Serious hesitation on Camry Hybrid

There is a small lag before the electric motor kicks in sometimes. It can usually be overcome by planning ahead or pushing down farther on the pedal. The delay seems long but is really shorter than most cars. Thie difference is that for that 1-2 seconds nothing then wamo! all the power in the world. Other car decieve yo by ramping up the rpm's soo you think your accelerating but not really that much.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Oct 19 2007, 03:44 PM) [snapback]527882[/snapback]</div>

From what I hear this is not uncommon with ANY car anymore. If you want some fun, check out the Lexus ES300 forums... (2001-2006)

BTW. I am very happy with my TCH - I highly recommend it. Bought it in June 2006 and have almost 29k miles already. No problems at all, except for a dash squeak that they all get (fixable).

 

I have an 07 Camry Hybrid and an 05 Prius and have never experienced this lag you mentioned in either car. If it is as pronounced as you say and is reproducible, I'd take it to the dealer and make sure you demonstrate it to the Hybrid mechanic not just describe it to the service writer. I've found with at least the dealer I bought the Prius from, I have to show the mechanic the problem or you get it back with "can't reproduce" or "no problem found" which is a complete waste of time for you.

I'm extremely pleased with both cars, especially the Camry; it's as quiet as any Lexus.

Good luck and let us know if they find the cause.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(zo6tosv @ Oct 19 2007, 02:28 PM) [snapback]527863[/snapback]</div>

When I drive my Prius and I think I might want to consider passing someone in the near future, I immediately press the throttle to the floor.

Immediately!!

Then, while the powertrain is gathering itself for the effort, I kind of assess the situation, maybe check my hair in the rearview, and decide what I'm going to do.

*Pass? No problem, because the power I'd asked for earlier will just be arriving. Perfect timing!
*No Pass? No problem, for the same reason. The car hasn't actually begun accelerating yet; I release the throttle and it's like nothing happened!
[smile]

Okay, it's not nearly that bad, but --honestly-- this car has the most throttle lag of any production car I've ever driven, even old ones with turbochargers.

I don't think it's dangerous, but, yes, there's definitely a second or so there which can seem EXTREMELY long if you'd like to go, but the car isn't ready yet.

--------------

I believe the lag has primarily to do with the nature of the Power Split Device, and if the gasoline engine happens to be running at that moment or not.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(zo6tosv @ Oct 19 2007, 12:28 PM) [snapback]527863[/snapback]</div>

Both of our Priuses have done this since the day they we got them, although I'd say the delay is more like half a second. It's definitely real, you can clearly see it on the acceleration graphs of the hybrid Camry on Road & Track's hybrid comparison article from a few months ago, and they also mention it in their story.

What I've done to prevent this from ever being a problem is always ease into the accelerator until it's half open and then nail it to the floor after about half a second. I don't get the delay that way. It's only when I stomp on the pedal from 0% throttle that I get the delay.

Many drivers will never notice the lag because they don't drive aggressively enough to trigger it.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Oct 19 2007, 07:14 PM) [snapback]527981[/snapback]</div>

The ES was (is) DBW. A few people complained (an understatement) while others didn't notice a problem. Lots of flame wars back and forth...

As far as the Camry, I have never had an instance where I noticed any lag. And once in a while I do drive it hard. (It's not a V8 like my old car, but I get over twice the milage)

 

sheez, if you're cutting your lane changes that close in front of
other people, the problem doesn't appear to be with the car.
.
_H*

 

same with the prius, and the rx400h... although the 400h has a lot more power. hehe..

i do the same as Pinto Girl. she kinda reminds me of me later in life.. but female.. and more grown up.

anyways.. yeah.. you'll get it.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(zo6tosv @ Oct 21 2007, 03:42 PM) [snapback]528565[/snapback]</div>

You haven't had your drink of the purple kook-aid yet. Once you've had it, you'll become a Prius apologist too.

It's *never* the car's fault. It's always something the driver is doing.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Oct 20 2007, 01:56 AM) [snapback]528103[/snapback]</div>

It's my understanding that both are computer controlled to "better" work together. Better being smoother shifts and improved fuel economy. So the "throttle" response is a combination of what you want and what the transmission wants.

Even on my old car (1995 Chevy Impala SS - Caprice with a Corvette motor) there were a few combinations of speed, loading, and gear where you would sometimes experience some hesitation. But the 5.7L V8 would quickly compensate.

I've never sworn at my car for not moving when I want it to. Your driving style will quickly change with the car. To get the best fuel economy (40+MPG average) you never want full throttle anyway.

 

If the engine isn't running when you mash the accelerator it takes a second or so to start. Power and torque at the wheel are reduced until then. This simply has to be accounted for when driving.

 

Show me where in the irrelevant seatbelt post I was dealing with
proximity to other drivers.
.
If you're changing into a faster lane and you haven't already begun
and stabilized your "burn" before you even start moving over, you're
being anything but smooth. Especially if someone's close.
.
If you haven't left sufficient room to begin said burn without
crunching into whoever's in front of you, then, well, insert the
usual rant here. Specious arguments about how "space cushion is an
impossible fantasy" duly ignored, for large values of it anyways.
.
Abruptness kills.
.
Now, I will point out that the HSD in its myriad forms does use the
battery and motors sort of as the moral equivalent of an "accelerator
pump" or other enrichment means, but whose quantity is a little
limited. Meanwhile, everything possible is done to *prevent* the
gas engine from running anything other than stoichiometric, so no
"burst of power" there. So you draw a somewhat anemic "punch it"
response from the battery until the ICE spools up enough to match
the power you're asking for. This generally requires a slightly
slower opening of the throttle flap, to prevent stumbling. This is
a well-known characteristic, obvious to most owners of a week or
two duration.
.
_H*

 

What's annoying is that the throttle is drive-by-wire, so the computer should do the right thing when I floor it. I shouldn't be able to outperform the computer by easing into the throttle and then flooring it, but I can.