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New To The Prius


SimHo
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...The main key to safety is the nut behind the steering wheel...

I meant to add that one of the RoSPA observers in my previous county held the view that the best way to make roads safer was to make seat belts, airbags, ABS and all other safety features illegal, and a 6 inch, sharp steel spike in the centre of the steering wheel compulsory.

He seemed to think this would focus drivers' minds sufficiently that they would always drive with safety at the forefront of their minds!

Not such a great idea these days though, with those criminals going around deliberately causing accidents in order to make spurious insurance claims...

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Not such a great idea these days though, with those criminals going around deliberately causing accidents in order to make spurious insurance claims...

Had them try to set me up before. They go for taxis as we are regulated and they know for sure we'll have insurance. But if a 10 year old Passat or Audi A4 with 5 dodgy looking blokes pulls along side at the lights, look over at you and then gently pull in front of you and start to go 20 mph, do NOT drive up close to them to force them to go quicker, just drop well back. They move off if they know you know their game. Many of my taxi colleagues got caught out with this scam.

I know one road in Leeds that if I drove a taxi down it I could almost GUARANTEE that someone similar to the description above would try it on. The Police don't want to know, though make all the right noises that they do. :(

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Had them try to set me up before. They go for taxis as we are regulated and they know for sure we'll have insurance. ...

That's why I have a permanent forward facing camera that automatically records and saves any 'events'. It's triggered by harsh movement or can be fired manually. It also records a revolving 9 hours or so; old data is wiped as new is recorded.

Any of these files can be exported, and contain date/time stamp, speed (true) and GPS coordinates, plus seismic type data in three dimensions. Sound is also recorded so there's evidence of whether horns were used, tyres squealed, indicator is used (driver swearing, singing :no: , flatulence &etc! :yucky: ).

It's nicely hidden in front of the mirror and very hard to see from outside, so if a window is left open it could record nearby conversation as well, which might be useful...

It also can go into a low power mode whilst parked (switches off if the Battery gets low) and has run for 1½ weeks without apparently harming the 12v Battery. If anyone hit or vandalised the car, it just might have recorded something useful.

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Had them try to set me up before. They go for taxis as we are regulated and they know for sure we'll have insurance. ...

That's why I have a permanent forward facing camera that automatically records and saves any 'events'. It's triggered by harsh movement or can be fired manually. It also records a revolving 9 hours or so; old data is wiped as new is recorded.

Any of these files can be exported, and contain date/time stamp, speed (true) and GPS coordinates, plus seismic type data in three dimensions. Sound is also recorded so there's evidence of whether horns were used, tyres squealed, indicator is use (driver swearing, singing :no: , flatulence &etc! :yucky: ).

It's nicely hidden in front of the mirror and very hard to see from outside, so if a window is left open it could record nearby conversation as well, which might be useful...

It also can go into a low power mode whilst parked (switches off if the Battery gets low) and has run for 1½ weeks without apparently harming the 12v Battery. It anyone hit or vandalised the car, it just might have recorded something useful.

What unit are you using out of interest Pete?

I've been a user of a 'T-eye' since 2008, and now have a HD front and rear camera setup also. Was handy down the Acle Stright when I got rear ended last year.

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Just got to make sure I don't become an mpg bore ;)

Heh, good luck with that! ;)

I have to say, I am enjoying being an mpg bore rather more than the bhp bore I once was. Driving has not only become significantly less expensive but infinitely more relaxing as a result. That's the hybrid effect, for you.

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Hi Simon and welcome to the forum.

I don't think anyone has mentioned the Power and Eco buttons. The main effect is to alter the response of the accelerator pedal. Eco will make the car feel very slow until you get used to it, and Power will have you taking off like a rocket. My technique is to run in Eco mode all the time except where rapid acceleration is needed such as joining fast-moving traffic. There is also a Normal mode which, as you may expect, is halfway between Power and Eco. There's no Normal button as such but you get there by pressing the Eco button again if you are in Eco (or the Power button if it's in Power).

I only use EV to stop the ICE (i.e. the petrol engine) starting if I'm moving the car a few feet on the drive. It only saves a drop or too of petrol but as someone said you get obsessive about mpg with these cars.

Happy motoring.

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What unit are you using out of interest Pete?

I've been a user of a 'T-eye' since 2008, and now have a HD front and rear camera setup also. Was handy down the Acle Stright when I got rear ended last year.

And for the commercial vehicle user, or really paranoid car drivers, RoadHawk have now launched a black box system that is actually, er, a black box - to which up to four cameras can be connected:

http://commercial.roadhawk.co.uk/roadhawk-e10-multi-camera-dvr

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Well, I've had the prius for a little over a week & all in all I am incredibly pleased with it.

The good...

60mpg on a run to the airport & 45 mpg hooning around town (2nd one could be better I guess)

Really like the way Bluetooth/audio/navigation all integrates and works.

Quiet.

Much better performance than I had feared

Dealer (Agreed to update sat nav free!!)

Not so good....

Acres of nasty plastic in cabin

Manuals translated from Japanese via Swedish (it seems!)

It seems there is something called "Prius rage" - not something I have come across as I have usually driven performance cars. People seem to go,out of their way to overtake, cut you up, pull out etc etc. luckily the prius is fast enough to put them right :)

A little help needed..... Once you have used B mode, how do you switch it off? The only way seems to be to shift into N then back in to D.

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Much better performance than I had feared

Surprises a lot of people :)

Acres of nasty plastic in cabin

On the plus side, it is recycled plastic

Manuals translated from Japanese via Swedish (it seems!)

Not that many people read them

It seems there is something called "Prius rage" - not something I have come across as I have usually driven performance cars. People seem to go,out of their way to overtake, cut you up, pull out etc etc.

I notice this a lot or maybe I am paranoid.

A little help needed..... Once you have used B mode, how do you switch it off?

Move to D.

Go directly to D.

No need to pause at N.

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Hi Simon

Welcome to the 'club'.

MPG should improve as you and the car get used to each other. One secret is to let the smoothness and tranquillity of the car chill you, and don't take the bait if others try to burn you off.

Almost everyone around here seems to be trying to burn petrol/diesel as if they're being paid to do it (not just boy ravers, but girl racers, middle aged to elderly men and women et al), and could probably save at least 20% of their fuels costs (not to mention expensive brake overhauls) without arriving any later if they just moderated their acceleration a little and did a bit more forward planning.

I agree about the cabin - why do they use so much depressing black inside cars these days?

To get back to D from B, just move the lever to D and let go, just as you do when first selecting D.

Regards, PeteB

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Move to D. Go directly to D. No need to pause at N.

Do not collect £200 :driving:

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... A little help needed..... Once you have used B mode, how do you switch it off? The only way seems to be to shift into N then back in to D.

I see others have answered this question, but can I ask, why are you using 'B'?

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Just put it into D and hold it there for a second or two.

B has only one use though, to provide extra engine braking when going downhill. It actually reduces the energy reclaimed by the hybrid system so there's absolutely no benefit to using it in normal driving...

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Joseph D....In the words of the great man "Because it was there"...

I was on a very long hill and using B was more comfortable than using the brakes (not a tremendous amount of feel as we all know).

Not something I will do routinely, now I know its not really helping anything.

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Joseph D....In the words of the great man "Because it was there"...

I was on a very long hill and using B was more comfortable than using the brakes (not a tremendous amount of feel as we all know).

Not something I will do routinely, now I know its not really helping anything.

On a very long hill, B mode saves the friction brake pads (the pads are thinner than on an ordinary car). Once the HV (High Voltage) Battery is full, it has to get rid of the energy but on the Toyota hybrid in B mode it does this by turning the petrol engine over without injecting in any petrol. I think you did the correct thing in the circumstances.

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On a very long hill, B mode saves the friction brake pads (the pads are thinner than on an ordinary car). Once the HV (High Voltage) battery is full, ...

It would have to be quite a steep hill for the friction brakes to come into effect and a veeeerrrryyyy long decline to fill the HV Battery to 8 full bars.

Personally, I've only seen it once where I was able to completely fill the HV Battery. And it was a very long descent out of some mountains in Germany.

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On a very long hill, B mode saves the friction brake pads (the pads are thinner than on an ordinary car). Once the HV (High Voltage) battery is full, ...

It would have to be quite a steep hill for the friction brakes to come into effect and a veeeerrrryyyy long decline to fill the HV Battery to 8 full bars.

Personally, I've only seen it once where I was able to completely fill the HV Battery. And it was a very long descent out of some mountains in Germany.

Depends where you live. Living up in Yorkshire I know of at least 3 or 4 such hills within 20 miles of me. Most being on main roads and could cause a problem to the long term health of your car if you travel them regularly. There is one near me on the way to the local airport and the HV Battery now seems to struggle more after a downward drive. When new the car wasn't bothered but now it definitely maxes out earlier and then quickly drops from 8/8 to 2/8 bars which it never did when newer.

But my car is now covered by the HHC guarantee so I'm "not bovered".

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Hybrid Health Check. Annual check which is FOC if completed with a Toyota service, £39 if done without a service. Extends the hybrid Battery guarantee by 1 year each time..

Was your car serviced before you bought it? If so HHC should have been included (you should have been given a certificate to say so), if not suggest you contact your dealer.

Good luck with the car, good choice.

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HHC Guarantee?????

If your car has a full Toyota service history and the last service was sometime this year, chances are you had the HHC performed. If the car was serviced elsewhere then it wasn't.

All it does is extend the warranty on the vehicles HV Battery (NOT the hybrid system) upto 10 years inclusive so long as you have the car serviced at Toyota on time (ie every 10k miles/12 months) or you pay £39 for the check to be performed. Details;

http://www.toyota.co.uk/service-and-maintenance/hybrid-health-check

If you're a high mileage driver or intend to keep the car it's invaluable.

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Personally, I've only seen it once where I was able to completely fill the HV battery. And it was a very long descent out of some mountains in Germany.

Easy to do around Brighton.

Lots of steep hills with lovely speed cams to clock you going too fast as you descend. :(

As a bonus, if you do fill up the HV Battery, B mode is automatically engaged by the HSD.

B mode is also very handy for going down hills covered in snow.

It gives a more controlled descent.

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Personally, I've only seen it once where I was able to completely fill the HV battery. And it was a very long descent out of some mountains in Germany.

Easy to do around Brighton.

Lots of steep hills with lovely speed cams to clock you going too fast as you descend. :(

As a bonus, if you do fill up the HV Battery, B mode is automatically engaged by the HSD.

B mode is also very handy for going down hills covered in snow.

It gives a more controlled descent.

Well, that is interesting. I've driven those roads in Brighton and while I can't claim to have driven every road, I never came across any descent that would completely fill my HV battery--they are just not long enough. Sure it certainly got in the green and even 8 bars, but the HSD never automatically engaged B mode. I wouldn't expect it to either, as most of those hills are tiny really-- the height differential, I'm guessing, no more than 250 ft.

But with yours and GC's comments, I'm wondering whether the Gen III pumps more energy back into the HV than the Gen II does? I have read that there is a more definite regen braking on the Gen III compared to the Gen II, so maybe it does.

As I said, interesting, to me at least.

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