Has anyone else experienced that the transmission seems to slam pretty hard if you switch to HV mode while accelerating up a steep hill? It even happens if you're down in the EV part of the HSI and push the gas hard enough to trigger the ICE on a steep hill, but only if it's the first time the ICE has engaged on the drive. It's hard enough for me to be concerned about the longevity of the gears. If I had to estimate, I'd say inside it feels about like getting rear-ended at 5 mph. I'm betting a pedestrian on the street might hear a good whack and hear my tires chirp. It doesn't seem to happen on more level terrain, even under heavy acceleration. Not sure if others see this behavior too.
i had this with my pip, so i decided to always try to warm it up on the flat when i thought i was gonna run out of juice, or just wanted hv available with approaching hill climbs
that first start is always a bit rougher than the rest, but I haven't experienced anything like what you're describing. might be because mg2 was having to work to assist the car going up hill in ev and then had to drop out to spin up the ice, so you're feeling not just the ice kicking in, but mg2 kicking out at a time when it's particularly needed. probably compounded by a cold ice so it doesn't catch as smoothly as it would otherwise.
Just a comment regarding the hybrid technology: there are no clutches or belts or gear shifting in the Prius (including Prime) transaxle. The gears are permanently engaged, and where the power goes is controlled by the two motor-generators. So any jerking would be the result of the motors kicking in or out, not gears mechanically engaging or anything like that.
I'm gonna get a migraine figuring out what's happening in neutral if the ICE is connected to the wheels permanently.
The only way engine torque reaches the transmission is with MG1 applying a 'counter torque.' In "N", MG1 and MG2 no longer get any power so the transmission acts as if it is in "N": if ICE running - no torque reaches the wheels if ICE off - no torque reaches the engine Bob Wilson
I drive in Power mode, so when the ice comes on the throttle seamlessly changes between electric and ice, when in ECO mode the throttle has to be mashed to keep the same speed when changing from electric to ice, I'm assuming you're in ECO mode and are having the ice come on with the pedal hardly pressed and the shudder is the ice starting and the transmission taking up the difference between the rate the ice is turning and the rate the wheels are turning. Yes, the ICE does shudder on it's first start each day, but the ice starts by itself within 10 minutes after starting to drive each day.
lol.... no clutch at all! I had an issue with one of my Gen 3's (turned out it was buildup in the intake manifold due to a failure of a valve which was causing the engine to stutter when trying to start) and took it to a non-Toyota garage to get looked at (the Toyota dealer was another 1/2 hour further away and the garage was 3 miles from my house). They told me I needed a new clutch. I said ok, i'll think about it, turned around, walked out, and never brought another car back to them again.
It's all related to how planetary gears work. Without torque from the motor-generators, the gears will just freely spin, with no torque going either from the ICE to the wheels or from the wheels to the ICE.
There is a clutch, just not the usual friction clutch we're all used to. An overrunning clutch or sprag clutch is a clutch. Here are examples of clutches that don't look like a "clutch." Sprag Clutch, Overrunning Clutch, Holdbacks, Backstops | Formsprag Clutch
You are right, of course. I know about the one-way clutch in the Prime that allows both motor-generators to propel the car, but neglected to mention it since it behaves so differently from what most people think of as a "clutch" in a car.
