new thread on deceleration. Has anyone measured the potential risks of braking?
