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What every newb should know

Discussion in 'Newbie Forum' started by richard schumacher, Jun 8, 2008.

  1. Happy_2008_PriusPkg2Owner

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    dwreed3rd... Bill down south of you in Macon. Yep, drive all over your part of Atl frequently - great hills. I've had my 2008 pkg 2 since Oct./Nov. last year - and found that B does not recharge the battery pack - well, not like using the brake pedal does. The regen display shows icons of cars in the yellow bar graph "5-minute increment" MPG averaging display... with each "car" being a certain amt (can't remember at the moment) of recharge/regen having been produced by using the disc brakes.

    Therefore I assume that the nMh battery pack must still need to be recharged - therefore the ICE must do it in lieu of you/me having avoided the brake pedal in favor of using B to induce engine braking.

    I looked back through the owner's manual and didn't find any cautionary working about this very topic - so others (than me, a raw newbie) jump in and save me with the real info here.

    Thanks - hope you see your car soon. I'm down for two new 2009 Prius here at my local Toyota dealership in Macon (me and the wife) so I need to find a buyer for my current 2008 Pkg 2 red Prius with 25K miles as well as my wife's 2006 Accord EX-L 4-cyl Automatic with 46,000K... both like new - but we sure don't need 4 cars. Only two people live here !!! : )
     
  2. dwreed3rd

    dwreed3rd New Member

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    Thank for the info! Good luck!
     
  3. bryanlcar

    bryanlcar Junior Member

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    Sorry if this is a repeat post. I did not see the question/answer when I performed a search.

    I have an 08 pkg 2. Anyway to display how many miles to empty?
     
  4. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    No. There is no accurate way to calculate distance-to-empty: the fuel tank has variable capacity, which makes the fuel gauge not very repeatable and variable between cars (*), and fuel economy can vary significantly depending on driving conditions. An estimate of distance-to-empty would be worse than useless because it would give the driver a false sense of certainty.

    (*) I originally wrote "non-linear", but that by itself would not be a problem if each fuel bladder/gauge combination were repeatable and consistent across all Prius.
     
  5. bryanlcar

    bryanlcar Junior Member

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    Thanks Richard!

    I think you also answered another question that I had. I am still on my first tank of gas. I went 150 miles on the first PIP. The next 50 miles depleted 2 PIPs. I am assuming this is due to the variable gas tank bladder.

    BTW - thanks to all that are willing to help us newbies out.
     
  6. Jack66

    Jack66 Kinda Jovial Member

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    That is why we call it the "guess gauge." :D
     
  7. jg1913

    jg1913 ORIJENL

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    I'm sorry to seem like a newb but what exactly is a "pip"? Any other helpful advice?
     
  8. dogfriend

    dogfriend Human - Animal Hybrid

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    The gas gauge is digital with small rectangular bars to indicate the fuel level (10 bars = full). Most people call each bar a "pip". You would think that each bar would represent 1/10 of the capacity of the tank. You would be wrong.
     
  9. Oxo

    Oxo New Member

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    Oxo is back after a long absence!

    Another thing every newbie should know is that you should make sure the doors are locked every night before you go to bed. This is because locking your doors will ensure that you haven't left a door slightly open and left interior light(s) on to run down your 12V battery.
    If you click the key to lock the car the external lights will flash to confirm the car is locked.
    In the first couple of weeks I had my Prius I not only left a door slightly open one night but also left the parking lights on. Result was a dead 12V battery in the morning and I couldn't start the car. The 12V battery is in the back of the car so I thought I would have to open the back door to get at it for a jump start. Couldn't open the back door without power. It was only later I found out that you can jump start from the front and I suggest newbs find out how to do this before your 12V battery lets you down.
     
  10. eestlane

    eestlane Member

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    I'm finding it quite odd than nobody in this forum has said anything about the interior lights automatically turning themselves off after about 25 minutes. I have tested my 08 several times and it works every time! So, just leaving a door ajar shouldn't run down your 12v battery. What WILL run down your battery is if you have your trunk light switch in the ON position and leave the trunk lid ajar. It is not part of the auto-off function. Neither are the front overhead map lights. Leave them on and your battery will surely die.

    By the way, I found this feature by accident, working on the car's interior with the doors open and after a while the dome lights went out. :eek: So I tried it on purpose and, sure enough, Toyota had thought of another way to protect the 12v battery. I just wish they had included the trunk light in that feature.
     
  11. rcaine

    rcaine Member

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    I've read through this entire thread hopino be ready for our new arrival when it arrives. We rented a Prius for our vacation last week so I finally got my test drive. The one thing I found I was unprepared for was turning on the windshield wipers. We got caught in a summer thunderstorm on the expressway and it took me several minutes to find the trick while trying to see where I was going in the downpour. Dangerous. I think it's down rather than up but be sure you know before you pull away from the curb.

    Loved my week in the Prius. It was everything we were hoping for. Now if ours will just get here.
     
  12. dwreed3rd

    dwreed3rd New Member

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    Rcaine: Congratulations on your new Prius. I assume you also subscribe to one or more of the several "wait list" threads. May I suggest if you have not already done so, add a post over there also, and suggest that they read the "Prius User Guide" while waiting. I downloded it from somewhere, I think here on PC. Thanks for the post.
     
  13. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    An ounce of imprecision saves a pound of explanation. Better to tell people to lock the car and be certain that they have saved the battery.
     
  14. eestlane

    eestlane Member

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    True, true, but part of the point of my post was that locking the car will NOT help if you have left the reading lights ON. So there! :)
     
    OddDuck and G Man v5 like this.
  15. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    !! I'll be damned, I never noticed that. Thanks for pointing it out!
     
  16. bbbygbear

    bbbygbear New Member

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    I just got my 2008 prius a week ago. I have package # 5 and love it. I am somewhat dissapointed that the dealer did not explain more about the energy monitor. I am perplexed even after reading the manual about how to read it and what it means. Can you ever run the car off the electric motor alone ? Even at higher speeds ? Do the orange & yellow arrows always have to work together ? Or can you just work with yellow arrows and how do you make that happen to achieve good gas mileage ?
    It really is not explained in the owners manual.
     
  17. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    Prius can run on the electric motors alone but only for very short times/distances (about a mile), and never more than about 42 MPH. Non-US Priuses have an "EV" button which allows the driver to force the engine OFF, but again only under the above restrictions. The button is meant to be used when moving the car a very short distance or move quietly (for example leaving a garage). To my knowledge it's not sold on US versions because it complicates EPA fuel economy and emissions testing. You can buy it aftermarket but it will void the warranty. The car does a very good job of managing its own energy flows, so only real fanatics/hypermilers who use ScanGauges can do better with it.

    Experiment with your speed and the pressure you put on the gas pedal while observing the arrows on the "Energy" display. Only when it is safe to do so, of course! The briefest possible fuel economy advice is: keep the tires inflated properly, and drive as though you had no brake pedal.
     
  18. Jack66

    Jack66 Kinda Jovial Member

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    Here is a link to John's famous User's Guide: John's Stuff - Toyota Prius User-Guide

    You won't be disappointed but you might wonder why Toyota doesn't just take it and include a copy in every car.

    Cheers! :)
     
  19. bbbygbear

    bbbygbear New Member

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    Thanks for the info on John's famous user guide. I will look at it and hopefully it will answer my questions. I don't know why toyota does not include a copy in every car instead of the manual which is not explicit.
     
  20. Jack66

    Jack66 Kinda Jovial Member

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    Not a problem! John and others have contributed a wealth of information on PC and other parts of the web -- they more than make up for Toyota's small oversight.

    Welcome to Priuschat and enjoy your Prius! :)