I accidentally drove my 2008 Prius at B Gear at freeway speeds for a few minutes. I noticed it after the burning tire kind of smell and switched to D right away. The car seems to be driving fine now, but is it possible that I damaged something? Thanks Johan
It is not really a low gear. It is just an input to the computer. It is perfectly OK to drive at 60 MPH with the "B" setting. That is within the range of intended usage. I use it sometimes on some steep hills at highway speed.
There shouldn't be a burning smell but as far as we know, it's just an electronic position to tell the computers to put the engine in a more aggressive engine braking state (so when you lift off, you'll feel more drag as the engine pumps the pistons, just like you would if you were in a lower gear in a regular car).
Coming down NC mountain hills, I'm often in B at 70mph (was today!) - no harm done, no worries. Enjoy! BlackBerry 9930 ?
