I just got my Prius last thursday and I've been looking around this site for answers to these questions. I know there is a lot of information here and many of my questions have already been answered but I had trouble getting the "search" function to work. So can someone either answer these or point me to the right thread or article? I'd be most grateful! 1. What octane gas should I use? 2. What about getting the Prius washed? Do the car wash workers know about the push button start? What have been your experiences? 3. Will I ever learn to understand the "energy" screen? Ok...not that many questions yet. I only have 287 miles on my car so far but I love it!
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(lisaj59\";p=\"88230)</div> 1. Use 87 octane, or the lowest regular unleaded that is offered where you are driving. In high altitude areas the octane rating for regular unleaded is lower than down close to sea level. 2. When I do not hand wash, I use washes in which I drive through the carwash rather than an employee of the establishment. It is just easier this way. Most folks eventually figure out how the car is placed in drive, but it sometimes takes them a while to really figure it out. I also choose brushless places, much better on the paint. 3. Yes, the energy screen will be understandable, however the screen is giving you a gross illustration of what the vehicle is doing. From a technical standpoint the display doesn't show everything that is going on, or the true path of electrical power.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(lisaj59\";p=\"88230)</div> Hey, I can answer that one. In California and the US generally, use 'regular' 87 octane. This is a different octane rating system than used in Europe because it is an average of two ways of measuring octane. RON measurements, typically used in Europe, show higher numbers.
1. Car designed for 87 octane, but in the VERY unlikely event you experience knocking, try the next higher octane. Unless there is pinging involved, using higher octane does not yield more power or MPG. 2. One car wash seemed to know how to operate the car, they said they had a few already. The one I frequent though (3 times) still hasn't figured it out. The car can be put in neutral in READY or Ig-On mode. It is best if the car is put in Ig-On so that it can't accidentally be hit in gear from neutral and start driving off. That happened here in Tampa Bay where a woman died from injuries when a car exiting the automated car wash got away from the attendant driving it out. Another reason for Ig-On is to not drain the HV battery to nil. If the car is in READY and neutral, the ICE cannot charge the HV battery back up, yet it is still being drained by the AC (if on ) and the DC/DC converter that is maintaining 12V. In Ig-On, the HV battery is not connected and can't be drained any more than if you had parked and locked your car. 3. Don't know you well enough to say , but most people can figure it out eventually.
