Prius Marathon Run

[jtmhog]

In the Prius, N doesn't disengage any gear. It opens an electrical switch which disconnects MG2 from rest of the electrical system and thus, no regen. The ring gear just spins with no movement/power to the planet. For more info, go to Graham's site.

[ltu1542hvy]

You don't need a "glide mode switch mod" because you already have that function built in and enabled...To activate: Grab the gear shift knob. Push it straight to the left and hold until the "N" (as in "neutral") is circled on the dash indicator. You are now locked into glide mode.

Time for a self-LART. Sorry for wasting bandwidth by blabbing away at the keyboard without engaging brain first (although it was due to a lack of caffeine, but still...). Yes, shifting it to "N" would do it. Thanks for pointing that out...

[Schmika]

I am a municipal police officer (25 yrs). I occasionally see reference to driving in neutral (is that an oxymoron) being illegal but I have never seen a link to such a law nor have I seen a particular code referenced. Ohio, as a state, has no such law. I suppose a municipality may have one. I suspect this "law" resides in the same codebook that prohibits driving while bare-foot.

So, all those who say there is a law against it, tell me where. (State and city in US please)

[efusco]

I actually think the "glide button" would be very nice, and it would not be anything like going into neutral.

It would be a combination of:
1)EV button-like to turn off the ICE
2)disingage regen
3)Automaticaly be disengaged when either a)accelerator pressed, or b)brake depressed and then would resume normal function without the need to press the button a second time.

That way you could accelerate out of a problem situation if need or have regenerative braking without doing anything special (like hitting the knob again). Also, if the batter SOC got low ICE could kick in to recharge where that would not be possible in Neutral.

I've done the Neutral thing and it's a PITA to remember to put it back in drive as you approach a stop while watching for traffic and keeping your eyes on the road, etc. A simple button on the wheel that allowed glide when hit with the foot off the accelerator then had the features I describe would be very useful to me.

[Godiva]

I suspect this "law" resides in the same codebook that prohibits driving while bare-foot.

So, all those who say there is a law against it, tell me where. (State and city in US please)

When I visited my cousin in Connecticut she took her shoe off and drove barefoot. She told me it was illegal and if she was pulled over would just slip it back on. Not sure what county. We were driving from Bozrah to Mystic.

Of course....how would you enforce such a law? It's not like you can see people's feet while they're driving. And unless they don't bring their shoes with them, they can do like my cousin and just slip them back on before an officer gets to the window to look in.

[hobbit]

Astounding job, guys -- congrats and thanks for putting forth the
effort. May your right ankles never falter. And I
thought touching 77mpg for a while on some test runs
up here was pretty good...
.
About barefoot driving et al: check out
www.barefooters.org, and print yourself some of the material
they have available if you're paranoid about getting
hassled.
.
And as several have already noted, neutral is a
complete red herring where the Prius is concerned.
.
_H*

[Starman]

Many states and municipalities in the US have enacted laws banning the operation of a motor vehicle in "neutral." The Uniform Vehicle Code, which has been adopted by many jurisdictions, states, "The driver of any motor vehicle when traveling upon a down grade shall not coast with the gears or transmission of such vehicle in neutral." Here are a few other illustrative examples of "coasting" laws. Many more could be cited.

Oregon Statutes 811.495: "A person commits the offense of unlawful coasting on a downgrade if the person is the driver of a vehicle on a downgrade and the person coasts with the gears or transmission of the motor vehicle in neutral or with the clutch disengaged. This section does not apply to the driver of a motorized bicycle. The offense described in this section, unlawful coasting on a downgrade, is a Class C traffic infraction."

Louisiana Statutes 32:285: "The driver of any motor vehicle when traveling upon a downgrade shall not coast with the gears of such vehicle in neutral or with the clutch disengaged."

Seattle Municipal Code section 11.58.010: "The driver of any motor vehicle when traveling upon a downgrade shall not coast with the gears of such vehicle in neutral. No driver shall coast with the clutch disengaged when traveling upon a downgrade. This section shall not prevent the proper shifting of gears or the towing of a disabled vehicle."

Many other states and cities have similar laws. The good news is that coasting uphill is not prohibited!

[AnOldHouse]

When I visited my cousin in Connecticut she took her shoe off and drove barefoot. She told me it was illegal and if she was pulled over would just slip it back on. Not sure what county. We were driving from Bozrah to Mystic.

New London County, although in Connecticut, counties don't really mean anything as they do in other states.

I like driving barefoot (or sock-footed) as well. For me, I get a better "feel" and contact with the pedals. Considering some of the extremely impractical footwear many people wear, I think it would be far safer to drive barefoot. Must be a Connecticut thing?

[tomdeimos]

The way those laws are stated I don't see how it applies to a Prius.
Our gears don't disengage and we have no clutch at all.

Now if you argue it is Neutral because the lever is labeled "N" that is weak too since electrically and mechanically in the transmission the "N" switch doesn't do anything different from holding the accelerator in the coast mode.
They are identical except one lets your foot rest.

Now if coasting down hill is illegal that means it is just as illegal to do using the accelerator in the coast position too!

But when they talk about coasting down hill, that is what several Saab's I've driven did by design with their built in free wheel and the car was fully legal, but that was back when a lot more people wanted to conserve fuel! When you went down hill the gears were automatically always disengaged unless you stopped the car to lock the free wheel. You weren't supposed to do that while moving. And I drove that car all over Oregon too!

[DieselConvert]

In the Prius, N doesn't disengage any gear. It opens an electrical switch which disconnects MG2 from rest of the electrical system and thus, no regen. The ring gear just spins with no movement/power to the planet. For more info, go to Graham's site.

I'll check with Graham's site again (great stuff!) but feel certain that I saw the green arrows on the MFD from wheels to battery when I selected N on a long downgrade recently. I felt a slight acceleration soon after pushing left on the selector, and N was highlighted on the odometer display. Yes, the acceleration does indicate that the "drag" of the regen had been disconnected. Maybe the energy display has a glitch? :?