Is it normal for my prius to shudder when I stop the first couple of times after starting it up? Or could this be contributing to my only getting 43MPG?
Shudders still happen after 22K miles. So far, nothing to worry about. I'd suggest a road trip. Drive on highways for decent distances at constant speeds, to see if the car gives higher MPGs. Just kicking around town, with frequent stops for signs and lights, will just make you think the car isn't as good as it actually could be...
At least for me it was usual until I had put a couple of hundred miles on the vehicle. It still does a little but I understand that is normal. Have ~3500 miles on the clock to date. Gary
From what I gather, the Prius wants the engine to stop at a certain rotation point, so as to re-start in a 'normal' manner. Also, if the battery is full (all green bars still means just 80%), then the electric motor will spin the engine without fuel, in order to 'spend' a little electrical energy to lower the battery charge. The Prius likes to keep things all in order and within a nice tight working range, for lack of a better explanation. No other car is working so hard to do these things automatically for ya. It's a marvel of engineering, even 23K miles/1 year later!
jonmac243, What's your general location? When it's colder here Priapus will shudder to a stop and start a little rough. This happens early in the morning and stops after I've driven a few miles and warmed the engine. I have almost 10,000 miles. Occasionally, it's been enough to make my wife mention that it seems rough, but it's normal and she's jittery.
I'm in Philadelphia. So it's not to chilly here right now, it definitely makes my wife uncomfortable as well and i just want to make sure its normal
It will be a rough stop if it's cold and when the car is new. It was pretty bad on the car we test drove. Now I have 8300kms and it's stopping much smoother even when the engine is cold. But if the temperatures are cold, it will shudder.
