what's the longest you ever drove in B mode? i did not like it at first, but start enjoying it here in Seattle area, with all the hills and sharp turns.

 

The only reason for driving in "B" mode that I can think of is if you fear the brakes are beginning to overheat, coming down from Skiing outside Wenatchee, say.

Plus it lowers the opportunity for recharging the hybrid battery. Less regen recharge = lower FE.

 

actually, user manual states that to start driving, one can put gear selector into "D" or "B" selection.

B engages one of the MGs to regenerate electricity. same time, this is used to slow down vehicle, transforming inertia into electricity.

brakes very perceptibly. but what i found is that when one touches the gas pedal, MG disengages right away, followed by normal acceleration. release gas pedal, MG engages again, slowing down the car. it comes very handy, driving down serpentine roads. or going into 360 degree exit ramps, etc.

i am using it more and more. was curious, what others do. any adventurers here, or i am the only one?

oh, and for clarification: brakes do not regenerate energy. manual says, that when brake pedal is slightly depressed, this engages MG for energy rgeneration; further pedal depression engages regular mechnical brakes. so, all gentle slow down is done by MG anyway. hence regenerative braking.

 

I think you need to read your owners manual just a bit more carefully. The "B" mode will default, give preference too, engine, ICE, compression braking. In "D" the primary braking resource will be via regenerative first and then hydraulic braking if regen cannot provide level of braking effort requested.or if ABS is triggered.

 

there is no my manual. it's same for all cars. Toyota says to put it into D or B to move. which i discovered only about 3 weeks ago, looking up something else.

# Regenerative braking: By drawing power from MG2 and depositing it into the battery pack, the HSD can simulate the deceleration of normal compression braking while saving the power for future boost. The regenerative brakes in an HSD system absorb a significant amount of the normal braking load, so the conventional brakes on HSD vehicles are undersized compared to brakes on a conventional car of similar mass.
# Compression braking: The HSD system has a special transmission setting labelled 'B' (for Brake), that takes the place of a conventional automatic transmission's 'L' setting, providing engine braking on hills. This can be manually selected in place of regenerative braking. During braking when the battery is approaching potentially damaging high charge levels, the electronic control system automatically switches to conventional compression braking, drawing power from MG2 and shunting it to MG1, speeding the engine with throttle closed to absorb energy and decelerate the vehicle.

actually, found answer to my question:

gradual braking: Regenerative brakes re-use the energy of braking, but cannot absorb energy as fast as conventional brakes. Gradual braking recovers energy for re-use, boosting mileage; hard braking wastes the energy as heat, just as for a conventional car. Use of the "B" (braking) selector on the transmission control is useful on long downhill runs to reduce heat and wear on the conventional brakes, but it does not recover additional energy.[9] Use of "B" constantly is discouraged by Toyota as it may promote excessive wear on certain gears.

which is a 2nd proof that Toyota does tell to use B for driving, just NOT CONTINUOSULY.

let's bury this. i do not see me using B for more than couple minutes at a time anyway. i do not leave in the mountains, with miles of declines.

 

I used it on long descents in Colorado, Utah, and the Sierra Nevadas. It minimizes having to use the foot brake though at times its steep enough that I have to brake a little. Other than that, I don't use it.