OK to switch into Drive while moving backward?

So the million dollar question is,

Is ripping a J-Turn in reverse, slamming it into drive, and keep on moving in one fluid motion like in the movies possible with the prius?

 

Let us know!

 

That's something to test.

I suppose if you time it right, the driving wheels would register a negligible amount of motion and allow the switch, but it's not the same as a mechanical engagement the driver controls directly.

 

The original question was for situations where the car was near stopped in reverse, like backing out of garage or parking spot, then shifting to Drive. Occasionally I make the shift before the car is dead stopped, and it seemed fine, not bump, no protest. Felt like a typical automatic transmission: a soft connection.

 

Just fully stop, it will not make your day any worse and it will certainly not hurt the trans on the Prius or any car.....

 

Apples to orange... can't compare the Prius planetary gears to a manual tranny in Park or reverse mode. Obviously the ability of the electric motors to rotate both direction will spare the Prius drive train from total destruction. Still, there could be other non obvious procedure Prius does to simulate traditional Park or reverse mode, otherwise a Prius parked on an incline would roll off. For all i know, it could be doing something similar to the Hill holding mode when parked.

 

I agree on reverse, but AFAIK Park on the Prius was still a mechanical mechanism. I could be wrong.

 

Starship's posting has me thinking: if you're on a steep uphill grade, with the car in D, it'll roll back, no harm done. Ditto for the reverse case.

 

Speed likely too low to matter, think of the taxi drivers who don't care!

 

The Prius applies "simulated auto transmission creep", which will hold the car on a smallish incline.
For more holding power use the "hill holder" function (when stopped, apply brakes hard, then release). Or use the "P" brake.

Remember, reverse in a Prius is not a "gear", it's an electronic function of driving the electric motor backwards (reverse is always electrical, never mechanical drive from the engine - which is why it can seem "gutless"). So the only thing you could damage is the electronics (perhaps by generating a "spike" during shifting). I've shifted to "D" while rolling backwards -many- times over the last nine years with no problems, so I suspect it's just fine to do so at very low speeds.

Just avoid selecting "P" while moving slowly. The Prius does indeed use a mechanical "lock". A device that looks like a "steering gear" is electrically driven into the drive train with a small motor. It -CAN- be broken. Luckily it is on the -outside- of the mechanism and not too hard to replace. But I'm sure it won't be inexpensive!

 

In the snow, in a large abandoned parking lot, it is most definitely possibly

Had to try it once..

Went flawless. On dry pavement I have no clue and will not be trying it...

 

My 2013 II has brake assist. Push the brake really hard while stopped and it will keep holding while you move your foot to the accelerator, so the car doesn't roll back down the hill. Then when you hit the accelerator the brake disengages.

Also, read the manual!

 

Here's the $0.99 answer.

No.

You can't slam anything on a Prius except the the door.
You have to remember....you're not selecting the driving mode.
You're yanking on a little toy lever that's electrically the same as pushing a button.
This doesn't "shift" anything, but merely sends a request.
If you're rolling gently backwards, the car grants the mode change and you're generating voltage for the battery instead of coasting backwards.
No harm, no foul.

If you do not meet preselected requirements (going too fast, radio too loud, Tuesday....) then the car will laugh at you and you'll keep traveling backwards. The laughing sounds like a series of beeps.

It's all very simple....

If you select a destructive mode of operation ("Park" at 55MPH for example....) you'll hear the car laughing at your request again.
IF however the car hurts itself by attempting to comply with your request then you didn't CAUSE a problem, you DETECTED a previously existing problem.
Three Laws of Robotics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Since the people of Toyota are THE original buzz-kill car company, Priuses are equipped with a foot pedal parking brake instead of a proper hand brake.
A Prius doing a J-turn is like Mitt Romney in a pair of blue jeans.

Possible but not likely or natural.

 

If you missed my last post, here's a recap. I did a reverse J turn in a snow covered and empty parking lot last month with my Persona. No issues.

Like I also said, not sure if it's possible on dry pavement...

 

Your question is asked and answered.

No.
A J-turn in a Prius on dry pavement isn't plausible.
J-turn - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


As far as the OP's question....
Why would there be any issues?

I go from reverse to forward several times a day...every day.
The G3 is a five year old design (mine is a 2010.)

If there were a design problem with shifting, I would think that we'd know about it by now.

One of the cool things about driving a Prius is that there's not a lot that you can do wrong.
It's mostly just Navigation and collision avoidance.

Enjoy the ride.

 

ETC(SS) I think I understand what happened.

You were responding to my use of the word "slamming" it into gear... Maybe I should have used "flick" into gear. Lol.

I was responding that a reverse J turn in snowy conditions is indeed possible after I saw your response: "the $0.99 answer..... NO". I thought you meant that it was not possible...

Lol.

 

Nearly two years ago when I bought my 2008 prius, I did quite a bit of research for replacing the brake fluid pump assy. During that process, I read that taxi drivers had a higher than usual failure rate of the CVT. This is accredited to their repetitive shifting technique of attempting to change the vehicle's direction before coming to a complete stop.
You and I will probably never have a problem, as we don't drive the miles that a cabbie does.

 

First, there is NO "CVT" in a Prius! It's an "eCVT" - think "simulated". There are no belts, there are no pulleys.

Second, there is no way "shifting" can cause any increased wear on the HSD because nothing happens in there when you select a different "gear". There is a slight possibility the electronics could fail earlier, but that's the "inverter assembly" not the "CVT" or gear housing.

Whoever wrote that needs to be educated.

I suspect the claimed higher failure rate might be caused by other factors.

 

Boy, someone got up on the wrong side of the bed today!!!

Hmmm. Do a search on here for "CVT" and look at all of the results. While technically eCVT may be more correct, most members refer to it as CVT.
Looks like someone has a lot of work to do by correcting all of the other members that refer to it as CVT.

I said nothing about shifting gears. I did say shifting technique. One can shift from forward to reverse, be it electronically or through linkage.
"because nothing happens when you select a different "gear". "nothing" happens, are you serious??? You might want to rethink that statement.
IIRC, the problem incurred was a bearing failure due to the added stress of repetitive changing of direction without coming to a complete stop.

Yes, it might. It might also be caused by "shifting into drive by moving backward". (Title of this thread.)

 

Every time you start or stop the shafts momentarily change direction, they "bounce" a bit. I don't buy it!

I'm going with the way taxi drivers drive. They are in a hurry to make money. They will skid tyres, bump into curbs, etc. etc. Much more likely to cause "excess wear" than shifting while moving.

But you can believe whatever you like.