Engine Racing

It was at a stoplight right? The car was just racing it's engine at the car next to it.

Nah, ... You might want to put it on the INFO screen and see what is causing it to do that. The few times it will race for me is when battery is in the pink.

 

My ICE raced substantially going down a long hill that I frequently travel. did this for nearly 20 seconds until I pulled up to a stop before the freeway.

Only did it one time, but scared the methanol out of me.

Toyota is clueless, or they're just too disinterested to get back to me.

I'm still waiting for their response.


Bob

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(MattLasee @ Apr 6 2004, 01:35 PM) [snapback]10242[/snapback]</div>

I have a new ('07) Prius and have noticed the same thing. Apparently this thread hasn't drawn a great deal of response in the 2 1/2 years it's been up. Just as with one of the other responders, I ntoice this happens mainly when the car is both fairly cold (first thing in the morning, but I'm in Callifornia so it's not very cold) and near the end of a mile-long downhill stretch that I hit as soon as I leave home. I haven't checked to see if the battery is always fully charged when this happens. Maybe so.

In my case my foot hasn't been on the accelerator; I'm in "B" mode going down the hill, with my foot off the accelerator and occasionally on the breaks. It seems like when the revving happens, "B" stops being "B" and the car starts accelerating. This would certainly be expected if we're counting on the engine exerting some resistance but instead it is spinning fast. But both the engine revving sound and the apparent loss of the engine breaking effect are unnerving.

Past speculation was that this was connected with the car dissipating excess energy when the battery is fully charged, or something to do with a "vapor purge".

Past posters were awaiting some response from Toyota. Has there been any in 2 1/2 years?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(RobertO @ Apr 6 2004, 02:02 PM) [snapback]10247[/snapback]</div>

I think the key here is the long hill. After a long hill, the SOC will usually be full or quite high. If the SOC tops up, the electric motor will spin the ICE to throw away it's charge. This is a normal occurrence that happens to me almost daily

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Presto @ Jan 3 2007, 01:16 PM) [snapback]370175[/snapback]</div>

This is the most likely scenario, as long as the SOC is high.

Tom