"NEW" CAR

In a couple of days it'll become just a car.

There's nothing really "spaceship" about it.

Go buy an owner's manual.

It's just a car. It drives exactly like any other car. It's not an electric car.

First, learn to take advantage of the regenerative braking. Light to moderate pressure on the brake pedal will slow the car by charging the battery. Heavier pressure will engage the friction brakes, thereby wasting that energy in the form of heat. Next, learn to manage the pressure you put on the gas pedal at speeds below 40 mph to use the energy you have captured instead of the gasoline you bought. The fastest route between two points may not be the most fuel-efficient route so if burning less gas is more important to you than saving a few minutes select routes that let you capture and use kinetic energy.

Keep the wind on your back. :-)

Another couple questions on the 2008. Owners manual doesn't quite explain this that I've been able to find yet. On the anti theft system, why would the light blink when the car is turned off but I'm still sitting in it (looking up something in manual) & the doors aren't locked? It says to turn off unlock doors or start car? Also, it did mention that there may be noises when shutting down/starting from the transmission, etc. It's off & I'm still in it when it sounds for a couple seconds that something is running, I'm assuming this is normal? Thanks

It's telling the world that the key is not in the ignition, and therefore the ignition will not activate no matter what.

It's not a door lock thing. It indicates that the ignition security system is active.

After you power the car off, the system pumps coolant into a vacuum bottle to keep it warm (this helps with emissions when the car is restarted).

The noise you're hearing is the pump.

Also, during driving you'll hear noises that correlate with your use of the brake pedal. That is the brake pressure accumulator, and is perfectly normal.

The system will ALWAYS use the battery as needed, even if you press the pedal far enough that the system engages the gasoline engine.

Don't be bugged by the security system light blinking when the car is turned off. That's common to many cars including my old 1994 Volvo. The light is an LED and uses a tiny amount of energy.

One thing we learned about our 2006 Prius though when we left the car parked for several weeks is to turn off the switch (near the steering column) that powers the remote key system. The battery (the small one in the rear, not the power battery) was flat when we tried to start the car and we needed a jump start to get the car going.

TKM

a) that's one reason it's nice to have a simpler car, like my Prius without that

b) fortunately, you really only need flashlight batteries to "jump" the Prius into opening the relays and activating the 201v electrical system.

Read my post. It is about NOT using gas when there is an adequate charge in the battery, and yes, read the manual, not an electric car, blah blah blah.

"TKM" wrote

Page 44 of my 2008 Owner's manual says:

Battery saving function

... the entry function is disabled in order to prevent the vehicle and electronic key batteries from discharging when the entry function has not been used for 2 weeks or more.

I'm not sure if this addresses the same function as the "cancel switch" under the steering wheel. When was this feature added? I have not seen any discussion of it.

Does this mean it is not necessary to turn off remote entry?

-Al

Where can I get more specific information on this?

I was speaking hypothetically. However, "starting" the Prius doesn't engage a starter motor; the only thing to "start" is the computer. It needs to come up to a Ready state, at which point it opens the relays and allows the drive system to operate. The drive system includes the big traction battery.

So, there's no large power source needed to turn the starter motor. Turning the computer on and opening the relays requires about as much electricity as a potato generates, really. Just about any 12v source can make that happen.

And once it happens, the drive system can charge the car's 12v battery back up--just like any other car's drive system can.

A little tiny bit of 12v power can go a long way.

Sure, (to expand on ransley's post) If you change your own oil put in 3.5 quarts not the 3.9 that is specified. If you have it changed tell them to only put in 3 quarts and top it off yourself later as they see the 3.9 number and just put in 4 from the bulk oil resulting in an overfill. The oil level on the dipstick must never be above the max/full mark as overfilling is known to reduce MPG and cause oil to pool in the bottom of the intake manifold. It is best to have the level be just slightly below the full mark as the Prius doesn't consume much oil so you don't have to worry about it dropping below add between the 5K changes. Also look up the "Maintenance Required" light reset procedure in the owner's manual or online as some times the change places forget to do it.

um....it doesn't consume ANY oil.

If it does, it's broken.

Oil consumption should not be a given in a modern engine (well, unless it's a VW...)

I have Mobil 1 AFE 0W30 in my 95 Grand Caravan 3.3 right now but that is only because of the group 4 base stock shortage from the hurricanes. I normally run 5W30 non-EP in it.

At any rate have you looked at how easy a life the 1NZ-FXE ICE (engine) in the Prius lives? It is babied while it is cold, spun up to 1000 RPM before the fuel and spark are added, doesn't usually just idle, is completely stopped at times, and in the case of the one in the US spec NHW20 is preheated by hot coolant stored in a thermos bottle. Considering all of that I feel that 5k is more than enough. The NHW11 had an interval of 7.5k and it didn't have the thermos bottle and used a regular O2 sensor upstream instead of an air/fuel ratio (wideband) sensor like the NHW20. That and the block has an offset crank so the pistons have less side load on them during the power stroke.

Clever, but it makes sense. Relays don't take much power. Any idea of what the voltage has to be? A 2-cell flashlight is only 3 volts and the Prius battery is 12 volts.

TKM

Thanks for explaining! I'm hoping I won't have to leave mine sit idle long enough for it to die. However a couple posts here about needing a jump on older models, did make me wonder.

Regards, Hal