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One interesting effect

Guys,

I've been happy with my 2005 Prius, and praised the systems which keep the car from skidding on icy roads. However, I've noticed an unexpected side effect of this system which could cause potential trouble.

In an vehicle without an anti-skid system, if you are at an intersection making a right turn, and there is oncoming traffic that you decide that you can beat, you simply "put the petal to the metal", some small gravel flies, and you make your turn onto the other road.

However, if you try this in a Prius, when you "put the petal to the metal", the anti-skid system kicks in, and practically shuts down the propulsion system, stopping the gravel from flying, slowing you to a crawl, and not letting up until you are most of the way through the turn. This can make for a few heart-pounding seconds as you wait for the anti-skid system to let up, and hope that the oncoming traffic doesn't arrive before you are out of the way.

Whether you actually clear the intersection faster with the anti-skid system, or without, is difficult to know. The psychological effect of having acceleration removed from your control, while traffic is fast approaching, makes for some interesting physiological effects.

Without careful measurement, I'd recommend that you not put yourself in harms way in this manner. The Prius might actually get you out of the way faster than "letting the gravel fly", but I wouldn't want to bet on it.

Paul

Reply to
Paul Missman
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I know you didn't ask for a lecture, driving like this, if your Prius would allow it, is both bad for your mileage and foolhardy driving.

Reply to
Mike Rosenberg

Mike,

Yep. But, being human, we are all going to do something like this once in a while. I'd owned the Prius for about 7 months before I had this happen, and it was quite an eye-opener.

Paul

Reply to
Paul Missman

How does your car respond if you shift to B mode first? Have you tried it? mark_

Reply to
mark digital

Our 2002 has a different approach to wheel spin. I understand the current model nearly shuts down power altogether when a wheel spins but the Classic version just cuts back for a moment and tries again very quickly so it is not intrusive. I wonder why the change?

Mike

Reply to
Michael Pardee

Actually, it's the ABS/traction control, not the anti-skid (VSC) system.

If the spinning tire were to suddenly catch, it can put a lot of strain on the drivetrain/transmission.

Reply to
mrv

Same here.

Bill

Reply to
Bill

Mark,

I tried it in a very unscientific experiment. If I'd worked on a looser pavement, the result might have been different. As far as I could tell, switching to B had no effect on the anti-skid system. Did the manual say that it was supposed to defeat this system?

Paul

Reply to
Paul Missman

Just to make sure I'm understanding you correctly ... you live in a country where you drive on the left-hand side of the road, so making a right turn means you're crossing in front of oncoming traffic.

For those of us in the US, skidding to make a right turn seems like serious overkill (grin).

Reply to
Chris Shearer Cooper

I'm not holier than thou -- I've certainly done this myself, but this kind of driving is by no means a regular practice with me, and as I've gotten wiser (though not older, of course) I find that I just don't do it anymore. Don't recommend it to anyone else, either.

Davoud

Reply to
Davoud

The same is true for the anti-lock brakes on my 2001 Prius. Have you ever put on the brakes at a bumpy intersection and had the brakes let up over the bumps? For a second, it makes you feel that you aren't going to stop.

Paul Missman wrote:

Reply to
DBLZOOM

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