Learned Something NEW about my Prius

This maybe known to many of you but I found out this just lately...

We all know (and many of us hate) That the ICE starts in about 15 seconds once the start button is pressed (with foot on brake).
Well not if the gear is in Neutral "N". I discovered this by a chance while backing out of my driveway in the early morning hours. My driveway has enough incline to let the car roll back on its own when in Neutral.
I was doing this in the morning and then shifting to "D" and every time I shift to "D", the car would start in that second. I was telling my self how perfect timing this is that every time this maneuver takes exactly 15 seconds for me. Because I was shifting to "D" and it would start in that second.
I finally realized that it wasn't the perfect timing. It was because of the "N". ECU delays the ICE start till the car shifts out of "N". Don't know why...

I tired it one day. I waited for about a minute in "N" while the car was cold. Engine didn't start. Then shifted to "D" and the ICE started immediately. It doesn't have to be "D". Any gear other than "N" will result in an immediate ICE startup (given the engine is cold).

So why is this discovery a big deal (for me at least)? Because I sometimes move my car in my garage/on my driveway etc. and I hate for that ICE to start itself. Because once it starts, I will not turn it off (infamous knocking issue!..) before it goes through its cycle. It is painful for me to sit and watch my car burning fuel for nothing and causing mpg figures going down.

*** I know "Mendel" has a 12-second counting method and then shutting it off for another 12 seconds I used it a few times. It is just a bit stressful for me ***

Really this is (Mandatory ICE start) I think the only ONE thing I hate about this car. Why can it not be stopped? It would have been so easy to make that "EV" button work when the car is cold.

Anyways one more thing, if you ever use the above method I explained to prevent the ICE startup, you MUST power off the car while it is in "N" mode. If you press the "P" and then try to power it down (even very fast), it will start the ICE in that split second and everything you have done will be useless...

Just sharing...

 

Why would you leave your car in powered on state all night?
If some folks don't know how to power off their vehicles once they leave, I don't have any recommendation for them. Sorry.
What I said above is for those who would like to use it the way I described above. And they will not need to go to the dealership.

 

I think you missed my point. This isn't to go around and spend time in "N" mode. It is just to move the car around (within a few feet to a few yards) quickly without starting the ICE.
If you don't have any problem running the ICE and waiting for it to shut down (or you shut it down while it is running), You don't need to try it obviously.
I just thought there might be some folks out there that would like to know what I discovered by a chance. That was it...

 

Well I got mine less than a year ago. So

 

I first typed "It is very stressful for me", then edited to "It is a bit stressful for me"
Yes, it is Damn stressful