Someone please explain what B is on the shifter

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(auart @ Sep 4 2006, 07:09 PM) [snapback]314300[/snapback]</div>

I am sorry to tell you that the salesman was the village moron. Sad but true. "B" is for one thing and one thing only, very long down hills where you might over fill the battery with normal breaking and then over heat the breakes slowing the car. We have more than a few hills like that out west, but I have only been down 2. Theses were drops from 7K to 3K in just a few miles. Yes I saw all green and 65 mph stealth but not since. I live on the coast of the PNW and we have a few hills but none like the Cascade or Rocky Mountains. I have not used "B" since I was up there. You use "B" to allow the engine (aka ICE) to break the car just like down shifting in a standard car or "jake" Brakes or "compression" brakes on a truck. The engine compression reists the forward motion of the car and slows it down. This is only an advantage when you will "fill" the battery up before you get to the bottom of the hill. It is used to keep the speed of the down hill monentum undre control with out using frction breaking and over heating the breakes. I would guess you have hills but do not have Mountains so you may not ever need to use "B" on less steep and less long "hills". I do not use "B" day to day or even month to month. It is really for big, long hills. You may have a few around.

 

That salesman is dumb. What they're talking about isn't available in the US without a mod.

It's used when you're going down a long hill and don't want to ride the brakes. It's like downshifting or a "jake brake." If you don't have those sort of hills, you may never need it.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(auart @ Sep 4 2006, 10:09 PM) [snapback]314300[/snapback]</div>

Wrong. B is for engine breaking, much like downshifting with a manual transmission. For normal driving, there is never any time you should use B. B is used on long downhills, such as mountain driving, when the battery becomes completely charged and regen can no longer help. B mode spins the ICE with the valves in a high drag configuration, throwing away excess energy. If you don't drive in the mountains or on very long or steep hills, then you won't need B.

Tom

 

Time for a reminder.
.
http://techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/cars/b-mode.html
.
_H*

 

<_< Strangely....

... the Explanation of the use of "B" is detailed on pages 136-137 of the 2004 Owner's Manual (likely near the same page on the '05 and '06 Manuals) Section 2_6 "Operation of Instruments and Controls.

There's a wealth of useful information in the Owner's Manual.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(auart @ Sep 4 2006, 10:09 PM) [snapback]314300[/snapback]</div>

when I bought my Prius, the salesperson told us that B was for "Backup" !

 

And on a trip from West Virginia, going down a long steep mountain we found that B works great!

 

I did figure out when to use B but what I don't understand is, if B is so rarely used, why is it the easiest position to shift into??

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(PriusRos @ Sep 6 2006, 05:34 PM) [snapback]315510[/snapback]</div>

B is designed to be switched into easily, on the fly, when driving conditions require it. For instance, you're rolling down a long incline and the natural braking effect is causing you to work the brakes too much ... flick the lever down into B and the engine is engaged to help brake the car.

Once terrain levels out again, you could drive forever with it on and only suffer somewhat less efficient regenerative battery charging and a bit more engine braking, whereas if your brakes are overheating, you could be in danger of losing control of the vehicle. So they made it easier to get into Braking mode, and a little less convenient to accidentally jump out of it.

Godfrey

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Godfrey DiGiorgi @ Sep 6 2006, 08:46 PM) [snapback]315514[/snapback]</div>

I suppose I understand, except that it doesn't seem it's something one needs to make a really quick decision about. I mean, it takes a while for for the car to gather speed on a downgrade so one has time to shift into B. What I don't like is that it's awkward shifting out of B into D.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(PriusRos @ Sep 7 2006, 05:58 AM) [snapback]315634[/snapback]</div>

Putting the car in D is perhaps one of the best things i like about this car! For me, i hit the road every morning with a bagel in my right hand as i back out of the drive... not wanting to risk smearing cream cheese all over everything, i don't set the bagel down... instead, when i straighten out to the road, my left hand on the wheel is convieniently (because i was turning out of the drive) right by the shifter, and it's then amazingly easy to put it into drive without even really taking my hand off the wheel!

While it's not really related to B, it's the same shifting pattern to put it in D no matter where you're at.