Toyota Prius - a few questions.

[Morningside]

Well I thought I would never say this but the Prius seems to come top of the list for the next car. Looking at a 05/06 plate T-Spirit version which I understand is the top model?

Now I know that the slightly later models have the reversing camera so that's one question I can answer myself.


So here are a million and one other questions I have.

Battery. Where does it get its 12v auxiliary supply from? The 12v battery or the battery pack? I run many things from this including a radio. Does the system know if the battery is going flat and start the engine?

When does it start the engine? When it runs out or just about to run out of EV juice? Is this fully automatic? Does it rev or run at at the same speed?

Is the engine connected directly to the wheels? If so, that mean it's all drive by wire?

Heating on a cold day under electric power. How does it clear the windscreen and heat the cabin?

If I ran it all the time on short journeys then I presume it will always use the petrol engine?

How do I know the batteries are in good condition? Nerd side: How many volts is it?

Can I connect my MP3 player to it?

CVT autobox? Does that mean it will roll backwards on a hill?

Where do I get a more up-to-date map and where do I install it?

Any way I can charge the batteries at home before a trip?

I will have many more questions I am sure.

[raspy]

I suspect you'll find all the information you need and a lot more on https://priuschat.com/forum/

That's where I go to get all my answers and tips for my Prius

[Otispunkmeyer]

http://eahart.com/prius/psd/


excellent little site that describes how the Toyota Hybrid Driver works.... it is a power splitting device, not really a CVT.

[saaby93]

Morningside said:

Well I thought I would never say this but the Prius seems to come top of the list for the next car. Looking at a 05/06 plate T-Spirit version which I understand is the top model?

Now I know that the slightly later models have the reversing camera so that's one question I can answer myself.


So here are a million and one other questions I have.

Battery. Where does it get its 12v auxiliary supply from? The 12v battery or the battery pack? I run many things from this including a radio. Does the system know if the battery is going flat and start the engine?

When does it start the engine? When it runs out or just about to run out of EV juice? Is this fully automatic? Does it rev or run at at the same speed?

Is the engine connected directly to the wheels? If so, that mean it's all drive by wire?

Heating on a cold day under electric power. How does it clear the windscreen and heat the cabin?

If I ran it all the time on short journeys then I presume it will always use the petrol engine?

How do I know the batteries are in good condition? Nerd side: How many volts is it?

Can I connect my MP3 player to it?

CVT autobox? Does that mean it will roll backwards on a hill?

Where do I get a more up-to-date map and where do I install it?

Any way I can charge the batteries at home before a trip?

I will have many more questions I am sure.

There's another thread somewhere on the different version of Prius but a lot of people find the Generation 2 youre looking at better than the Gen 3 in terms of cabin comfort - it even has rear passenger vents
If you use it properly the gen3 2009 on will give you about 52mpg compared to 47mpg for the Gen 2
If you use it mainly around town you'll get more
There is a 12V battery in the boot and you can flatten it say if you leave the doors open while the car is switched off and can be a pain to charge up, as you cant unlock the boot to get to it without crawling inside the car.
The car only keeps the battery topped up if its switched on.

Heating on a cold day - it will always start the engine for that - that's where the heat comes from
Its really a petrol car thats trying gain most mpg, so unless youre in town it usually keeps the engine ticking over but uses the leccy motor if you need a bit more oomph to go up hill and charges the battery if you go down hill
The batteries always in good condition as it tries to look after them - has anyone seen a duff battery?
Why should it roll backwards on a hill?

you could charge the batteries before a trip if you get some charging stuff from somewhere, but why bother?

[raspy]

saaby93 said:

you could charge the batteries before a trip if you get some charging stuff from somewhere, but why bother?

Just to clarify, you can't charge any Prius models before a trip, unless you are using a Prius Plug-In model, which didn't launch here until 2012.

[saaby93]

raspy said:

saaby93 said:

you could charge the batteries before a trip if you get some charging stuff from somewhere, but why bother?

Just to clarify, you can't charge any Prius models before a trip, unless you are using a Prius Plug-In model, which didn't launch here until 2012.

Well you cant from a standard Prius but you can if you get a kit
http://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/topic/12993...

http://www.enginer.us/products/conversion_kit.php US version

[raspy]

saaby93 said:

Well you cant from a standard Prius but you can if you get a kit
http://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/topic/12993...

http://www.enginer.us/products/conversion_kit.php US version

Noted. Many thanks.