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How do you leave 'B' mode

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by meannotgreen, Jul 29, 2009.

  1. meannotgreen

    meannotgreen New Member

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    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.
     
  2. Therand

    Therand New Member

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    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.
     
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  3. yardman 49

    yardman 49 Active Member

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    Yes, just switching back to "D" while driving is correct.
     
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  4. meannotgreen

    meannotgreen New Member

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    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!
     
  5. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

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    Only modes you shouldn't select while moving forward are reverse and park.
    Switch between B and D with gay abandon and complete impunity!
     
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  6. Mike Dimmick

    Mike Dimmick Active Member

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    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...
     
  7. Therand

    Therand New Member

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    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.
     
  8. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    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
     
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  9. mgb4tim

    mgb4tim Noob

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    And is illegal in some (if not most/all) states.
     
  10. lamontcranston

    lamontcranston Umbra Tenet

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    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.
     
  11. FBear

    FBear Senior Member

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    It stands for Motor/Generator 1.
     
  12. a priori

    a priori Canonus Curiosus

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    Enough about sheep, Pat.
     
  13. creativeguy

    creativeguy Member

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    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.
     
  14. Kds45

    Kds45 New Member

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    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.
     
  15. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    Specifically, if you exceed 62-63mph MG1 will spin over 10k rpm.
     
  16. swich2mac

    swich2mac Go Hard or Go Home!

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    I am a first time Prius owner and I have no Idea what the "B" mode does! ;)
     
  17. tumbleweed

    tumbleweed Senior Member

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    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.
     
  18. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    Evan is one of the brave (stupid? ;)) test pilots that have experimented with this limit.

    Tom
     
  19. jay_man2

    jay_man2 jay_man_also

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    98% of the time I leave B mode alone. :D
     
  20. MaggieMay

    MaggieMay Active Member

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    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.