Winter is finally here. Does anyone have experience of rocking a Prius to get it out of a snow bank?

 

I've driven through 3 Colorado winters, and the Prius works fine in snow. A good way to rock the car is by quickly shifting between the forward and reverse (you may not even need to hit the accelerator for that). Don't worry, you won't hurt the car switching between F and R at low speeds -it's just the electric motor/generator switching back and forth (no transmission involved like in a normal car). Play around and see what works.
The main thing in snow is to use the accelerator gently, especially when getting started on an icy hill. Otherwise the traction control will kill your power. Just let off the brake and very gently apply the accelerator.

 

Hi,

What is your ride?

Bob Wilson

 

It's a 2004 Prius (see my new signature below). Perhaps the quick shifting back and forth is not as easy on the 2001-2003 version.

 

Living in north Alabama, I don't get many opportunities to rock myself out of a snow bank. Thanks for the signature.

If you feel like joining the mileage database, you can get the graphical signature block that updates within an hour of mileage update. But you'll have two choices on the database records: (1) all previous MPG, or (2) start with just current MPG. Since I bought mine used, I went with #2. Just a suggestion.

BTW, how has the EV mod worked out?

Bob Wilson

 

The EV works and is useful for saving gas probably about once a day (plus it's fun to show off). However, in very cold conditions where it would be the most useful (to turn off the engine when stopped), it sometimes prevents you from going into EV mode.

 

Our Valentine's Day nor'easter gave me the opportunity to test the Prius' ability to rock out of the snow bank in my driveway!

The gear changing seemed a bit hinky -- I would sometimes move the lever to R, step on the gas and go forward. When I looked at the indicator, it still read D. The opposite was also true.

I wound up looking at the indicator to make sure the shift had taken before stepping on the gas. That's OK in my driveway, but I don't want to have to do that when there's traffic around.