Thottle sticking on

Shifting to neutral still confuses me about half the time, because I do it infrequently enough. Sometimes it's instant ("quick shifting to neutral accepted") and sometimes it's not. And I've gotten confused about what gear I'm in, or whether the car is still "on" a few times. Nothing bad has happened so far, but I wish they would just put in a shifter and a starter that stay in place when you move them.

 

Yeah you've got to press it towards 9 o'clock, and hold it there, for about a second.

 

If you're moving over 7 mph or so, the car will also treat "reverse" or "park" as synonyms for "neutral, please", and without the time delay.

 

QUOTE="ChapmanF, post: 2932072, member: 38759"]If you're moving over 7 mph or so, the car will also treat "reverse" or "park" as synonyms for "neutral, please", and without the time delay.[/QUOTE]

Good tip. I'd have a tough time testing that though, the first time.

FWIW, I have shifted from reverse to drive while still slightly moving, and it felt like a typical automatic, with "give" in the connection. I don't make a habit of it though.

 

Not related to Throttle Sticking but to the 7 mph programming.
I notice in the winter that there is a a pumping sound (heat pump?) that switchs in at 10 mph and switches off at 7 mph.
It's not loud enough to hear normally. but can be heard with a bit of feathering of the go pedal and dead quiet on smooth pavement - in ambient temps below freezing.
Not sure what ambient temp triggers it yet, will pay more attention this winter if anyone else is interested.

Hey Chap,
What happens under the threshold of 7 mph or so when shifting to Park or Reverse? Sorry in Advance if it's a stupid Question .....

 

I think if you're close to, but just under the speed threshold, you get the shift you request, and it'll likely be harsh.

 

According to folks here who have shifted a regular Prius into Park just below the threshold speed, it does what you'd expect with a pretty good jolt. No known harm done to the car, but occupants may not enjoy it.

I haven't done a D-to-R shift at that speed, but have done the opposite at a bit under half that speed numerous times. The Prius has no mechanical gear changes to grind any gear or spline teeth, the electrics merely change direction, and relatively smoothly if you have very little pressure on the gas pedal. It seems like almost a non-event, though I have never tried it with heavy 'go pedal' pressure.

I've never driven a Prime or Gen4, so won't extend my experience to these newer models.

I'll be in your neighborhood this weekend, amidst the swarming annual bike invasion, and in theory could show you how mine responds. But in practice, I never know my schedule, nor how long I might be able to stay at the rest stop before getting called out for another rider in distress. And Rocky Point is always seriously pre-congested even before our swarm piles on to it.

 

While Reverse is just electrical, Park uses a mechanical parking pawl to lock up the transaxle. And if you are going too fast, the pawl would shear or other bad stuff would happen. I suspect that that software is REAL careful about engaging the parking pawl when the car is moving.

 

I think the potentiometer is in the pedal assembly. climb under and work it with your hand to see if there is any stickiness...

 

For 2004 and later Prius cars, Toyota changed from a potentiometer to the Hall effect sensor described in post #10. Anyway, the problem described in this thread was reported as resolved in post #12.