Set gear to park while at traffic light.

Just curious here, how can anyone not in the car know you are coasting ?

 

They can't.

Tom

 

Engine noise, exhaust noise? (No, I don't have a farty-fart muffler on my Civic.)

 

Great tech document!! I've read it and it's amazing. Anyway, I still don't understand why the pawl shouts with an alarming CLUNK noise when parked on an incline without the emergency brake and going from 'P' to 'D'. Can someone explain the technical details of it?. Is it dangerous or can damage the HSD?.

Greetins from Spain!

 

Probably only if you were involved in an accident. I guess it can be argued that a driver is not in full control of their car if they were coasting in neutral at the time of accident.

 

If the parking brake (note: not "emergency" brake) is not set, the car will roll until it is stopped by the pawl. In that situation it takes a lot of force to push the pawl out of place to enter "D". In theory this could eventually wear down the pawl. Avoid both the alarming noise and some unlikely but unpleasant possibilities by always setting the parking brake.

One unpleasant possibility: if the car is moving more than 1 or 2 MPH when you push "P" it won't enter "P" and the car will continue moving:
http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-technical-discussion/55433-park-button-problems.html

 

i used to put it park all the time when at lights i knew were slow to change or if several cars from the light because i did nt want my brake lights on, thinking it would boost my mileage...

but now that gas is cheap again, i dont concern myself with MPG's anymore....


P.S.

i am

oh course...

joking

but only about the "not caring about mileage part" the not using brake lights i was totally serious about

 

I understand. But, where is that big CLUNK located?. I think that when the pawl under pressure is pushed out of the parking gear it has to clash with something, but I'm not sure where exactly the clash is located. I've edited the pawl diagram with two points (1 and 2) where the clash could be located. Any idea or suggestions about this enigma?

I know someone from a spanish forum who pushed the 'P' button when driving at 4-5 mph, it seems like the stop was so violent and the noise so loud that he wanted to die. From what he says nothing was damaged.

Thanks for the correction, I'm still learning how to describe these parts. Also, as a non english native I apologize if sometimes my english writting is not so good. :typing:

 

Where is the clunk? Inside the transmission; that's all I know :_>

Your English is excellent! I did not realize that you were not a native speaker. Many Americans call that brake the "emergency" brake, as though it were intended to be used only emergencies, when in fact safety and prudence require that it be used whenever one is parked. And that use is what I intended to emphasize.

 

So what is the point of the red light?

Ron.

 

It prevents traffic that is not turning from crossing the intersection, it requires vehicles that are turning to come to a full stop prior to turning, and it indicates right-of-way (drivers with the red-light are to yield right-of-way to drivers with the green.

 

When driving in any of the following locations?

Alderney, Anguilla, Antigua, Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Bermuda, Bhutan, Botswana, Brunei, Cayman Islands, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Cook Islands, Cyprus, Dominica, East Timor, Falkland Islands, Fiji, Grenada, Guernsey, Guyana, Hong Kong-China, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Isle of Man, Jamaica, Okinawa-Japan, Jersey, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Macau-China, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Montserrat, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, New Zealand, Niue, Norfolk Island, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts, Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, The Grenadines, Seychelles, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Swaziland, Tanzania, Thailand, Tokelau, Tonga, Trinidad, Tobago, Turks, Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Kingdom, British Virgin Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, Zambia, Zimbabwe

 

I notice a lot of posters mentioning the inadvisability of putting the car in Neutral while waiting at traffic lights, because the traction battery cannot charge with the shift lever in N. My comment, disregarding the rear ending scenario, is so what? How much battery drain is occurring when stationary, on the level, at a red light? Very little I believe.

In any case, I have done it as a matter of habit for decades in conventional cars. Naturally, you have to be alert to the fact that you are truly on level road, and alert to applying the footbrake if not. In the Prius, the main advantage of using N rather than P at an extended traffic light is the ability to go straight to D without jamming the main footbrake, which is required if you shift into P while waiting at the light.

Also I have yet to notice any significant decrease in battery SOC while using this approach.

 

One time I had my car parked, and was sat in it for awhile enjoying the A/C. (Power was out) I shifted into neutral by accident. 5 minutes later the car beeped loudly, the big red triangle of death appeared on the dash, and the MFD had text saying something like "OMG switch out of neutral!!!! NOW!!!! Battery is dying!!!" When I put it in park after that, the SOC was blank....and it keep the ICE running for about 15 minutes trying to charge the battery up.

In addition, in every car I have ever owned, if a traffic light is red for more than 15 seconds I put the car in park. I've done that in a Nissan Sentra, a Ford Focus, Chevy Aveo, Jeep Cherokee, and now my Toyota Prius with no problems whatsoever.

 

Nope. Many countries do not permit turning on red -- I know New Zealand is one.

 

I know your post has been out there some time, but I wanted to add: My wife has Rheumatoid Arthritis and was concerned about having to push on the brake pedal hard enough to stop the yellow arrow flow and hold it there. However, you do NOT need to KEEP it pushed that hard. Once the arrows disappear, you can let up on the pedal some. She has had no problems.