When driving to Seattle over the passes there are a few steep and long downhill runs that my TCH won't hold the cruise on. I have found if I pop it into B for just a bit at the top of the down grade to get it down to the speed that I want, and then pop it back into D it seems to stay at that speed without setting the cruise. If I remember correctly it doesn't go to E, but does top out at 60... Anyone else try that?

Barb

 

according to the Prius "guru" at the dealership where I purchased my Prius, he said that the B gear regenerates the battery much faster than coasting or breaking; that is my experience, as well

 

As soon as I realized I could use "B" for deceleration without destroying the car (well, duh, why would Toyota add it without wanting it to be used?) I began practicing with it and found that it's great on downhills and fun for any kind of slowing down. I'm learning how to kick it in at the right time to be slowed down at the right place. It's just another fun little detail I love about this car. My understanding is that "B" really pumps juice into the traction battery during deceleration, and I suspect my E mode is inclined to take over more quickly when I've been using "B," but that's far from confirmed.

On my second tank with a 41.5 so far.

And wow, does this car have torque! It's a powerful car. If you want more raw acceleration get an IS 350, but the TCH digs deep. Vroom!

 

When coasting in 'B' you'll often find that the fully warmed-up TCH goes into "fuel-cut" mode. The FE gauge then reads on the dividing line between the "negative" blue EV region and the "positive" white region. In the metric version this is marked 0 L/100 km; it's marked 60 mpg in the US version. When the FE gauge reads precisely 0 L/100 km (60 mpg), absolutely no fuel is being used by the ICE — this is fuel-cut. MG1 is spinning the ICE using electrical power from MG2, to apply engine braking while protecting MG1 from over-revving (which could occur if the ICE wasn't spinning). So, this engine braking actually comes free of all fuel usage, even though you can hear the ICE revving furiously (~3000 rpm)! [Fuel-cut also occurs under some circumstances when coasting in 'D' at speeds above 64 km/h (~40 mph). The ICE is then spun at ~1000 rpm, its idling speed.] A sure sign of fuel-cut is the "zero" reading of the FE gauge.

Stan

 

Hmmm, that kinda contradicts what other similar threads on this topic have mentioned/discussed to date... (read: yes, this particular post's subject has been covered several times before).

https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/...3&postcount=20

https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/...7&postcount=11

Simply put, I was under the impression NOT to use it when not necessary (strictly from an FE maximization perspective, I mean).

 

While I'm at it, I might as well post several links to the same subject, many of them eventually "suggesting" not to use B if not necessary... Just food for thought:

https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/...ad.php?t=12944
https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/...ad.php?t=10765
https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/...ead.php?t=9846

I'm sure there are more out there, this was just a quick scan/search