getting my '06 prius this week...

[bbcjay]

ok, so, i went to the dealer last week to get some info on a new prius.. and it turns out they had several on the lot... including a couple that were exactly what i wanted.. black/dark grey, HK package, and all that. However, i gotta say that the salesman wasn't to knowledgeable about the car. (when he spent 10 mins explaining the Door - Off - On switch... i knew i wasn't going to get much info. )

so i turn to you for help.

ok, first.. on the gear selector.. there's a B. according to the dealer, this is a low gear to help with steep hills... according to what i've read here.. its an engine break, similar to a jake brake on a truck. so which is it?

since this is the HK package, it has the JBL sound system. i asked about the possibility of satillite radio, and he said that it was fully satillite ready, and i could just go to Best Buy and have it installed. now.. if i do that.. will it still integrate with the in-dash screen, or will i have to have a seperate tuner. and will i have the 10 char display problem.

also the dealer mentioned that the ICE wouldn't kickin if i was driving under 35 and the car was fully warmed up (its pretty cold here still, so didn't get to test this.) i was under the impression that this was only possible with the EV mod installed.

Thats about all i can think of at the moment. and help on the questions will be most appreciated

[aaf709]

Just a couple of quick answers. Others will have more information.

1) Think of the B position like doing a downshift going down a big hill. You'd use it the same way you would if you didn't want to ride the brakes. I'm guessing it's more of an engine brake.

2) If you want the satellite radio, you'd probably have to order one that integrates with the MFD. Factory Interactive and Coastal Tech are a couple of places that sell them. The ones you'd get at Best Buy won't integrate with the MFD, but there might be more characters on the display. I have the Pioneer Airware and it has 17 characters on the first line and 22 on the second.

3) The engine doesn't always run, the computer decides whether it's needed or not. That depends on the battery level, speed and other factors. The EV mod is another issue.

[windstrings]

Originally posted by bbcjay@Mar 4 2006, 05:18 PM

also the dealer mentioned that the ICE wouldn't kickin  if i was driving under 35 and the car was fully warmed up (its pretty cold here still, so didn't get to test this.) i was under the impression that this was only possible with the EV mod installed.

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Often dealers only know skim knowledge of the prius... there are usually one or two guys in sales that really know the car well, the others just guess.. at least thats been my take.

If you are very gentle on the throttle, you can run in electric only if the car is warm and the battery is charged well, and you can go up to 42 mph until the battery gets down to about 4 bars or you give it too much gas.

but the engine is always available should you need it.. just press the gas a bit more and its on!

When you install an EV switch it overides some of these rules but once the switched EV disengages, the regular factory EV protocols take over again.

The switched EV will disengage when you disengage it, or when the battery gets down to 2 bars left, or when you give it the gas.
In Switched EV mode you can get away with more gas throttle without kicking it out.. so faster acceleration in pure EV is possible than with factory EV.

But bringing the battery down just for fun will not save you gas mileage unless you have a big down hill coming up to charge the thirsty battery back up..otherwise you will be using gas to charge it back up and that uses more energy in the charge up than you saved by draining the battery so low.