Acceleration problem on incline or with A/C

Ask her to get any vehicle codes from the dealership and share them with us. This is a computer driven car and having the codes often tells us valuable information.

About the 'steep incline', was this one of those hills, often called mountains, in Arizona?

Bob Wilson

 

prius_grandma_to_be,

Don't know why the experts haven't come up yet on your question. Maybe
they're at the beach, a ballgame, or a wedding.

I can't nswer your question, but perhps I can help you get an answer more
quickly.

The experts are going to need some more info to get started. Perhaps you
can contact your daughter and get more info like:

* Were there any warning lights displayed?
* How many lbs. of stuff was being carried? A roofrack? Hitchmounted
bike rack?
* What was the "State of Charge" (SOC) or number/color of bars shown
on the energy screen -- the one with the colored arrows?
* When you say the A/C was on "High," that's just the fan setting. What
was the outside temp, and what was the inside temperature setting?
* At what speed was she driving?
* Was the wind blowing from the front or the side? How strongly?
* Is the car equipped with after-market electrical gear; radar detector, sub-woofer/stereo,
phone/iPod charger, etc. Each has a small electrical load, but many could mean trouble.
* What was the tire pressure front/rear?
* Is there any chance the emrgency brake was partially engaged?
* Were there any unusual noises from the brakes; squeals, scratching, etc?
* Anything at all that seemed weird, out of place, or unusual?

Post as much more info as you can. The smart folks can then get to work
right away.

I am a Poppi to be, late July, and I understand your concerns.

The smart folks should come up soon. Do some deep breathing, positive
visualization.

God bless you and yours.

 

I the absence of warning display on the screen and bad noises, I would not be overly concerned so far.

The total weight of the vehicle can limit performance in Mtns as Rokeby suggests. Another possibility is that one tankful of low-quality gasoline can make the car feel unwell for a while.

It is very easy to test for dragging of the rear brakes, if that is suspected. Starting from cool (or as cool as conditions permit), drive for a mile or two and pull over. Apply a wet finger to each of the rear brake drums (the are black and behind the wheel spokes). If they are really hot (wet finger sizzles) adjustment is required. If only slightly hot, mention that to the maintenance shop next visited.

 

New Prius. It's probably OK, and acting like a Prius. What did your daughter drive previously? If it had a considerably bigger engine, she might expect more response from the car while driving uphill in 100 degree weather with the A/C on full blast.

Last weekend, my wife and I went from So Cal to Vegas in my '07 Prius in 110 degree heat. The Prius got us there and kept us cool, but it wasn't terribly responsive uphill with full A/C.

Another thought - if your daughter had depleted the traction battery (the one shown on the display) the car becomes less responsive. You deplete that battery by going uphill alot. This is a non-problem - the battery will charge with normal driving.

Good Luck!

 

"Didn't respond for a while". It takes a half-second for the engine to start after the driver stomps on the gas pedal, and that can seem like a long time if the driver is hyper vigilant because they are new to the Prius or if they have, for example, pulled out in front of oncoming traffic. There's probably nothing wrong with it. (But you might confirm that she knows how to release the foot-operated parking brake. Aren't parking brakes hand-operated on most recent cars?)

 

The red flags on this post are "hill climbing" and "young female driver". Young females are the new teenage boys, when it comes to aggressive driving. Prius do pretty well going up hills unless you push them too hard. My guess is that she blasted up the hill, depleted the traction battery, and had to crawl up the rest of the way on the engine, while it tried to recharge the battery.

The trick to climbing long, steep hills with a Prius is to pace yourself. It's like long distance running. If you sprint out of the blocks, you are going to fade before you get to the finish. On a long hill climb, get over to the right lane and tuck in with a truck or the other slow traffic. Keep your speed at 55 mph or slower and you should be able to go that speed indefinitely. Go fast up the hill, and your speed will drop as the battery runs out of juice.

Tom

 

At the same time a driver should not be afraid to use the gas pedal when necessary. The engine will roar as it provides the needed power, but that is normal; the computers will not let the engine harm itself this way.