New Toyota Pruis Fuel Saver - shut down it's engine when slippery

[LegendNH]

I found this pretty funny

Prius Shuts Down in the Snow, Reader Complains
Toyota Calls Automatic Power Reduction a Safety Feature
By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.Com

January 26, 2007
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news0...snowbound.html

The Toyota Prius is known to occasionally shut down its hybrid engine system for no apparent reason, wear tires quickly and unevenly, even drain a battery dry when parked for an extended period.

But here's one of the oddest Prius stories on file at ConsumerAffairs.Com:

"When my car is on any kind of slick surface that causes one of the front wheels to slip, ALL power to the drive system is stopped," wrote Christopher of Reston, Virginia.

Christopher said he first experienced the problem with his Prius "on a sloped gravel driveway in July but discounted it as a temporary thing."

Then the snow fell.

"This past weekend I was on a snow-covered road with about an 8- to 10-degree grade. Driving at 20 miles per hour, one tire began to slip on the snow and the car came to a stop. The wheels then refused to engage, because one would slip a little, regardless of throttle position," he wrote.

. . . .

Ultimately, he said, the only way to get the car up the remainder of the hill was to get out and push while his son put a foot gently on the throttle.

His Toyota service manager told Christopher that he was able to duplicate the symptoms on a level snow covered surface and apparently achieved the same results with two other Prius cars that were in the dealership fleet.

But after reporting the problem to Toyota, the service manager told Christopher that the Prius was operating as designed.

. . . .

Not a Safety Problem
Toyota spokesman Bill Kwon agrees that the traction control systems in the Prius could impact performance in snow conditions but says that is not a safety problem.

"Prius has TRAC (traction control) as standard equipment," he said. "The purpose of traction control is to helps prevent wheel spin and minimize slippage of the drive wheels by applying brakes and/or reducing engine power."

"A vehicle without TRAC in those conditions," Kwon adds. "would probably just start spinning in place and eventually spin out of control. In my opinion, it's better to have the vehicle stop then to have the wheels spinning and out of control."

[MazingHL]

Needs a traction control OFF button.

[Junkie Mod]

it's known to wear tires quickly and unevenly? I hadn't seen anything about that before

[tmoney1876]

Originally Posted by Kwon

Kwon points out that an 8 to 10 degree grade "is a fairly steep grade"

What?!?!?!?!!!!shift+1???

[Dominion]

this is amusing shit. First they got all the greenies and hippies on board, and now they are fucking with them. I love it. What a way to alienate the small percentage of the population that actually wants to drive these abominations.

edit: WTG Toyota - Accountability ++

[nextbillgates]

[tmoney1876]

Maybe some of us care enough about the environment to forgo driving up slippery hills. Maybe some of us just care a little bit more... Thaaaaanks

[VanFanel]

Traction? FUCK TRACTION - we were proven it does absolutely nothing in our Accord and xB.

[Why_Ask_Why]

it's not a bug, it's a feature!

[ScHpAnKy]

Originally Posted by なぜなぜ尋ねなさいか。

it's not a bug, it's a feature!

haha, it's to prevent prius owners from driving in the snow

[stapler]

once again, audi >*

 and subaru too, i'll throw 'em a bone  

[mhaskell]

I'm glad the prius has such good traction control, without it hippies couldn't handle the violent 0-6mph acceleration without crashing.

[stapler]

Originally Posted by mhaskell

I'm glad the prius has such good traction control, without it hippies couldn't handle the violent 0-6mph acceleration without crashing.

yeah honestly, i could only imagine myself in a prius driving around, say up to a cabin a few miles from a ski town, only to have the car stop dead at 20 below, on a slippery road, with nobody around and no cell phone service, and after dark

(i'll be doing that in 2 weeks, but with my trusty Quattro )



sounds great

[lopoetve]

LOL.

[tmoney1876]

Originally Posted by Dennis

yeah honestly, i could only imagine myself in a prius driving around, say up to a cabin a few miles from a ski town, only to have the car stop dead at 20 below, on a slippery road, with nobody around and no cell phone service, and after dark

(i'll be doing that in 2 weeks, but with my trusty Quattro )



sounds great

So this is really just a thinly veiled ploy by toyota to kill all the hippies/yuppies in the world????

Well played toyota, well played.