Prius V :: Cruise Control On Steep Hills
Feb 21, 2012
In ordinary cars, the cruise control (CC) only has control of the throttle. That is to say, when the car encounters a hill, the CC system increases the throttle. Coming down a hill, the CC unit will reduce throttle. If the speed increases too much, the CC unit can not reduce the speed of the car. On especially steep hills, the speed may well become too high.
In contrast in my Prius v, I find that the CC holds the speed study even on steep downgrades. This is possible due to the hybrid system which regenerates power. Even on steep grades, the CC system holds the speed rock steady at the set point.
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I have a 2008 Nissan Sentra with 90-something thousand miles on it. Last summer I moved from Texas to Oregon, so it went through 125° Arizona heat (during which overdrive stopped working for a while) and mountains for the first time. Ever since then, if starting from a parked position, I can't go over hills or bumps or even curbs. I can IF I was already driving on a flat surface. But if I stop on an incline and then try to drive forward (or reverse up it), I can't. The RPMs don't go above ~1.5k until I'm back on a flat surface.
The check engine light is on, and has been on since last summer, but the code it spits out is something dealership specific. People have told me it "might be something with the transmission". The problem hasn't gotten better or worse since last summer, so I just ignored it and got really good at not stopping before steep inclines or hitting curbs or anything (lol). But if I ever need to, I'll be in huge trouble. I can't even drive over medium sized rocks if I park too close to them.
The first time I found out about this was when I pulled into a friend's downhill driveway last summer, and then couldn't reverse out of it. He had to push it back up.
Note: from a stop, it will go up GRADUAL hills and over SMALL bumps just fine, but anything that takes more than 1.5k RPMs to overcome isn't happening. It will go up steeper hills and larger bumps (and curbs) only if I was already driving, but it still can't tackle the steepest mountain road inclines like other cars can.
The 1.5k RPM problem goes away when it's on a flat surface (or if I started driving on a flat surface before encountering a hill), and it accelerates normally again. However... It also takes a couple of seconds to rev beyond 1.5k RPMs after stopping at a red light.
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I am having an engine temp issue when climbing steep hills. The gauge goes from normal to the red line but not into the red. The VDC OFF light is on but the CEL is not one. Once I reach the top of the hill the engine begins to cool off and returns to normal. Yesterday I had the radiator flushed and the thermostat changed. Am I looking at a water pump or head gaskets?
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My cruise control doesn't work anymore. There is no blinking/cruise icon on the dash--period. Is this the result of the button being worn out or a relay/fuse? My little tank has 231k, so it has been used. BTW, I can't seem to find a write up for replacing the switch. Is there one?
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We drive a 2012 Prius v (lowercase v for the Prius v wagon) 5 with a little under 20,000 miles. This is the situation:
Yesterday afternoon we were driving and the dynamic cruise control went out. The "PCS" indicator is now flashing, and the error code "E3" popped up where the cruise light used to be. If I turn cruise control off and then on again the E3 code will show up after a second or two.
I discovered later that if I turn the car off, turn cruise on right away, and switch to regular cruise that I can use regular cruise. The PCS indicator still flashes though. The interesting thing is that when the E3 code is up, I am unable to use either type of cruise control unless I turn the car off and switch to regular cruise right away. I am not really sure what happened or what to do next.
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Is there a limit of cruise speed at 117KM/H on Prius v models ?Can it be unlocked ?
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This is an Auto/4z4/4.6 V-8. It's Skidding or a Clutch is not holding at times when shifting up or down while on Cruise and slight hills.
someone suggested changing oil and filter about two years ago. I did that and it didn't change a thing. $145 that time.
I'd like to know if its the clutch in the torque converter, or the Transmission? If I have to change something out, should I get both?
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My Prius just stalled out on highway from cruise control @ 65 mph, so I coasted luckily off an exit, and before coming to complete stop the whole dash went black with exception of power steering failure warning light. I had it towed, at my cost of $95, to dealer for troubleshooting. They found that the fuel sensing system/indicator had worn, and cost for repair is $422+, as not under any warranty or recall. Fuel sense indicator worn out @ 105,145 miles...
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Had an intermittent problem with my Cruise Control engaging. The CC light would come on when the CC on/off button was pressed.
When the CC would engage the "set" light would come on and the speed would hold. On occasion the CC would not engage.
I looked are reread the owners manual.....NOTHING! I was double checking to make sure there was nothing different with the hybrid. (I have owned Toyota for a very long time...since 88').
Since the Hybrid is new to me, "shifting" is a little bit different. There is a "B" on the shifter which is mentioned for "downshifting". There is no mention that once you are done with downshifting that you must shift back to "D" for normal operation. The only mention is not to run in "B" for an extended amount of time.
So, when you are in the "B" position, the CC with disengage.
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First it wouldn't turn on, at times now it at times won't work even though the light is on, on the dash. At other times it works as expected. I dun think it's the 12V battery, because when only the center console is on in diagnostics the battery reads 12.2-12.4 and 14.5 + when the engine is on.
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Mine just quit on me. Nearly 180K. 2008 Gen 2. I watched that youtube video, they were working on a Corolla. Seems easy enough, it's a pricey part though. It's called an airbag clock spring. I don't think it's the stalk. The button feels the same as it ever did.
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Very 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.
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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.
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My Prius is a 2009 with 30,000 miles.
Have just begun to have an intermittent problem with the cruise control (has happened twice in past month -- never happened before).
Turn cruise control on, but it will not set. Turning off cruise control and turning it back on didn't solve the problem. However, stopping and turning the vehicle completely off and turning it back on did solve the problem. The second time this occurred (this morning), the engine sounded like it was revving and seemed somewhat sluggish (not what you'd expect if the engine was revving). Not revving real fast, but noticeable.
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I feel like I am going crazy but it feels like when driving up long steep 6-7% grades if I set the cruise control for 65 I can go 65 the whole way. If however I just use the gas peddle the car bogs and slows enough to get passed by semis (maybe not that bad but it feels like it). Is there a rational explanation for this behavior?
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I've been driving a 2014 base model GX for a little over year now. I noticed that when the vehicle is in drive and is stopped at a stop sign/light on a steep incline (i.e. front of vehicle is at significantly higher than rear), when accelerating away from the stop, the traction control system (?) will beep and make some noise for a second or two if the car rolls backward from the stop when the brake is released.
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I have a 2006 Prius and was just on vacation for two weeks and my Prius was stored in my garage. My wife just drove the Prius about 6 miles and all the dash lights came on. The car still drives, but the cruise control won't engage. A few months back I replaced the aux 12 V battery as it somehow died, so I don't think that is the problem. When the car is off, the aux battery voltage is 12.5 volts. When it is running the voltage is 13.9 volts.
I disconnected the aux battery and then reconnected it and all the problems went away for a while. Cruise control worked again, too. I just drove it a few more miles and it happened again and just as I got home to go up my steep driveway it would only go about 3 mph. Is that the "limp mode" I have heard about? What this might be? All the dash light are lit - red triangle, check engine, VSC, Brake System, etc. I am a newbie to this site, but I did a search and didn't find much that sounded like this problem. All the lights came on previously when my aux battery died, but the car wouldn't start, so this is somewhat different.
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I have only a week ago returned from a 4300 mile odyssey with no problems, but yesterday while taking a turn in the country, my cruise control vanished! This is a Gen III, model IV, STANDARD cruise, and out of warranty, 43K. Stopped briefly to go into a shop and when I came out and started the car again......no cruise! No it wasn't in "B", all of us have had that happen to us at some point if we use B at all. It continues to be "non-functioning", and w/o any green pilot light on the dash display, or despite that no engagement,....I tried.
I figured it must have blown a fuse. The owners manual is quite good regards both the under hood and the under dash fuse boxes, telling you what each one is for, etc., but I can find none of these fuses with a code that I am even remotely confident is for the CC. Where is the fuse for the cruise control? Is it in another remote area? What is the "code" for it? Or if it is in one of these fuse panels, what # is it?
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The 12v battery is 3 1/2 years old.
I rebuilt the HV battery in May 2015. I replaced 3 modules and took the pack through 3 charge/discharge cycles using Hybrid Automotive grid charger and simple discharger. I also cleaned the cooling fan.
All was fine for a month or so. Then I got the trouble lights but the obdlink I had wouldn't show the codes. I noticed a decrease in mileage and a slight hesitation upon acceleration from a stop.
I finally got the mini vci and a win xp laptop to find the codes:
P3000
P0A82
C1310
After maybe a week or so, the ICE wouldn't start and, being busy, I parked it for a while. About a month later, I pulled codes:
P0AA6 with detail codes 526 and 613
P3000 with detail code 123
P0A82 with no detail codes but it indicates "hybrid battery pack cooling fan 1 performance/stuck off.
I connected the grid charger and the HV fan engaged, as it should. I cleared codes and took a drive, while monitoring with Techstream. I watched the fan modes climb to 6, during driving and idling, over about a half hour period. Not sure if this means anything, but I've read that people can hear the fan from the driver's seat when it's running at 3 or 4- I forget which. Well, at 3, or maybe 4, I couldn't hear it. Even standing at the rear door, with my ear against the vent. Though, there was ICE and parking lot noise to contend with. Once it got to 6, I could hear it easily.
Battery health, at that time: With fan at 6, temp of batt tb1 through tb3 was 51.6 c, 56.5 c, 50.4 c.
Battery blocks voltage ranged from 16.05 to 16.15. Internal resistance ranged from .024 to .026 ohms.
Out of necessity, I've been driving this car again, for months now. The lights came back and the codes were still P3000 with detail code 123, P0A82 with the addition of C1310. I don't see a detail code in the same place but there is a field that says "detailed freeze DTC 156". I assume this may be a detail or sub code. Nothing has been preventing me from starting the car. But months ago there had been 2 occasions when, after having driven several miles and parked for a short time, then taking the freeway home, the car would idle high going up an overpass. On these occasions, the MFD shows a low SOC with only one purple bar. The first time this happened, it took around 10 miles before the SOC would creep up. The second time, I had it on cruise control and, while ascending a grade, the car jerked violently and acted as if I were flooring and letting off the gas in quick succession, about 4 times. I disengaged cruise control and took hills more slowly. The high idle up the hills backed off as the battery SOC increased. This time the SOC started in increase within a few minutes, as I would expect normally. I imagine that the electric motor was turning off and on, when the car was jerking, due to a low SOC.
These symptoms cleared up in a few days, apart from the hesitation on accelerating from a stop, and I've been driving it ever since. A few weeks ago, I noticed the car had major difficulty accelerating. I'll floor it and it barely moves, taking several seconds longer than it should to get up to speed. The SOC is stuck at 1 purple bar. I got the car home and turned it off. When I turned it back on, the SOC increased very quickly, only once. I now can't replicate that. The SOC simply will not go above one bar.
Another odd thing. When I'm creeping down the road, at say, 25mph, and I let off the throttle, the car just keeps moving as if cruise control is engaged.
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As 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?
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This morning I was cruising down the highway with cruise control set at 63 mph. All of a sudden the car slowed down and the "Slip Indicator" was displayed and the cruise control was now off.
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