The Prius v I took delivery of has a slight shudder/vibration that I did not notice during the test drive of other Prius v's. Sometimes it is slight, sometimes it's a clunk almost as pronounced as a geared auto transmission shift. But it always happens the moment the EV light goes off and the ICE is engaged (< 7-10 mph). I wanted to gauge members to see if this is a normal phenom, because some have told me that the Prius has one of the smoothest take offs of any car. Thanks in advance for your responses. .
Take your concerns to your dealer. There's a noticeable shudder when the ICE engages, but it shouldn't be as bad as you imply.
If I accelerate fast enough for the ICE to turn on at 7-10 mph, then I feel the shudder, but there is no "clunk".
I can always tell when my ICE fires off when taking off from a start. There is a definite change from the smoothness of the electric motor up to about 15 mph to the ICE firing off. I would not call it buttery smooth like a golf cart but it is not a vibration, shudder or clunk as you describe either. It is just a transition from electric to ICE. It is still very smooth. If you are not being overly dramatic with your observations I would take it to the dealer and test drive another Prius v to compare.
You may want to try the ECO mode and being a little smoother or gradual with your foot on the gas pedal. I think this car does not like heavy-handed treatment. Just a thought.
As long as the ICE is not misfiring or anything of that nature - the dealer will likely drive it with or without you - maybe check for trouble codes to help you sleep better at night, and then liekly tell you - "it's within normal parameters" The hard you accell the more pronounced it is ... there are times where I literally cannot feel it transition, and then there are times it's quite noticeable. Keep in mind that there is no torque converter (fluid coupling) to dampen vibration. so like a car with a manual transmission and clutch you will feel those "bumps" as engine rpm changes, or you go from coasting to load, load to coasting, etc.
This is my thought. From the responses it appears that this is normal. The transition has admittedly been less noticeable since this poll was posted, probably just getting used to it . In all honesty I'd be surprised if I was not able to feel the transition, but that is how some owners had described it to me before.
