Break-in period. Again.

"How do you know when a salesman is lying? His lips are moving."

Or maybe he really didn't know, or maybe he was comparing it to the "always vary your speed" break-in recommendation for old technology cars. Anyway, Prius does have a simple break-in procedure, given in the owner's manual. Paraphrasing: no "excessive speed" (? more than 60 MPH?) in the first 600 miles, and avoid hard braking in the first 200 miles.

Well, I will study the manual--and be cautious.... This dealership/salesman is odd....

Actually, the car was already braked fairly hard, because a car pulled out right in front of us during the test ride. The salesman was not amused at that near miss and thought the car was unavoidable. Obviously, one does have to brake hard under such circumstances, but one can usually avoid it.

When I got mine, the dealer said the ad naseum 60-40mph routine and repeat. However, in the real world once I got on the Interstate I had a long stretch to go on I-5 and it moved along at 80mph without a hitch and some of it up over the Grapevine's uphill 5 mile stretch.

So much for babying it..

B~

Well, I did look at the manual, and it cautions re accelerating, braking, and something else (which I guess either must have been obvious to me or ???). Anyhoo, I got it home with nothing untoward happening.

I wonder how long it will take the battery to be fully charged?

Also, I gather when there is no green or orange on the energy consumption screen, that is the famous stealth mode?

Hi Jean,

The Prius battery array (not the small battery in back) is primarily for energy storage. You will rarely see it fully charged and hopefully never see it discharged. In a conventional car the battery has only two purposes, starting and as a voltage regulator, and is returned to a full charge quickly once the car has been started. The Prius battery is an energy reservoir. It would be counter productive to maintain it at a full charge because then you would not have a place to store energy recovered going down hill, coasting or braking.

"Stealth mode" is achieved when the engine shuts down and you are running on energy stored in the battery. Generally speaking you will be in stealth mode when no arrow is coming from the engine and an arrow is going from the battery to the front wheels. With experience you will learn to manage your acceleration in order to maximize the stealth experience and achieve better gas mileage. For example, if you see a light turning red a block ahead of you, backing-off on the pedal and using the electric motor will give you a free ride to the light and when you gently brake as you approach the light, you will recover that energy and possibly more. While you are sitting at that light listening to the idling SUVs all around you, hold your breath and smile. :-)

I am seeing a lot of 99.9 mpg readings. I already have been backing off the gas pedal, starting with my last car. It seems like the battery regenerates from coasting too, at least according to the arrows. (?) I do have to learn that braking is a good thing though.

Thanks for the info re the battery. That makes sense. I'll stop wondering why the lost two bars aren't there.

What I REALLY want to know is what it is doing when there are NO lines/arrows (and I am not stopped). I guess that's not as good as when you are recharging the battery, with that not coming from the engine.

I have lots to study. It's clouding up here, so I can now do it without broiling myself. This is good.... :-)

No lines at all: Coasting on a slight downhill incline or with a good tailwind. No energy required from ICE or battery to maintain speed, battery not being charged in order to maintain coast. Holding it there causes a cramp in my ankle.

I think I will drive myself crazy looking at that screen and trying to figure out all the whys and wherefores--and seeing bars drop and being added.

That instrumentation is a great teaching tool. After a while you'll feel the force, Jean.

Well? Any surprises? Do you like it? Are your neighbors suffering Prius envy?

I don't know whether they have noticed. Anyway, they wouldn't understand. They don't understand my not wanting to use pesticides and herbicides, so this will be no different.

There are already about 90 miles on the car. There were 5 when I went for the test drive--and 26 or 36 today. I don't know if it went somewhere for its inspection sticker. At some point, the calculations got reset, because they are a few miles out of synch with the odometer. My average for the first ca 87 miles was 49.5 mph. Not bad at all! I love seeing those 99.9s!

Very different experience from my W8, as one would expect. I think my pleasure with the Prius will be that great mileage and all those screens to play with! Also interesting that I don't have to quite touch the handle of the car to get in. :-)

My main impression is WHY DID I WAIT SO LONG TO DO THIS????? It is sweet! I'll gladly trade my aggressive acceleration for its virtues.