What happens if you push the "park" button while the prius is in drive and in motion?

I have no idea why, but I've always wanted to know that answer to that question too. Pointless to know... yes. Something that there would ever be the need to do... no. Inquiring minds have to know.

 

Nothing happens if your above 7mph. Below 7mph and you risk damage as the parking will engage.

 

Just for fun, press and hold the "Power" button for 3 seconds when you are moving down the road. :madgrin:

 

It powers down. It's like holding the power button on a modern computer. We have tried that as well. Also shifting into reverse while in motion.

Tom

 

Yes, but it doesn't power down completely - it goes into ACC mode. It is the only way to get the car into N and ACC as far as I can tell.

 

Good point. Powering down completely would be bad. Can you imagine the tires screeching on the pavement.

Tom

 

Or something really expensive to fix snapping off inside the transaxle.

 

Pawl.

I did it once, back when I was letting the car rest on the transmission park, when I hit it slightly too early, at maybe 2mph. Slam as the car very suddenly stopped. I've never done it again.

I now come to a stop, hold the car with the right foot on the brake then apply the parking brake and shift into neutral at the same time. (The parking brake is all the way down by the time the car's neutral-select timeout has finished and it actually 'shifts'.) Then I ease up on the regular brake pedal and let the car roll slightly until the parking brake is holding it, then select Park. The parking pawl is not actually engaged, but if the parking brake were to fail, the car would only roll a short distance before it did engage. It's a backup, like leaving a manual in first gear when pointing up a hill when switched off - it's not how you should stop the car moving at rest. If the engine starts in Park and the parking brake is not on, the car will move quite a bit, even if the pawl is engaged.

In the UK it is customary to adjust the parking/emergency brake (normally just called 'handbrake' as it's normally a hand control between the front seats - bench seating was uncommon here) so that it will hold the car even with a fair amount of torque applied through the transmission. For hill starting on a manual, you want to be able to hold the car while applying power in first gear and finding the clutch bite point, until the car is only being held back by that brake.

 

I have seen mention of shutting the engine off when going down a hill. What is the best way to do that?

 

You may have seen references to some experiments testing how fast MG1 can spin before something bad happens. The engine is not forced off.

Now you want to have the engine go off, you'll need to comply with the AND of these rules:

• vehicle warmed up - typically 5 minutes depending upon driving profile although EU and Asian Prius can do it a little sooner
• speed less than 42 mph while in "D" - required for the hybrid control laws to work
• reduced load, descending hill or coasting to a stop - allows the vehicle control computers to shutdown the engine

As you normally drive in a warmed up Prius at speeds under 42 mph, the hybrid control laws will generally turn off the engine anytime it can. There is a special case called "S4 mode" that requires the car to come to a complete stop long enough for the engine to be stopped. This enables hybrid mode at speeds from 0-32 mph. (Search archives for 'warm stages' as outlined by Ken@Japan.)

There is one other approach that involves adding an EV button but this requires making a change to your car. I would also recommend searching the archives for 'EV button' for details.

GOOD LUCK!
Bob Wilson

 

Who needs to ADD an EV button, it's already there from the factory. Well it is on my car.
I accidentally hit the power button while reversing, was going for the EV button and missed, it isn't a nice thing to do to the park mechanism!

 

We always considered that a wimpy way of driving a manual. A good driver can easily start on a hill without resorting to the hand brake. Our attitude could have been formed by parking brakes in the U.S. At the time manual transmissions were still popular, most U.S. cars had foot operated parking brakes. Either way, it's a pretty simple task to come off the brake and onto the gas without rolling back or stalling the engine. That said, your hand brake method is better for the clutch.

Our last car with a manual transmission, a Subaru, had a "hill holder" clutch. What this did is automate the process you describe. With Subaru's hill holder clutch, the driver presses on the normal brake to hold the car on the hill, then depresses the clutch pedal. A one way valve attached to the clutch pedal maintains brake pressure when the driver's right foot is removed from the brake pedal, allowing an easy transfer to the gas pedal. As the clutch is released, the one way valve in the brake line releases the brakes as the clutch bites. It was a pretty slick system. My wife liked it a lot. I liked it too, but though it was cheating.

Tom

 

Hill start is a required part of the driving test here and in the UK. If the car rolls back even a tiny bit you fail. You can't left foot the brake in an auto either, you must use the parking brake.

 

It's easy to do without the parking brake, and without left footing the brake. It just takes good coordination between the clutch and gas, and a quick right foot.

Tom

 

You would fail the test. As I said, you MUST use the parking brake.

 

Using a Prius would be cheating too.

 

The backup camera on the Prius is considered cheating for the driver's test in Michigan. I wonder if mirrors were considered cheating when they were first installed.

As for Pat's comment, I would probably fail anyway, most likely from running over a blind pedestrian (gotta love stealth mode).

My brother-in-law backed into a police car on his first attempt at the driver's test. Needless to say he didn't pass that time.

Tom