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engine stops climbing up a hill

4K views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  Alvin 
#1 ·
Climbing up a steep hill that just keeps going up with several curves, my 2006 Prius just stopped. Pushing on the excelerator and nothing happened. shifted from D to B and back, and still no power. No warning lights came on. Would back up easily. Finally had to back up, turn around and go down the other way.

The dealership thinks I'm a crazy woman and had no response. The car had been totally checked by them 2 weeks before. Has this happened to anyone?
 
#2 ·
After that incident, does your Prius drive normally on flat ground?

If it does, you probably discharged the traction (high-voltage) battery down to where the electric motor was providing no power. While this is a rare occurrence, this can happen on long, steep, uphill grades.

If you change the multi-function display to show the battery charge level and drive up that grade again, you will most likely see the battery level drop down to almost zero. This will be especially evident if the battery level is low before starting up the hill.

To avoid this happening, you might try making sure the battery level is near maximum BEFORE attempting the grade. Or, if that is impractical, you may need to find a different route to your destination that is flatter, or has shorter climbing sections separated by some flat areas where the traction battery can recharge.

You didn't mention where this hill is located. If you provide your location, members might be able to offer an alternate route or different strategy for climbing this hill.

Also, please post more details if your Prius is inoperable, and you actually need troubleshooting or repair advice on hybrid system or ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) problems.
 
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