What every newb should know

Quick question from a newbie owner of a 2010 Prius ~ one week tomorrow. I travel down a residential stretch of road to get to my home and the posted speed limit is 25 MPH. There are a few stop signs along the way, which isn't my concern, but what is the best way to travel across the 4 speed bumps that are along the way. Brake while going over, drive over them slowly. Of course, I understand all this takes into consideration who is behind me, but what is the recommended action. Thanks in advance!!

 

Thanks, Richard...I'm glad to know the difference is not significant since I'm always taking this trek!! I also enjoyed the "stopping is better than running into something" comment!

 

I would approach them slow enough so that you don't need to brake if traffic allows. Speed bumps are murder on front end alignment. I'd take them as slow as possible especially since it sounds like you're crossing them at least twice a day. Messed up alignment can prematurely wear out tires and cost you mpg performance.

PS, welcome to the board.

 

What kind of speed bump? It makes a difference. some are not too tall but very wide, while others are tall and thin. We have one neighborhood of the 6' wide ones that are only maybe 14" tall, so I take them at about 20mph in stealth. Those tall skinny ones though will wipe out your air dam if you hit 'em straight on.

 

Our neighborhood has speed lumps. They are low and have breaks in them so that city busses and emergency equipment can travel over them safely. Each lane has 2 lumps with a breaks in-between, so you can drive over the lumps evenly, or drive your left wheel flat through the break, and just raise on the right side. A lot of people prefer to drive with their left wheel through the center line between the two lines as the break is wider there, and just the right tire lifts. I'm not sure if my description makes sense reading it back!!** For alignment purposes, would it be better to go over both evenly, or is it okay to go with the left tire road level and the right tire over the bump? In any case, I will be going slowly. Thanks!!

**I just found the official description of our speed lumps: As an alternative to speed humps, speed lumps have been approved by the Fire Department for use on most emergency response routes and by Sacramento Regional Transit for use on bus routes. Speed lumps are asphalt mounds, parabolic in shape, covering 12 feet of street with a height between 3 ¼ and 3 ¾ inches. The center mound or lump, has a width of 5 ½ feet to accommodate the wheelbase of fire trucks and buses. The lumps adjacent to the center lump vary in width to accommodate the street width.

 

If you have cruse control, use it. In the the 2010, do not use it with ECO.

When driving below 40 MPH, once you have reached the speed you want, take you foot off the gas and then gently put it back on. (It is also very easy to follow the impact of this in the 2010.)

If you have the patience, driving at about 55 MPH on the highway is optimal.

 

Hello all! Recent 2007 Prius owner (just less than a week) and totally digging it. I have learned so much from you guys and gals during my research for my Prius over the past month or so. But I have learned even more in the past week. You folks are awesome!

 

Coming from driving an old '90 Lexus to 2010 Prius, I got a lot of learning.

Living in the mountain with up and down hill and winding roads, I trying to take advantage of "B" shifting but I often caught myself forgot to switch off to "D" and doing 70 mph on highway after I heard the hardworking sound from engine. Is this frequent situation going to hurt my engine? I might need to give up the "B"

I also experience steady beeping sound when car speed slow down with braking system. The sounds seems coming somewhere from the driver side, as it is harder to detect it sitting at the passenger side.

My brake grabbing in reverse, the only way to stop it is by turn the power off and on again...

I am only getting 41mpg to 43 the last few months of our new ownership on 2010 III

As new Prius driver I don't know if it is a warning of some sort to take in to dealer.

Can anyone help me out to easy my worries.

 

Have you noticed that the 10 pips are not valued equally? After filling up I often go for a day before my fuel bips drop to nine. Then as the guage drops, each bip represents less fuel.

 

Sorry Charlie, not all cities are built on pancakes. My town is on a huge incline with lots of washes. Letting off the gas to engauge electric only while traveling uphill doen't maintain a constant speed.

 

Hello, All!!

Just wanted to say hello! I traded my 2007 Rav4 Sport for a certified 2007 Prius (I think it has package #4) this past Saturday and I love it! I will be busy combing through the pages of this forum to learn as much as I can.

 

This is a great place to learn. Be sure to check out the search function. :welcome:

 

Ditto, and note the search function will not return results for words of 3 letters or less.

 

Google Search - PriusChat.com is your friend.
It doesn't have the 3 letters limitation.

Ken@Japan

 

A most excellent point. Thank you!

 

A small note to those folks who fill up when the tank reaches halfway: Bear in mind that the gas weighs about 6.2 pounds per gallon, so you're hauling around an extra 36 pounds when you top off. A small thing to be sure, but it can't help but negatively affect your gas mileage.

 

I'm an original '04 owner who is thankful for the info re pips and bladder control.