Driving in heavy traffic...

Hi Giuseppe, congratulations on your new car and welcome to PC. I've only owned a Prius for a few weeks now but since all the North American folks are probably still sleeping and it's a relatively simple question I'll try to answer it.

First of all: never put your car in neutral except when in an automated car wash. In neutral, the car does not charge the battery when needed. My Prius sometimes warns me when I accidentally put it in neutral, but not always. I haven't figured out what the criteria are.

In slow traffic it is perfectly fine to just use the brake pedal. As (almost) always, just drive and let the car figure out what to do. It is very good at that, much better than I am anyway.

When I'm stopped before a traffic light and there are a few cars in front of me, I sometimes hit the park button, just to give my right foot a break. There is no other advantage as far as I know. I only use the non-automatic parking break (I mean the one you have to press with your foot) when I'm parked on a slope and leaving the car, which has only happened once so far. I guess when you're on a slope before a traffic light it's safer to just use the brake pedal.

This is just how I do it, I know some people have a different approach. Just as long as you don't put it in neutral you'll be fine.

Enjoy the car. It's amazing.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(InfideNino @ Nov 10 2006, 05:32 AM) [snapback]346826[/snapback]</div>

I agree with most of this but I always hit P when I'm stationary in traffic (or anywhere else). The main advantage seems to be that the car won't move if you doze off or forget where you are. But I hardly ever use the parking (foot) brake. It's not a good idea to hit the EV switch in traffic as you probably won't save any fuel in the long run. Let the car decide when to go EV.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Oxo @ Nov 10 2006, 05:50 AM) [snapback]346828[/snapback]</div>

I am not sure it is a good idea to put the car in P mode when stationary in traffic. P mode mechanically locks the gear train and a hit up the backside could do a lot of damage to the drive mechanism as well as the back of the car. Just keep your foot on the brake and enjoy your thoughts.

 

Hi Giuseppe and congratulations on getting a Prius and joining PriusChat.
There's some real characters in here - but it is a mine of information.

I think what you did was correct - its what I do.....
Leave it in D and cover the brake - but if you see arrows leaving your battery while you have your foot on the brake, press the pedal a little bit harder and the arrows should disappear - no need to waste energy unnecessarily.
It would be even better though - if you could get your battery more charged up before the traffic so that while you're stationary the ICE kicks in less or even not at all for a while ...

 

I've found that, with colder temperatures and more cabin heat required, it runs the engine much more. I was used over the summer to the engine cutting out after a couple of minutes of driving, but now it stays on for much longer warming up. When the engine's running after say five minutes and I lower the cabin temperature setting, the engine will stop.

It's affected my MPG on shorter (5 mile) journeys.

 

Hi Giuseppe.

You did exactly the right thing. Drive the car exactly as you would drive a conventional automatic. Use the brake pedal to stay stopped, just as you did.

It's okay to use the Park button when you are stopped in traffic, to give your foot a rest.

But never, ever use Neutral (unless going through an automatic car wash, as InfideNino says) because in Neutral the car cannot re-charge the big battery.

It is normal for the engine to come on occasionally to re-charge the battery when it gets low. Also, if you have the heater on, the engine will run to provide heat. If you want to save gas you can shut the heater off. But it's not necessary to do so.

And congratulations on your new Prius.