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Panic mode while driving.

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by kb3cxe, Mar 2, 2012.

  1. kb3cxe

    kb3cxe Junior Member

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    I have a 2005 Prius, and was wondering what would happen if I pressed either the door lock button on the fob, or the panic button on the fob while in gear, and moving?
    If it just makes noise then I could use it to alert people that I'm coming up on them when I'm in EV mode in a parking lot. I know that I could use the horn, but I just want to alert them, not give them a heart attack.

    Thank you,
    Roland
     
    #1 kb3cxe, Mar 2, 2012
  2. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    Practice giving little tootles on the horn. Fiddling with the fob while moving is a potentially dangerous distraction for a driver especially when there are oblivious pedestrians nearby.
     
    #2 richard schumacher, Mar 2, 2012
  3. bobeast

    bobeast Junior Member

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    Your head will explode :D
     
    #3 bobeast, Mar 2, 2012
  4. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    Welcome to Priuschat, Bob! :welcome:
    That's a really good question and I don't remember anyone asking what would happen. The only answer I can come up with is "try it and let us know."

    About driving through a parking lot, regardless what the media says, people can hear the Prius moving. It's not a silent killer. But if you're overly concerned, some people have cracked their windows while moving through parking lots and turned up their radio.

    On the other hand, sneaking up behind people and blowing the horn does sound like a lot of fun.
     
    #4 TonyPSchaefer, Mar 2, 2012
  5. cproaudio

    cproaudio Speedlock Overrider

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    Goto an empty parking lot and try it.
     
    #5 cproaudio, Mar 2, 2012
  6. cnschult

    cnschult Active Member

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    mine already did
     
    #6 cnschult, Mar 2, 2012
  7. kb3cxe

    kb3cxe Junior Member

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    Hi again,
    I tried it and nothing happens. Apparently when the car is turned on the fob might as well be a stone. I tried Lock, and unLock, and zilch. What I really want is a second horn the says "Watch the tram car please" like on the Wild wood board walk.

    Thank you for your suggestions,
    Roland
     
    #7 kb3cxe, Mar 8, 2012
  8. babybird

    babybird Member

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    Correction: People who pay attention can hear the Prius moving.

    But do you guys remember when the Lexus marque first came to market and the big hubbub in the automotive world was that the LS400 was so quiet when it was running that people would mistakenly try to start it again and grind the starter? The Prius when moving electrically is about as loud as that Lexus LS400 was ages ago at low RPM and low throttle. It makes noise, it just sounds different than what a lot of people are used to listening for, so they don't associate the noise as "Car! Danger!"

    Now that more cars are hybirds and plug-ins and electrics, people will start getting used to the high-pitched inverter whine and associate that with cars. Hopefully by that time we haven't legislated silly noises into cars that we'll have to put up with for the next 100 years for no reason other than bureaucracy.
     
    #8 babybird, Mar 11, 2012
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