Am I right in thinking that to leave B mode you move the shift lever to D even while you're still moving? Can't find the answer in the manual - it only tells you how to move to B and otherwise generally warns against changing modes when the car is moving.
I've only done a few hill tests with "B" mode but selecting "D" while moving works fine. I would have a hard time believing switching between "B" and "D" while driving would be a problem since there are plenty of Interstates that have 5-6% grades.
That's what I thought and likewise I've tried it a few times and it works ok. I think I'd just like to see it written down somewhere for peace of mind!
Only modes you shouldn't select while moving forward are reverse and park. Switch between B and D with gay abandon and complete impunity!
If you try it and you're travelling sufficiently fast, the car will switch to neutral rather than try to do what you asked. Warning: the Gen 2 seems to consider less than 5 mph slow enough to go into Park! You get a nasty slam stop if you're still moving. I hope I didn't damage any part of the transmission when I hit the button a bit early that one time...
I haven't had any issues switching between "D" and "N" either. Note - it takes a second for the shifter to acknowledge shifting to neutral but it works just fine.
Keep in mind that you can overspeed MG1 by coasting in N. If you switch to N when the ICE is off, the ICE will not spin even if it needs to control the speed of MG1. In other words, coasting down a steep hill in N can be hazardous to your HSD. Tom
OK, I did some google searching and figured out what those abbreviations mean. Do you guys find that you use "B" a lot? I know someone with a Prius and he didn't even know what "B" did.
This is true. I rented a Prius and accidentally put it in reverse while driving on the freeway at high speeds. The car beeped at me, I think, and otherwise nothing else happened.
I use it some. I jump back out of it as soon as I can, because you can't use Cruise Control when in B. The only big test I gave B was going East over Monteagle, TN. B held me at perfect speed until the grade leveled, and then I just slipped back to D and went back on Cruise.
It gives you engine braking in addition to applying some regenerative braking (when you are not pushing the throttle of course). If I remember correctly the regen braking from B Mode was about 50% of what you could get from applying maximum regenerative braking in D. It acts sort of like low range in a conventional automatic transmission. The only use I ever found for it was coming down a long steep hills with the battery at a fairly high SOC. Then it will save some wear on the friction brakes. On the Gen2 again, and almost certainly on the Gen3 as well, if you forgot and left it in B it would shift itself back to D after some number of minutes, maybe 5 or so. Also as previously stated the cruise control won't work in B which can act as a reminder.
On steep hills and grades - B is awesome. It's a little like downshifting in a normal car, except that it really holds the car back. My guess is that if you live in a fairly flat to rolling hills geography you won't use it.
