Very, very happy to report that after test driving nearly ten Priuses and looking at countless others, we finally purchased a Prius. And I think---I hope---we got a very good deal. It's only been one day, but we're delighted by it. It's a red 2009 Toyota Prius, with the premium-level stuff: leather interior, Bluetooth, navigation, enhanced stereo and speakers. It's got 79K miles, and it still has 21K or nearly two years left on the warranty. Earlier models with more miles sell for more money in our area, but I talked the guy down a grand by having cash in-hand. So, I ended up getting it for $8.5K. Keep in mind, I'm in Boulder County, so there's quite a demand for them. Many of the more costly Priuses that I test-drove and rejected out of hand for being overpriced and in bad shape would end up selling within the day no problem. The condition is great. A few chips on the hood from pebbles/gravel on highway driving. But otherwise, it's gleaming. I look forward to learning more and more about these vehicles from this community, and of course...DRIVING IT! Also: Priuses are way more fun to drive, and have way more spunk than the previous two cars---both of which were V6s with over 200HP.
Welcome to PriusChat! I hope your Prius makes you as happy as mine have. Use B mode from the top when descending long downgrades. It keeps both the brakes and the battery cooler by absorbing energy as an air pump. (Other than long downhills, B has no real use)
I noticed the battery charges REALLY fast when you coast downhill. If I put it in B mode, will it charge the battery?
B mode will not charge the battery. You can just let it go, don't need B mode. The battery SOC meter is not the ACTUAL battery charge. It's only 40% - 80%. Doesn't go below 40 and doesn't go above 80. This way the battery can last for years and years
It will still charge. (it does not charge at all in N, but B just adds engine Braking.) what you will notice in B is that the harder you brake, the more noise the engine makes as it is 'wasting' more energy. Coasting will still send energy to the battery, you are reducing the MAXIMUM charge not the minimum. You are trying not to over heat the battery as that reduces life. (for a similar reason, do not try to avoid A/C, as it is cooling the battery as well as you) If you lived on a coastal plain as I do I would never recommend B mode, but CO has real mountains.
This website is a good place to learn many, many things Prius. My most basic of Newbie advice is: Read your owners manual if you have it. And initially, just drive it. Don't try to learn all things Prius and Hybrid all at once. Calculate your gas mileage on a tank to tank basis, and don't freak out over what might seem like a bad MPG trip, or converesely even a great MPG trip.
Congrats! In general a good procedure when descending steep hills in the Prius is: 1. On the touch screen, display the Energy Monitor screen. 2. Use the brake pedal to slow the car steadily trying to avoid any pumping, just steady on the brake pedal to engage regenerative braking. Use the brake pedal until you reach 7 bars of charge (if you know you're in S4 Warmup mode you can go to 8 bars, in S3 it sometimes limits to 7 which is why I say 7). 3. Once you hit 7 (or 8 in S4) battery bars switch to using the B mode to slow the car instead of the brake pedal. Use the brakes still as needed 4. At the bottom of the hill switch back to D, drive mode. I do this as I go up and down I-70 in Colorado. The reason for this is when the battery is "fully" charged the Prius will not charge the battery further, so it disables regenerative braking. However on the initial part of the downhill, you might as well use regenerative braking to get up to a "full" charge. When the battery is "full", on steep downhills it's best to use the engine for braking to reduce wear and overheating of the brakes just as you would switch to S on an automatic or downshift in a manual. I used quotes for "full" as the Prius only uses about 40% of the battery's capacity, varying the true state of charge between 40 to 80%. The battery is not allowed to discharge passed 40% or charge above 80% as this would reduce the lifespan of the battery, which must be cycled thousands of times in normal use.
To reduce overheating both the brakes and the battery, use B from the top, so it takes longer to fill the battery all the way.
It's really not suppose to charge that fast. If it's charging really fast, it could actually be a sign of a weak battery. Is this a 1 owner car?
Congrats! If you ever need help, Boulder Hybrids is down the road. (Boulderhc.com). Paul Guzny does hybrid servicing/maintanence and battery conditioning.
Don't panic the new owner. I have one "hill" moderately steep and moderately long, in which I try to remember to use "B" when going down. My battery will top off, and charge pretty quickly every time I go down that hill. Has since the vehicle was brand new. I think it's more likely his battery is just charging per normal. They will charge pretty quickly going down a steep long hill. If I'm wrong?.....he'll eventually notice other problems and get a code. But in the meantime? I'd assume his battery is charging like nearly everyone's does going down a hill.
I am the third owner. But there is an extended warranty. And, in all fairness, I have no idea what "fast" is. This is my first Prius. It seems to charge at about the same speed as all the others that I test drove. And when I drove it the hour trip home from its purchase, it started with the battery one bar below the mid level. At one point it got near the top (after a series of down hills), but it ultimately ended a hash or so above the mid level. As we've been using it, it basically stays around half. On longer drives, it gets about 75% or more full. But then on shorter trips, it gets a little below half. But it seems to return to the 60% area most times. That seems normal? I am thinking that after I get the final warranty paperwork and my next paycheck, I'll bring it to a Toyota place (or Boulder hybrids) and have it checked over and see if it needs any service.
