Will extended engine braking harm engine?

Sometimes you may jab at the brakes too hard and cause the tires to lose grip. And it doesn't take much at all in snow or ice. Inevitably, it'll be that time when you really want to slow down that you press on the brakes too suddenly. I'm from sunny California, so I don't know much about driving in snow but I've had that happen a few times when I go skiing.

 

Actually the probable reason to use it in snow is it's easier to be more gentle on the braking or slowing using regen and engine braking ("B" mode). But again, as I posted, it's the front braking only, and that -may- invite problems. And again, I haven't seen any loss of control problems from using "B" on ice and snow, but "it could happen!"

 

Slippery surface <> high speed corner. You're gonna come a cropper whatever method of slowing down with that one.
I would think there's more of a hazard, when driving slowly on snow, if all the wheels lose grip, as in friction braking, or the rear wheels lost grip, as in faulty brake load distribution valve (or parking brake turns), than there is with just the front wheels braking as with "B" mode or regen braking.

 

I see.

My driveway is a little over 100 yards long, a solid layer of ice with patches of snow. My township has one paved road going through it; 20 miles long from an adjacent town-line in the North to another adjacent town-line to the South. I am pretty sure that our entire stretch of pavement does not have a single patch of pavement showing. It is all covered in ice, with patches of snow here and there. I also drive across the river sometimes, as the quickest way to get to the towns on the other side. In the summer I would have to drive a fair distance to the nearest bridge. But in winter we can just drive across.

I grew-up in Southern California; though I have now lived in Northern climates for many years. I have a fair idea of how to drive on ice.

I have no problems braking on ice, though I habitually do it gently.

I do not usually travel much over 45mph on ice, as we have a lot of moose in this area and moose/vehicle accidents are common. It is safer to travel slower on ice, to better allow you to avoid hitting moose or fallen trees.

The Prius has a wonderful computer-assisted anti-skid braking system. I love it. * My wife and I have both hit the brakes hard during turns, just to activate the computer-assisted anti-skid braking system. To see how it reacts and handles. It is pretty neat

I do not recall the name of the system, there was a video on this forum that showed it being tested. It is pretty cool.

Again I do not see the purpose of driving in 'B'. It seems to me that in 'B' it is fighting the accelerator. If you want to coast to a stop quicker than put it into 'B' at that moment. But not all the time.



* - let me clarify. When we travel out of the local area, we sometimes go through bigger cities where they use salt on the road to rust cars [while rusting cars faster it also has a side-effect of removing ice from the pavement]. On our way home, once we get back onto a good layer of ice, whoever is driving will do a test brake, to make sure the vehicle still skids straight on ice. I don't think that was very clear, the first way I worded that.