I've found myself using the B setting for braking a lot. It takes some practice to know just when to shift to B, but after a while it eliminates braking with the brake pedal a lot of the time. Is there any speed at which you should not shift into B? I have done it at highway speeds with no noticeable problem. Also you have to remember to shift back to D at a stop or the gas engine stays on. Love this car!
Why? You actually lose some regen potential by using the engine as an air pump. Should only really be used down a long steep hill, early on.
Gently stepping on the brake pedal switches the car to regen mode, with the friction brakes being applied only at very low speeds in normal use (the friction brakes are applied immediately in a panic stop regardless of speed). Using the brakes also has the advantage of turning on the brake lights so you don't get rear-ended quite as often
Use B when you would use L in a 'normal' automatic, almost never. There is not upper limit to when to us B, as it does not use lower gearing, it just uses the engine as an air pump, so the brake fluid does not boil going down long steep hills. Below 24 MPH, the engine braking is useless, so B is not spinning the engine. Use B for safety, from the top of long hills, especially when fully loaded. Otherwise, forget you ever had a Gear to confuse other drivers by slowing without brake lights. (at least in my Gen 2, it confuses me as well, you can't go into Cruise Control in B) What we all want to say is we bought our car for mileage, and B is not a mileage gear, it is a safety gear, for when mileage is not as important as not overheating your friction brakes.
There have been a few icy driving conditions where the another source of non-wheel slowing has been helpful... which is where the design of the shifter itself comes in handy. If you blindly paw it, guess what the system shifts to.
Good question! I was just wondering about the same thing. There's some great info in this thread: Confused about braking | PriusChat
Anyone know of a fix so that when you release the B, it will automaticly go back to Drive . I often forget to do so and its a nuisence.
How do you "release B"? Simply put into "D" or if your parking, "P" or if you shutdown, it will be "P".
Shifting back to "D" at any time will do the trick. It's basically just telling the system to use the engine normally, rather than intentionally pumping air to help slow the vehicle. So, it's not like anything is actually shifting.
Thanks John, I know how to get it out of or "release" B mode, I was just wondering how joeruo did it. Perhaps he doesn't know and a quick User Guide read would help.
Hi Guys, i guess i was missunderstood.. I know how to get it out manualy. Just wondring if there was a mod for it to go back to drive by just releasing the b lever
