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Suggestions for driving on stop & go steep hills

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by mickey513, Feb 25, 2011.

  1. mickey513

    mickey513 Member

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    First time driving on a steep hill (upward) with stop and go traffic and I was in for a bit of a surprise, car rolled back every single time I let go of the brake to step on the gas peddle. My other cars did not do this.

    Could hear one of the motor powering up every time when I had to give it a good press on the gas pedal on the steep hill. I activated the hill assist a couples of times but this can't be the correct way to drive it right especially for those who own Prius and drive in this kind of environment.

    Only thing I could do was give the gas pedal a good press, kind of like almost flooring it if I did not activate the hill assist. Also tried the press brake pedal and step on gas method but again, this really should only apply to a car with manual transmission.
     
  2. mainerinexile

    mainerinexile No longer in exile!

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    Your profile says Prius on order, so I'm not sure if you were driving a Prius or not. And in California, presumably you weren't driving on ice or snow. I've never had my Prius roll back on hill, but if it does, why don't you want to use hill assist? That is what it is for, and it is a nice feature. I've played with a few times to see how it works, and it works really well.
     
  3. White-Wagon

    White-Wagon New Member

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    What is hill assist?? I basically live in a city that is one big hill and am doing hills all the time...

    :eek:
     
  4. Paradox

    Paradox Prius Enthusiast / Moderator
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    When you are stopped and press down fully on the brake pedal it activates hill start assist. It will beep and light up the light on the dash for hill start assist. Once activated, when you take your foot off the brake, the car will not creep backwards, the brakes hold the car still basically, once you give the car gas it release the brakes ad the car moves forward. It's in the manual if you want to read about it.
     
  5. mickey513

    mickey513 Member

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    I just haven't updated my profile. My guess is your not familiar with driving in a major city with stop and go traffic on a STEEP hill. It is not ideal to activate hill assist just to move 1/4 block or so up a hill every light during peak hours, especially if you drive the same route daily.

    I can manage the brake and gas pedal like a manual but this car is a auto, not a manual.
     
  6. Troyroy

    Troyroy Member

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    Hi Mickey: I don't understand why you think it's not ideal to activate hill assist. There are times that I use it, but I like the brake & gas method just a little better. With the hill assist I feel that it takes just a little more effort on the ICE to get the car moving forward. With the brake & gas method, I feel that I can move forward without have the ICE increase it's RPM to the same as when using the hill assist.

    I would say it's a personal choice.........use what your most comfortable with.

    Why is the Prius this way. If it were like your old automatic, it would require more energy wasted to hold position on the hill. Use your brake, save energy = saved gas = saved money in your pocket !!
     
  7. mainerinexile

    mainerinexile No longer in exile!

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    You can also keep a tiny bit of pressure on the gas pedal to keep from rolling back. Either way, this is a surmountable problem as you learn to drive the car. It would be a similar learning curve for any new car.
     
  8. jhinsc

    jhinsc Senior Member

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    :rolleyes:My guess is you were expecting a different response? The question/suggestion about hill-assist is very valid for your situation. If you don't want to use it, maybe a car with a manual would be better for you?
     
  9. mickey513

    mickey513 Member

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    It's clearly evident to me you never have experience stop and go on a steep hill in a metropolis city. Activated hill assist to move 1/4 block every minute is not a ideal situation. And your smart nice person low iq response is clearly evident you never driven on a stop and go traffic on a steep hill like lombard street or a powell street in San Francisco.
     
  10. mickey513

    mickey513 Member

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    This is what I am doing now when I drive in areas that require stop and go on a hill. It's no problem for me, most of my prior cars were manual. I guess you can call this a learning curve, still have a lot to learn about the Prius as this is my first Hybrid.
     
  11. Flaninacupboard

    Flaninacupboard Senior Member

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    Try using power mode, the throttle is more responsive to low pressure so you'll start moving quicker when switching from brake to accelerator.
     
  12. jhinsc

    jhinsc Senior Member

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    Wow, you do know it all, and I know nothing! Thanks for clearing that up.:rolleyes: You have no idea.... You don't know me or the anyone else responding to your comments and queries well enough to make blanket statements such as the above and in your previous replies. It was your initial smart alec response to someone clearly trying to be helpful that showed your disregard for people genuinely trying to help you. Maybe if you had given a bit more information or details, or if you had stated you were just venting and acknowledged that nothing anyone says or do will help you, you wouldn't have received the response and suggestion that irritated you. Just a few tidbits of advice for using this or any forum, but I know you'll take it with a grain of salt.

    Ok, I agree my response was bit "smart-nice person". Read some of my other posts and you'll see that I tend to use sarcastic humor, most times when appropriate. Sorry if I offended you, but I'm sure what I said was on other people's minds as well.
     
  13. twittel

    twittel Senior Member

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    I use hill assist all the time even if I'm moving just a few feet. It's a great feature/benefit. Just push down firmly on the brake until the H/A light comes on then keep your foot on the brake until it's time to move. IMO, this is one of Prius better features. It's effortless to use.
     
  14. mickey513

    mickey513 Member

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    Sarcastic or not I never asked for a half nice person opinion from someone like you who never experience the roads I am talking about. I was asking people for their experiences in driving on hills where there it's steep and have lots of stop and go commonly found in the SF Bay Area, especially in San Francisco. Everyone offered their opinions and advices except yours and your smart nice person remark.
     
  15. 32kcolors

    32kcolors Senior Member

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    OP, your responses to posters here have been smart-assed, i.e. "You're not familiar with driving on hills so you don't know what you're talking about/your suggestion sucks, etc." Maybe conduct yourself better?
     
  16. macman408

    macman408 Electron Guidance Counselor

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    I've driven in the city, and for situations like that, I'd say hill start assist is exactly what you should use - though maybe it'll take some getting used to for you? Can you explain why you don't like it - perhaps that'll clear up some of the confusion.
    I also liked the idea to try Power mode - in Eco mode, it averages out the pedal input so there's a bit of a delay, and it also takes more pedal travel to get to a desired speed.

    You could also try using the parking brake with your left foot - though that seems far inferior to hill start assist.
     
  17. jhinsc

    jhinsc Senior Member

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    :rolleyes: Re-read your original post. You weren't asking for anything - more like complaining about something, and when other PC members tried to provide helpful suggestions, you were quick to dismiss or discount them. I just happened to be the first to call you on it.:attention:
     
  18. Skoorbmax

    Skoorbmax Senior Member

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    Use hill assist or move your feet quicker!
     
  19. mickey513

    mickey513 Member

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    Don't you have any better to do then eye all my post and thread and contribute with stupid answers. I just read through all the posts and threads I been in and you been virtually in all of them kissing me Get a life, there is more to it then Priuschat.
     
  20. mickey513

    mickey513 Member

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    Uh no, your the first to contribute with a smart nice person remark. Everyone who suggested a solution at least was intelligent enough to provide a smart answer with no wanna be sarcastic humor like you.