Hello, I just bought a used Prius C One in great condition. My family and I were thinking about taking it up to Big Bear Mountain, however my husband had some doubts. He does not think the Prius will make it up the mountain OR he thinks it will cause too much strain on the engine. Can someone give us some advice based on experience? *** We just had the car serviced as well so oil change, fluids and brakes are all good
Probably. As long as you aren't carrying too much weight. Normally weight isn't too much of a factor but going up LONG STEEP grades it really comes into play. Do a test run on a smaller mountain. Oh.....and don't be too concerned when the engine starts sounding like an airplane under extreme loads...up or down. That's normal.
If all the oils are fresh like the trans oil using Toyota WS or Redline D6 which is what I use. You should be good. You get accelerated wear when not changing trans oil at least every 30k miles. Anyhow I pull big loads up mountains but use a scan gauge full time to watch my battery and other temps.
You are just planning on getting to the ski resort? (7140 feet) or to the top of the ski lift? (8805 feet) or to the summit? None of these elevations are all that tall, and it should be fine to any of them, Colorado folks get about twice that high. (unlike Otto cycle engines, electric motors do not lose power with elevation) When descending, the HV battery may 'fill up' to the point Toyota thinks wise, I advise B mode during long descents. The engine will sound loud and busier when braking, but all is well.
Plenty of vista points to stop and let the car cool down and enjoy the view at the same time. Notice attached pic from google earth shows a c driving down Big Bear Mt.
I know this is kind of late to respond, but I’ve a ‘16 C1 and I’m an avid driving enthusiast, and outdoor lover. I wasn’t able to take my weekend car up there for a trip I did because it was lowered and that doesn’t mate well with dirt roads. Haha my C with roughly 300lbs of gear not including driver was able to make it up the hill with no issues whatsoever. I had long extended periods of full throttle as well, many corners in passing lanes where I was flying by people with the tires howling (still under the speed limit though). Never had to stop, car didn’t miss a beat. Haha and all the while ended up with 45mpg there and back! Also helps to mention it was July 3rd so the weather was fairly hot, 90’s in highland and low 80’s in Big Bear. I had the windows down and no A/C once I started to gain elevation.
