is pressing P button a safety issue?

First of all.......why do you even need to see what drive position you are in? It's either D or R. Secondly, if you needed confirmation before you take your foot off the brake, it's easier to look at the dash and not lower your head to look at the stick. That joystick should be an extension of your hand.

Which is why I removed the shifter knob and threaded my iPhone holder on there. Now it's multi-purpose.

I look forward to the day Heads Up Display is refined to the point where we don't need a dashboard anymore. Imagine the entire windshield is one big dashboard with all the usual info. And take phone calls, send text msgs, navigation.......

 

Many people need to place the car into "park" and not shut the car off .... I need to do it all the time. I'm really surprised about the response to some points on this forum whenever anything is criticized. It is a car and often ... not a very good one. Some items must be the way they are and others are compromises -- be it for weight or possibly compromises to save money considering the cost of the hybrid technology ....... others are just poor design ..... the start/stop drive controls of the Prius are poor .. just a bad design ... I'm not sure why it is so hard for some to see it.

 

Not true, as not every other car even has a Park position. Beyond North America, most cars don't have a Park position, so what is ingrained and second nature to you is not so to most of the planet's drivers.

I disliked the linear PRNDL pattern, and got rid of it almost three decades ago. In more than four decades of driving, even today, none of the spouse's cars have ever had 'Park'. Since Toyota created a whole new 'transmission' type, it doesn't bother me in the least that they created a new 'shift pattern' to go along with it.

Now that the 'c' is available, at least Toyota now has an offering for drivers unable to adjust to change.

 

The joystick is just an electronic interface, there is no mechanical connection. A planatatery gear and the electric motors replace the function of a standard automatic transmission. A Park setting would require you to hold the stick in a particular position for a few seconds to avoid accidental engagement while driving, similar to Neutral. A seperate button is more practical. This setup has served the Prius well since at least the second gen, not sure if the first gen had it. If its too difficult to get used to, try the C, Toyota gave it a gated "shifter" so it wouldn't scare away more traditional customers, you can even get an ignition you turn a key in!

 

I am having difficulty imaging a scenario where you would need to keep an eye on the road while shifting to P. After you shift to P, you can't do anything about what is happening on the road anyway. Since I never just hold the joystick, anyway, I find the button faster than the joystick.

 

I too have to ask, why are you trying to shift into park while driving the car down the road!? By the way, this just puts the Prius in Neutral if your speed is over 10mph.

 

I could agree with that (the sentiment that it needs to be simple) if it were anything other than park. The only time that you would put the car in park is when you are in a place where it is safe to stop for a moment.