Another run-away Prius

Arthur McDonald · **Joined:** Fri Aug 29, 2003 1:54 am **Posts:** 2052

steve remchak wrote:

Jason Mauldin wrote:

what does the "B" Select?

Bong-Hit?

Banzai !

DickRasmussen · **Posted:** Wed Mar 10, 2010 11:12 pm

Ron Spencer wrote:

Dick talk about taking a HARD right turn!

Heaven forbid. :oops:

Richard Casto · **Posted:** Wed Mar 10, 2010 11:13 pm

Jason Mauldin wrote:

what does the "B" Select?

IMHO, that is a perfect example of bad user interface. They put the "Park" selected on a button on the dash vs. traditional location on shift lever. Then they wanted to include a method to support engine braking (instead of regenerative braking) for long down hill sections, so they put a "B" (for Brake) mode on the shift lever. Other than Googling it, I would not have had a clue what it was for.

They could have used a traditional automatic shift lever design (P, R, N, D) and then put a button to enable engine braking on the dash. Or just made the software smart enough to auto enable engine braking when regenerative braking looses its effectiveness.

Arthur McDonald · **Joined:** Fri Aug 29, 2003 1:54 am **Posts:** 2052

steve remchak wrote:

when speed racer was asked to put the car in neutral (911 operator) he said he did not want to for fear of the car "locking up".

is this something i am not aware of with an auto tranny?

if it were anywhere other than the greater LA area.................... Pelosi probably is behind this.

Years ago, one of my father's friends reported a case of the car "locking-up". His six year old daughter didn't want to school that day, so she just reached over and slapped the shift lever into park while he was driving her to school. The car did stop.

DickRasmussen · **Posted:** Wed Mar 10, 2010 11:23 pm

Jason Mauldin wrote:

what does the "B" Select?

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Toyota_Pri ... ing_tricks

In a Prius, the driver handles that condition by selecting "B" mode. This tells the Prius to attempt to emulate "engine braking" in a conventional vehicle. Depending on the vehicle's speed and the battery SOC (state of charge), the Prius will do this using regenerative braking and/or high-RPM zero-fuel-flow engine braking.

Jason Mauldin · **Posted:** Wed Mar 10, 2010 11:28 pm

DickRasmussen wrote:

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Toyota_Pri ... ing_tricks

In a Prius, the driver handles that condition by selecting "B" mode. This tells the Prius to attempt to emulate "engine braking" in a conventional vehicle. Depending on the vehicle's speed and the battery SOC (state of charge), the Prius will do this using regenerative braking and/or high-RPM zero-fuel-flow engine braking.

I prefer Art's definition!

steve remchak · **Posted:** Wed Mar 10, 2010 11:38 pm

either i did or did not do enough bong hits to understand the intricacies of driving a Prius. one must shift into the braking mode?

well, i would guess that is the root of the problem right there. what if i don't feel like braking? what if i just don't think that is what i need to be doing right now.

where if the driver uses the brake pedal to control the vehicle's speed, the vehicle's brake pads will overheat and fail

there is something to be said for manifest desitiny. :twisted:

DickRasmussen · **Posted:** Thu Mar 11, 2010 8:39 am

Jason Mauldin wrote:

I prefer Art's definition!

Me too. Art is funny. :lol:

Pete Guthrie · **Posted:** Thu Mar 11, 2010 12:55 pm

heck i got you all beat. my wrx just has a regular key.. you turn it to start. you turn it back to cut it off. how hard is that.

Richard Casto · **Posted:** Fri Mar 12, 2010 3:02 pm

Interview with the driver...

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-t ... 6393.story

I want to know where all of the stories are about people who had legitimate issues with the throttle, but were able to stop the car by using the brakes? I am mostly joking about this, but I would think the bigger story would be that the brakes in Toyotas apparently don't work.

Vincent Keene · **Posted:** Fri Mar 12, 2010 3:42 pm

Quote:

Sikes said his "nerve-racking" experience ended when a CHP officer, responding to his 911 call, instructed him through a loudspeaker to apply his emergency brake in tandem with the brake pedal. Sikes pressed down, hard. "My bottom wasn't even on the seat," he said.

When the Prius, which had reached 90 mph, dropped to about 50 mph, Sikes turned off the engine and coasted to a stop. There was nothing else he could have done to stop the car, Sikes said.

Ding! All this business about not wanting to turn off the engine because of loss of P/S seems crazy to me. If my car is going 90 MPH my last thought would be "I wonder how hard it will be to steer with the engine off?"

I realize each circumstance is different, but in this case it seems really clear IMO, and apparently to the CHP officer as well.

Ron Spencer · **Posted:** Fri Mar 12, 2010 3:45 pm

I find it VERY hard to believe that the car has less brake hp then engine hp.

Will be interesting what Toyota says they find.

Ron

Todd Breakey · **Posted:** Fri Mar 12, 2010 3:48 pm

A report that I saw last night said that Mr. Soles might just be looming for a little cash. Turns out he filed for bankruptcy recently and is somewhere in the neighorborhood of $700,000 in debt.

My question about his situation though is this...He claims to have "yanked up on the parking brake.". I know what happens when I have yanked the parking brake in a front wheel drive car at speed. The rear brakes locked up. Every time. But I didn't see any skid marks behind his Prius. Curious, no?

Dustin Fredrickson · **Posted:** Fri Mar 12, 2010 4:35 pm

Todd Breakey wrote:

I know what happens when I have yanked the parking brake in a front wheel drive car at speed. The rear brakes locked up. Every time.

Exactly. My '84 Escort had craptastic brakes - but I still managed to put myself into an uncorrectable tankslapper on an icy road doing this. Luckily the ditch was full of snow and provided a nice soft landing. Oh to be 16 again. :oops:

Chuck Branscomb · **Posted:** Fri Mar 12, 2010 4:42 pm

Todd Breakey wrote:

A report that I saw last night said that Mr. Soles might just be looming for a little cash. Turns out he filed for bankruptcy recently and is somewhere in the neighorborhood of $700,000 in debt.

My question about his situation though is this...He claims to have "yanked up on the parking brake.". I know what happens when I have yanked the parking brake in a front wheel drive car at speed. The rear brakes locked up. Every time. But I didn't see any skid marks behind his Prius. Curious, no?

Sounds like it's all taken from the Audi-shakedown-playbook circa 1985. I guess 25 years is long enough to recycle the idea for round 2.

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