We have 2 trips coming up this summer (600 miles and 1400 miles), these will be my first long distance with the Prius.
Did anyone tested fuel economy using the cruise control in ECO vs NORMAL vs PWR ?
About 2 months ago, I was driving and my cruise control wouldn't engage on the highway ... I happened to be right near the dealership so I immediately returned there .... didn't turn off the car, but the tech put it in P while I was waiting. I was so ticked off because I thought that may have 'reset' things, and of course when the tech took the car for a drive (in D) the cruise worked fine. We of course never confirmed that the cruise control didn't work.
Today, the same thing happened at the same place, so I returned to the dealership, calling them on the phone, and informing them that I would not turn the car off, or allow the car to be put in park. The service manager met me out front and we went for a quick ride so I could 'prove' that the cruise was inoperative. He confirmed that it was not working, and why. For some reason, I glanced at the dashboard and noticed that the car was in 'B' mode. I mentioned that to the manager and he noted it as well. I must have bumped it somehow while driving as I NEVER use B mode for anything ... ever. I said I wondered if that was the reason, and put it in D, and lo and behold, the cruise worked again.
I haven't checked the manual yet to see if this is stated there, but the cruise control is inoperative if the car is in B mode. Or at least it seems that that is the case. Other than the car being in B mode, it acted just like it always does, and since I was on the highway, I never noticed the braking effect that B mode gives you.
Curiosity question. I've noticed that on a downhill of a couple miles, especially in "braking" mode or with the cruise control on, the motor/generator and engine are used to keep the speed down and the battery gets charged to the very top quite quickly. That's good!
On a really long downhill, will the motor/generator still be used for braking and the excess electricity discarded to keep from overcharging the battery?
If i am driving say for 15 mins on the highway at 65-75 mpg with a few brakes and accelerations in between due to other cars around, is it better to use the cruise control (i have adaptive cruise control on my prius v) and let the car figure out the throttle and braking or is it better to just drive by myself without using cruise control? i read about the different pulse-glide driving methods.
View 19 RepliesI've heard that cruise control reduces mileage. This was in relation the Honda Civic Hybrid (Gen II).
View 17 RepliesWhat are the most and least optimal times to use cruise control at highway speeds?
View 16 RepliesVery very odd thing happened. Driving up from Houston to Colorado yesterday. Snow tires mounted in preparation for the snow in NM and CO. Around 300 mi into the trip, the CEL (check engine light) came on. I was on cruise control, I did not notice the lack of power. Checking the battery, it was in the purple. I first opened the gas cap and screwed it back in. I figured the change in elevation or temperature may have had something to do with the CEL. Nothing. Gas tank was a quarter full.
At Lubbock, I pulled over and filled up. I played with the rubber gasket on the gas cap but decided it was going to be more trouble than I was prepared to deal with, without any tools. CEL stayed on for another 30minutes or so while I navigated through the city, covering another 20 miles or so. After a pitstop to pick up OJ, I started the car and the CEL was off.
Here are the variables:
Elevation delta - +3000 ft
Temp delta - -10F
The only thing I can think of is that the hybrid battery is getting long in the tooth (2008 MY, 103k mi), the wind in the high plains chewed through the battery power, and the long length of being in low charge got the ECU to confuse itself into thinking that the hybrid battery has bad cells, which it probably has a few weak cells.
While pulse and glide, is it better in Eco mode or normal mode with Prius c?
Eco mode will take more time to pulse, it may lower mpg?
Nexus 7 ?
I am new to the Prius experience as I just bought by 2013 Prius 3 last week. I have a question on the EV mode and how it works when I am in normal drive.
This is something I observed when I am driving and I wanted to check whether it's normal.
When I am accelerating, vehicle is in EV mode and the progress bar is green. As soon as it pass the separator in the hybrid indicator (it turns white), the EV mode light turns off. When I hit the brakes, speed goes down with the acceleration and the progress bar goes back towards the green side. However my EV mode light does not turn on until I go way too close to the charging section of the bar. Once it's enabled, it stays in EV mode (green) until I pass the separator again.
I just got a new 2015 Prius C Three and have been reading up as much as possible. I wanted to know if using cruise control would give me better MPG. If it's just a matter of 3/4 mpg difference, then I would use the cruise control to rest my feet. But if its a big difference, then I would avoid cruise control.
My daily commute from Germantown, MD to Alexandria Va and back is about 40 miles each way: total 80 miles. 90% of that highway on I-270 and I-495. I leave after morning rush hour and again drive back after evening rush hour.
Last couple of trips without cruise I have been getting around 50~52mpg.
Did use cruise control to maximize battery changing when coasting to a red light or slowing down for a speed zone? Just keep in mind your vehicle will slow down fairly rapidly with no brake lights- so I tend to to do this during those glorious moments when there are no cars behind mine. When you see an approaching red light (with cruise control on) just hold the cruise control switch down and the vehicle will automatically power the generators to max. In this way you will not lose any potential battery charge to the actual brake pads. Be advised also the generators will stop and the cruise will cancel automatically at 22mph which is usually slow enough to avoid engaging the brake pads until you are pretty much stopped. Just thought I would share a neat trick with fellow hypermillers. **Also note this may be a less effective charging method than long drawn out braking but is most effective for rapid slowdown situations like unanticipated red lights, speed zones or expressway off ramps ect. and requires some skill to do safely.
View 3 RepliesAs odd as it may sound, our Prius salesman told us we should not use the cruise control on our 2010 Prius II for the first 1500 miles. We could not find any such warning in the manual. Did we just misunderstand or was the salesman correct?
View 10 RepliesTwice now, while going downhill hill (steep grade on freeway) my Prius has revved up to over 4,000 RPMs with the cruise control set at approximately 65 mph. The noise of the engine was my tipoff and I immediately had to turn the cruise control off. This just doesn't make sense to me! Seems like this could be a potential problem for those of us utilizing cruise control!!!
View 15 Replies today my 98 ranger 4.0 would love to have cruise control once again .
I have checked the obvious , fuses connectors etc. I know on my f250 they had an issue with the pressure sensor mounted on the brake master cylinder leaking , I did check that and not leaking yet . I can't even get the system to turn on. So my question to to the forum , is there a common issue with ranger cruise control that I am unaware of ?
My vehicle shows currently two awkward behaviors:
1) I can start the vehicle using the keyless start button without having to step on the brake pedal.
2) I can switch on cruise control. The green symbol appears, however, I cannot set a speed. The system simply seems to ignore that I press the set button.
A large auto magazine has reviewed the Auris Hybrid (Gen III Prius drive train) while remarking that driving in 'B' gives better regen. This auto magazine also does a fuel economy evaluation and noted engine noise as a negative point for the car.
Now, how much fuel economy is affected during normal city/highway driving when you drive in 'B' rather than 'D'? And as a bonus. How much more will the engine run due to the missing regen?
My cruise control all of a sudden stopped working today.
View 7 RepliesNo cruise control, ABS, Brake and skid light on (Prius 2010).
View 12 RepliesI have had my 8 month old Prius for a week. I have used cruise control fine before and after the incident. All of a sudden we started slowing down. Doing any thing on the cruise control had no effect. I canceled it. But every time I pressed the accelerator I just got the amber warning light come up and the car beeped at me and no acceleration. The cruise control didn't get the car going either. I had to stop on the motorway. Put the car into park then put it into drive and drove off fine and the car has worked fine since.
View 10 RepliesNot sure if this should be under the technical section but is there a way to modify the cruise control to be set to a position on the hsi and not based on the speed. After all it is all electronic.
View 7 RepliesI need to select AC on when running in the automatic mode. I get from the manual that when I select Auto the system will maintain the selected temperature.
View 18 Replies