I took my Prius c up the mountain to go snowboarding, (it surprisingly had no problem accelerating uphill by the way). On the way down I decided to put the Prius onto the "B" position (I remember the dealership telling me to use it for when your going downhill). Right away I noticed that the Prius seemed to drag a bit and I didn't have to press the break pedal nearly as much as I had been. Here are my questions Does this mode need to be used under a certain speed because I was going anywhere from 25-40 and I noticed the engine seemed a bit overly noisy almost like its overworking itself. Also should I worry about the battery overcharging because I heard that the Prius batteries work best not over or undercharged, I don't want to mess up my battery! P.s. I got 37 mpg uphill and 99.9 down hill and I'm not the type of person that drives all extra slow either ..
You can use B at any speed, and it will NOT overcharge the battery.. Here is the long answer B under the D in the Drive gears? | PriusChat
Thanks!.. Now when you say it won't overcharge do you mean it won't overcharge while using "B" or it won't overcharge period?
It won't over charge period, as the long answer says, it will switch to engine braking once the battery is full.
Thanks! Are you a Toyota mechanic? I read the other thread you posted in and you seem to know quite a bit about the Prius.
No, I am a network consultant. I spend hours each day driving to customers and trying to visualize what my car is doing. Over the years I have experimented to try to prove my theories, but they are just my best theory. If the roads were busier, I would have less time to model the processes in my car. Once I get to the customer, I model their network, trying to visualize what they have done wrong. I spend a great deal of time alone in my head.
