Hard Acceleration Uphill for about 3 minutes

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by CarPrius77, Aug 20, 2006.

  1. CarPrius77

    CarPrius77 New Member

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    I took my 06 prius camping on a 350+ mile trip and there are lots of steep hills here in western Washington. It was a two lane highway and I had an opportunity to pass the vehicle while the two lane highway became four while heading up a steep hill. The 4 lane highway only lasted about a mile or two (up hill) so I pushed on the gas and tried to gain speed. I didnt floor it or anything but the small engine really was racing for about 3 minutes and I never did end up gaining enough speed to pass. I may just be paranoid but now I feel like my engine sounds different. Is this possible?
    Could I have damaged anything?
    I only had about 450 miles on the vehicle at the time.

    I'm worried about my Prius. :(
     
    #1 CarPrius77, Aug 20, 2006
  2. wb9tyj

    wb9tyj 2017 Prius Prime Advanced

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    We had a trip from our location and went throughout the Rockies and Sierras...we had went to Alpine Village at 14000ft and accelerated all the way up for 30minutes...we were down to 2 pink bars and full revs on the ICE, however, it didnt hurt a thing...the ICE sure sounds like a high rev motor but i think its sort of the nature of the beast...i wouldnt worry too much about it...we went over 6500 miles like that...it isnt going to hurt it to get it close to the floor ,if needed, for full acceleration...we had absolutely no problem passing, as the torque of the electric motor really helped on acceleration. We just kept an eye on the oil level, for any blow by and/or burn under stress but we had none...so i think ,in your case, unless there is a big change in ICE noise and your oil level is at max(3.5 quart) ...i think you'll be all right...
     
    #2 wb9tyj, Aug 20, 2006
  3. Bill Merchant

    Bill Merchant absit invidia

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    Hi CarPrius77, welcome to PriusChat! The Prius is very good at protecting itself and you haven't damaged anything. Since the ICE isn't connected to a regular transmission, you can't trust your years of ear training when the engine races. It's programmed to operate at maximum efficiency for the load. When you hear what, in a conventional car, might sound like the clutch slipping, you're only generating more electricity with one motor to add to the power of the second motor, and the ICE's direct contribution to forward motion. You should have floored it more if you wanted to pass.
     
    #3 Bill Merchant, Aug 20, 2006
  4. CarPrius77

    CarPrius77 New Member

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    I guess my major concern is that this happened during the so called "break-in period"

    what is the ICE?
    Thanks! :)
     
    #4 CarPrius77, Aug 20, 2006
  5. wb9tyj

    wb9tyj 2017 Prius Prime Advanced

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    ICE= Internal combustion Engine...Gas engine...
    dont worry about the alledged break in period...we did our trip early with minimal miles on it ,as well.
     
    #5 wb9tyj, Aug 20, 2006
  6. Bill Merchant

    Bill Merchant absit invidia

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    Sorry, ICE=Internal Combustion Engine, the part that uses gasoline... :rolleyes:

    Toyota already broke in the engine before installing it in your car. Modern cars really don't need much break in period. Sorry, I had missed that in your original post. Yeah, you're a knucklehead for racing the engine with only 450 miles on it (probably less than 300 actually powered by the ICE). I still doubt you hurt anything.
     
    #6 Bill Merchant, Aug 20, 2006
  7. CarPrius77

    CarPrius77 New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(wb9tyj @ Aug 20 2006, 12:13 AM) [snapback]306178[/snapback]</div>

    Very Cool!
    Thank you for calming my fear that I harmed my precious Prius. :rolleyes:
     
    #7 CarPrius77, Aug 20, 2006
  8. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    The computer limits the max. RPMs to 5000, you didn't/can't (that's not a challenge) hurt it. As explained above, the racing sound is normal. I suspect your battery level was pretty low when you tried to pass...that's where most of your torque for acceleration comes from. The low HP of the Atkinson cycle ICE is just not enough to power you around other vehicles on a long incline like that without the battery boost.
     
    #8 efusco, Aug 20, 2006
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