Prius noob question

When you stop with a "normal" car, do you put the gear into neutral? That is the equivalent of moving the "joystick" to N or P. The Prius footbrake is the equivalent of a normal handbrake.

I would never get out of the car and leave it in D.

 

I just use park when stopping for a short period of time on flat ground. And use the foot brake on hills and for longer stops.

 

Selecting Park locks the transmission (a pawl is moved into place, locking the transmission), so foot brake is not required. The wheels will not turn after the pawl locks it into place. This is why when you select park on a slope, the car will move a little until the pawl locks into place. And this is also why you feel a THUD when selecting R or D again as the pawl has to overcome the weight of the car as it is retracted out of the locked position.

 

What I usually do if on a slope is push the foot brake first, and then put the car in park. This keeps the pawl from having to overcome the weight of the car when selecting R or D.

 

Yeah - I use P all the time. I also use it when stopped at traffic lights if I know there'll be a reasonable wait (avoids blinding those behind with brake lights!)

Only use the foot brake when leaving the car parked up - and even then only when out and about - I don't bother when it's in our garage.