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Occasional nonstop gas to electric to gas switching

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Technical Discussion' started by normanj, Jul 10, 2006.

  1. normanj

    normanj New Member

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    in certain circumstances - at the stopped position - red light etc the car will switch from gas to electric to gas to electric non stop as if it cant decide what engine mode to use - putting it in neutral stops the problem but dealer cannot get it to happen in order to correct it - any ideas???
     
    #1 normanj, Jul 10, 2006
  2. DaveG

    DaveG Member

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    Vancouver, BC
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(normanj @ Jul 9 2006, 09:48 PM) [snapback]283671[/snapback]</div>
    Check if your battery is fully "green" on the status screen. If so, Prius spins the engine (without injecting gas) with the electric motor to bleed-off extra battery charge to prevent overcharging (it will also do the same thing if you're coming down a long hill).

    Since spinning the engine up from a stop takes the most power (as opposed to keeping an already-moving engine turning), it just cycles it on/off until the battery is at the proper max charge level again when you're stopped at a light. If you're coming down a very long hill, it just spins the engine continually (sounds like over-revving), but since there's no gas and little compression, there's not much wear on the engine.

    Dave
     
    #2 DaveG, Jul 10, 2006
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