I've been shopping online for a used Prius for a few days now, I've test driven a few. The first one I drove was definitely abused, so sad to see a Toyota not properly cared for. Checking out another one tomorrow. Priuschat seems to be a great resource. Thank you to everybody that contributes. Can anybody reccomend good links explaining the CV transmission. One that I test drove today with 70,000 miles felt a little rough when coming to a stop.
Toyota Prius - Power Split Device Graham's Toyota Prius Elaborate on "felt a little rough when coming to a stop". Was there intermittent brake judder when at the last few mph before 0? Was the what seemed like a (not easy to repro) rough engine shutdown, possibly accompanied by what sounds like dieseling?
It kinda felt like the transmission was behind in downshifting(for lack of a better term)...as if when the car was coming to a stop the the transmission was still spinning. I hope that is a good elaboration.
Cwerdna above gave you some great links explaining how the Power Split Device transmission in the Prius works. (Note: The Prius PSD transmission is completely different from the more common belt-and-cone CVTs in other cars.) To elaborate on how the brake pedal works in the Prius, it goes something like this: Under gradual brake pedal pressure, the Prius first uses Electric Regenerative Braking to slow down the car from road speeds, by using the car's forward momentum to spin the PSD's MG2 motor to generate electricity for storage in the battery. Once the car's speed drops below 7mph, the Prius switches from using MG2 electric regenerative braking to hydraulic disc braking to bring the car to a halt. Sometimes you can feel a momentary "lurch" during this transition, like the car loses braking power for a second. This can be unsettling for the first few times you experience it, but it's a predictable behavior that you can learn to compensate for. Under sudden brake pedal pressure, the Prius bypasses the electric regenerative braking and goes right to hydraulic disc braking. If both the gas pedal and brake pedal are depressed at the same time, the brake will override the gas pedal. The Prius control electronics will downrev the engine in this situation because if the brakes are engaged, a fully-revving engine will dump all its mechanical rotation energy into the PSD transmission's center-gear MG1 motor, electrically overload it, and burn it out (and destroy the transmission). As the others mentioned, you should drive a new Prius to get the feeling of how the braking works the way it's intended to.
Thank you so much that definitely seems to be what I am feeling, I just drove another Prius that I noticed it on, I posted what I was feeling under 04-09 troubleshooting prior to seeing the last response on here. After driving another 08 with 45k miles tonight that did it a bit harder right at 3mph prior to coming to a complete stop. Over the weekend I drove two other Prius's that did not do it at all, a 10 with 50k and an 08 with 33k. Should I avoid the 08 with 45k, as other than this issue that is the one I like the best? Is this an issue that is unique from one car to the next? Lastly will it become less noticeable or more as the car ages? Thanks Priuschat-ers
While I love my Prius, I made a post explaining who should NOT own one. http://priuschat.com/forums/newbie-forum/94450-considering-prius.html#post1334003
Thanks Jimbo, but I was under the impression that this was the place to come for the best non-biased advice(and that is what everybody else has given me). I cannot afford to buy a new car for my pregnant wife so I am trying my best, to purchase a used one that doesn't have any mechanical issues. Is this not the place to learn what to expect from this technologically advanced vehicle? If I didn't want to own one I wouldn't be here.
