Do you find your right leg tense sometimes while driving?

i cant say i feel your pain since 90+% of the time i am using cruise control for all driving conditions

 

I have been putting the car in neutral instead of 'feathering', as I have never been able to feather over 40MPH. Would be good for extended 'feathering' as well. Just remember to put it back to Drive when you need to brake, or you might not get regen.

 

Up to what speed Dan? I limit mine to 56 mph in neutral.

 

Re: Do you find your right leg tense sometimes while driving

I do feel your pain, but for me it is more my shin (I think) that starts hurting rather than my calves. This generally happens after extended city driving. On the highway I use the cruise control, but for driving around town I generally do not, and after driving on non-highways for an extended length of time (half an hour or more) my right leg can start feeling tense and start hurting.

- Bill

 

I don't think it really matters, or else Toyota would have designed it that you couldn't just drop it in Neutral at excessive speeds, or require a special step to accomplish. I don't consider holding it at neutral for 2 seconds 'special', the delay is only so it knows you meant 'N' and were not passing through to 'D' or 'R'. All neutral does is turn off the motors, thus they will free-spin.

 

Re: Do you find your right leg tense sometimes while driving

So you're driving in neutral??

 

Re: Do you find your right leg tense sometimes while driving

I'm 6'2 and I also get some shin pains, but not calf pains.

EDIT: But come to think of it...I get them in all cars, heh.

 

No, coasting. Can't drive in Neutral. There has been a thread on this. No different than 'feathering' to neutral, but less painful.

 

6'3" here, and my shin is what hurts sometimes as well. Got to say I love the cruise control on the highway. Makes driving much less stressful, especially doing the 700 miles we did on Sunday.

 

Re: Do you find your right leg tense sometimes while driving

5'3" here, and I also get shin pain from time to time.
My 6'4" husband never does. Go figure!

 

Re: Do you find your right leg tense sometimes while driving

I notice it more in my thigh than my shin. I'm not sure if the weird throttle pedal feel is the issue. I thing a bigger issue is just that the seats are not well bolstered at the leading edge, and they don't provide very good leg support. Took some getting used to.

I've been using the cruise control a lot lately too. I'm not sure if it's as effective as trying to feather, but it's a lot less work. My averages have gone up, too (course that might just be the engine breaking in).

 

Re: Do you find your right leg tense sometimes while driving

I had the same problem you describe; my leg got tense because there was no place to rest my knee. The tension comes from trying to hold my leg and foot off the pedal with no place to rest or support my knee. I'm a tall person, 6'2", and I discovered early on that I needed a cushion under my butt because the seat did not offer enough thigh support. I found a relatively thin cushion (too thick and my head was on the liner) with a rubberized backing that keeps it from sliding off the seat when I get in and out. I got two so that the front seats have matching color cushions. Solved the problem. The additonal support at the thigh allowed me to hold my foot off the pedal without straining. Cruise control is a godsend.
I would like to see Toyota add a slight riser at the front end of the driver's seat to provide that extra thigh support. Other than that, I think the seats are comfortable.
B

 

Re: Do you find your right leg tense sometimes while driving

I also use cruse control a lot because I have two numb feet after back problems. Surgery took care of the pain but the sensation never came back. Makes it hard to have that light touch on the accelerator so I let the cruse control do it for me.

 

i agree with the thigh support problem. it seems that the front of the seat is just too low for the body angle. unlike sports cars where you recline back more, the Prius is more of a vertical position but (for me at least) leaning back makes it tough to reach the steering wheel.

as i mentioned, i use cruise control all the time and i usually have my foot resting flat on the floor so no discomfort for me even on long trips.

 

Re: Do you find your right leg tense sometimes while driving

guys! guys! guys! im shocked :crazyeyes: . i have such great respect for my fellow prius owners but fellas as matter of control never use neutral to coast. its a matter of having complete control over your car at all times.i may be in the minority nowadays on this but as a car guy who loves driving even better than...hey wait a minute i dont go that far! anyway one of the joys of driving is being always in comlete control with no surprises. neutral for me does not, will not and never has added control. its just not a good habit to get into. and what the heck does it really accomplish.ooops gotta go thyre coming for my soapbox now.

 

Regarding the thigh support solution - bingo!

Got my Prius a month ago. Within a week my knees started to hurt. A lot. I may have hurt them playing softball (yes, we can do that in San Francisco in January), but they got worse whenever I drove.

I'm 6'3". I finally realized that the seat was built for someone a lot shorter, whose legs would bend less and whose thighs would rest on the seat. I added a thigh-supporting pillow, much like Bob Allen described, and the problem went away.

In my previous cars, this was not an issue. My Escape SUV has high enough seats that my legs are supported. I used to have a Lexus with a wonderful tilting front seat that provided great thigh support. (Which shows what Toyota can do when they try.) But the Prius seat just doesn't cut it. It's a good thing pillows are cheap.

 

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The only control lost is acceleration. Still have brake and steering. I am not turning the car off, or into ig-on by holding the power button down for 5 seconds, just putting it in neutral for a short time. No worse than B mode or cruise control. I believe Manual transmission drivers do that often.

 

Back to my multiple post about using B in slow and go driving on freeways. The constant movement between brakes and gas is very tiring on my right leg (ankle and calf specifically). B mode slows me down fast enough during the 0-15-0-15mph cycling, saving me leg cramps. I also use cruise a lot on the highway. It lets me stretch my legs (there is a LOT of room for the left leg up and past the dead pedal., and folding my right knee lets me stretch my right ankle so it tires less when I DO have to brake and accel in D.

This problem is a lot less than what I had in my Buick Regal, which cushy as it was, was one of the most uncomfortable cars I have ever driven.