Quick question

[Cherrie]

I am a beginner at this whole Prius thing still and I have a question or two.

At every stop I make I put my car in the battery mode which I was told charges the battery. I use this almost everytime I stop thinking that the more battery I charge the more I will use, resulting in less of the motor to be used.
Well my question is... Is this a bad habit to have, should I only use it when going down hill?

And one more quick question. I have left it in B when accelerating a few times, I know this cannot be good but should I be to worried about it seriously hurting my car?

Any advice would be good.

Thank you

[thepixiesarah]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Cherrie Cotillier @ Sep 1 2007, 05:40 PM) [snapback]505584[/snapback]</div>

I am a beginner at this whole Prius thing still and I have a question or two.

At every stop I make I put my car in the battery mode which I was told charges the battery. I use this almost everytime I stop thinking that the more battery I charge the more I will use, resulting in less of the motor to be used.
Well my question is... Is this a bad habit to have, should I only use it when going down hill?

And one more quick question. I have left it in B when accelerating a few times, I know this cannot be good but should I be to worried about it seriously hurting my car?

Any advice would be good.

Thank you
[/b]

Your salesman was seriously misinformed. The B gear is not "battery mode". Putting your car in that mode will actually keep the battery from charging. It is only for use going down long hills as a way to downshift the car. Keeping your car in that gear will not hurt it, but will hurt your fuel economy.

[a priori]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Cherrie Cotillier @ Sep 1 2007, 07:40 PM) [snapback]505584[/snapback]</div>

Well my question is... Is this a bad habit to have, should I only use it when going down hill?

Any advice would be good.
[/b]

Cherrie,

Welcome to PriusChat! You're about to get a boat-load of advice. 95% of that advice is going to be not only technically correct but also very helpful. The other 5% is likely to be more personal taste than anything else.

Please read through the thin document you received that gives you a basic and bottom-line introduction to the car (really more like a "Cliffs Notes" version of the owner's manual). After that, please call your dealer and request the opportunity to meet with someone who actually knows the Prius. Whoever sold you the car did not bother to make certain you knew how to operate it, and the dealer who allowed this to happen has done you a disservice.

There are several other threads that have discussed the use of the "B" position. The best advice I can give right now is to forget about "B" for the present. (As the previous poster noted, "B" is for braking and only for long runs down steep grades. Using "B" does not allow the car to recharge the battery.) Use "R" and "D" and let the Prius work everything out for you for the first couple of weeks. Get used to this great car and enjoy it for all it is worth.

In the meantime, please use the Search engine on this site to get more information about your car.

Get ready for more advice than you imagined possible and a greater experience than you've had with any other car.

[hobbit]

Go back and force that salescritter, and all like him, to read this.
.
_H*

[a priori]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hobbit @ Sep 1 2007, 10:16 PM) [snapback]505650[/snapback]</div>

Go back and force that salescritter, and all like him, to read this.
.
_H*
[/b]

Thanks, Hobbit. I'm sorry I couldn't provide the reference. An excellent explanation -- worth reading over once again.