Refusal to "Glide"
#1
Refusal to "Glide"
I'm trying to figure out why my Prius refuses to glide sometimes. Has anyone else had this problem?
I was on my way into work this morning, the car is nice and warmed up (about 20 minutes in), and there's this long downhill section to a stoplight that I usually glide on. This morning the car absolutely REFUSED to glide down this hill. The battery was still blue (3-4 bars, maybe?). When I took my foot off the gas pedal, it would begin charging the battery with the electric motor. If I so much as tapped the pedal lightly (as if to glide), the engine would come on to provide thrust and charge the battery. I was well within the 30-42 mph glide zone (~35 mph).
Has anyone ever experienced this before? It was driving me batty this morning. I kept trying to get it to glide and it kept kicking the engine on! Eventually I gave up and coasted down the hill, letting the battery charge. Not such a bad thing I suppose, but I could've taken the hill a lot faster if the battery weren't charging!
I was on my way into work this morning, the car is nice and warmed up (about 20 minutes in), and there's this long downhill section to a stoplight that I usually glide on. This morning the car absolutely REFUSED to glide down this hill. The battery was still blue (3-4 bars, maybe?). When I took my foot off the gas pedal, it would begin charging the battery with the electric motor. If I so much as tapped the pedal lightly (as if to glide), the engine would come on to provide thrust and charge the battery. I was well within the 30-42 mph glide zone (~35 mph).
Has anyone ever experienced this before? It was driving me batty this morning. I kept trying to get it to glide and it kept kicking the engine on! Eventually I gave up and coasted down the hill, letting the battery charge. Not such a bad thing I suppose, but I could've taken the hill a lot faster if the battery weren't charging!
#2
Re: Refusal to "Glide"
There is a fine balance point between applying the gas and taking your foot off the gas to maintain a regen free glide. If you want to glide without charging you need to keep your foot on the gas very slightly and max out the mpg gauge, unfortunately this means that the the ICE will be on. Very similar to driving the HCH. Otherwise just pop the transmission into N for a nice coast without any recharge. Hopefully some of the prius drivers will add more info.
#3
Re: Refusal to "Glide"
Originally Posted by ralph_dog
There is a fine balance point between applying the gas and taking your foot off the gas to maintain a regen free glide. If you want to glide without charging you need to keep your foot on the gas very slightly and max out the mpg gauge, unfortunately this means that the the ICE will be on. Very similar to driving the HCH. Otherwise just pop the transmission into N for a nice coast without any recharge. Hopefully some of the prius drivers will add more info.
#4
Re: Refusal to "Glide"
Originally Posted by ralph_dog
There is a fine balance point between applying the gas and taking your foot off the gas to maintain a regen free glide. If you want to glide without charging you need to keep your foot on the gas very slightly and max out the mpg gauge, unfortunately this means that the the ICE will be on. Very similar to driving the HCH. Otherwise just pop the transmission into N for a nice coast without any recharge. Hopefully some of the prius drivers will add more info.
Bob Wilson
#6
Re: Refusal to "Glide"
Originally Posted by ralph_dog
Otherwise just pop the transmission into N for a nice coast without any recharge.
#8
Re: Refusal to "Glide"
Originally Posted by foo monkey
I've had this happen, as well. The car refuses to glide, when it should. You can either throw it into neutral or turn off the car, at a stop light.
#9
Re: Refusal to "Glide"
Absolutely. I dunnuh why they reverse it in the mpg rating. I'm about 10mpg more efficient on the highway. For one thing. there's more room on the highway for me to drive how I want without pissing others off. The other thing is those 1st few minutes of low mpg. If I make a series of 5min drives then each time the mpg is just warming up when I stop. When I do my 45min commute those 1st few minutes have almost no impact.
#10
Re: Refusal to "Glide"
Originally Posted by vonteity
I'm trying to figure out why my Prius refuses to glide sometimes. Has anyone else had this problem?
I was on my way into work this morning, the car is nice and warmed up (about 20 minutes in), and there's this long downhill section to a stoplight that I usually glide on. This morning the car absolutely REFUSED to glide down this hill. The battery was still blue (3-4 bars, maybe?). When I took my foot off the gas pedal, it would begin charging the battery with the electric motor. If I so much as tapped the pedal lightly (as if to glide), the engine would come on to provide thrust and charge the battery. I was well within the 30-42 mph glide zone (~35 mph).
Has anyone ever experienced this before? It was driving me batty this morning. I kept trying to get it to glide and it kept kicking the engine on! Eventually I gave up and coasted down the hill, letting the battery charge. Not such a bad thing I suppose, but I could've taken the hill a lot faster if the battery weren't charging!
I was on my way into work this morning, the car is nice and warmed up (about 20 minutes in), and there's this long downhill section to a stoplight that I usually glide on. This morning the car absolutely REFUSED to glide down this hill. The battery was still blue (3-4 bars, maybe?). When I took my foot off the gas pedal, it would begin charging the battery with the electric motor. If I so much as tapped the pedal lightly (as if to glide), the engine would come on to provide thrust and charge the battery. I was well within the 30-42 mph glide zone (~35 mph).
Has anyone ever experienced this before? It was driving me batty this morning. I kept trying to get it to glide and it kept kicking the engine on! Eventually I gave up and coasted down the hill, letting the battery charge. Not such a bad thing I suppose, but I could've taken the hill a lot faster if the battery weren't charging!
Last edited by pcflorida; 07-26-2006 at 09:21 AM.