Yesterday, at 8000 ft in the Arizona mtns, my 2010 Prius exhibited some strange behaviors For several minutes the gas pedal was non responsive in the first half of it's travel, then it would lurch ahead in a jerky manner unlike it's normal behavior. It seemed like the electric motor was not being engaged. It also seemed stuck in ECO mode. Pushing the economy mode button would not disengage economy mode. If I stepped hard on the pedal it would go, but not very well. After heading down the mountain to a lower elevation seemed to help. Once back down to Tucson, operating normally. HAS ANYONE HAD ANY SIMILAR PROBLEM.
It sounds like a motorcycle I rented to ride in the CO Rockies years ago. It had a carburetor, and was not adjusted for higher altitude. It was miserable to ride, and became less powerful as I rode to higher elevations. Unfortunately, electronic fuel injection was still a bit of a novelty in motorbikes at that time.
110,000 miles. The battery indicator was normal. It did charge and recharge normally. It seemed like the electric motor might have been overheated and wasn't responding
30 mile uphill from Tucson to 8th ft Not pushing it at all, 35 To 40 mph. Followed by 20 to 25 mph around a small town. The issue only lasted about 15 minutes.
i know carburetors used to have to be adjusted for altitude, hard to believe with modern cars. maybe your right about the overheating. is tucson sea level? that's quite a hike!
My best guess is an overheated battery. My 2010 did that on a very hot day when I descended a few thousand feet then parked the car for an hour. When I started back up the hill it was gut-less. Probably due to the car not wanting to use the battery. Stopped the car and when I restarted everything was back to normal. Two years later and its never happened again.
