[atrappen]

First off, I love my Prius, and I don't even have it yet! It is on order and will be here in a few weeks.
Second, Graham is a genius! About 90% of my decision to buy the Prius was based on his website alone. It answered all the questions I had in requards to Hybirds in general and the difference between the Insight and the Prius. He should be getting compensation from Toyota.

I have some questions for all those experienced Prius owners out there:

1) Power Brakes? In a conventional car the brake pedal is (usually) compensated by a extra force that normally comes from a vacuum assisted booster. Obviously this needs an ICE running to continually produce this added force. My guess is that the Prius does not need assisted hydraulic breaks because of the regenerative breaking handles the breaking when the break pedal has a low force. Is this True?

2) Because I live in Orlando FL, the outside temp can climb some times higher then 100 degrees. (in fact it was in the mid 80's today) Does any one have any data on how this heat may affect the HV Battery?

3) How is the A/C, when I test drove the Prius it seemed to work fine, but I was wondering if anyone had any comments?


Thanks,
Andy Trappen

 

[citicar1976]

The Prius does have power brakes. It has an electric vacuum pump to keep the booster powered when the engine is not running.

The battery pack has a cooling fan, built in, that will come on if the battery gets too warm. If the fan fails to cool the battery, the computer will limit the amount of charging/discharging until the battery cools down. I believe that the turtle light, in the instrument panel, will light, at this point, to warn that full power is not available.

I have found the air conditioning to be more than adequate for New Jersey summer weather. It was able to cool down the inside of the car within a few minutes even on very hot and humid days. The Prius has insulation and a reflective coating on the windows to help keep the heat out.

 

[Phoenix]

Prius AC

Concerning Prius air conditioning, I live in Phoenix, Arizona, where it averages about 105-112 in the summer, with a few days of 116+. We probably don't have the humidity you do in Florida, but it has gotten as high as 124 here a few years ago. (The airlines were grounded that day.)

The air conditioning works fine, but cuts a few mpg off the mileage. We also have a Toyota Camry that has great AC; and I would say the Prius AC is comparable.

As far as the batteries overheating, the cooled air in the passenger compartment flows through the battery case and out the vent on the driver's side; and I have never had any problems with batteries overheating.

 

[Julian]

"citicar1976" wrote:

> The Prius does have power brakes. It has an electric vacuum pump to
> keep the booster powered when the engine is not running.

I feel I ought to correct a small error here. The electric pump in the braking system actually produces positive pressure, not vacuum. Moreover, it is the only source of hydraulic power for the braking system. There is no assistance from the engine.

Julian.

 

[LeMangelo]

I have had the brake warning light come on for 60 to 120 seconds without buzzer sounding.Service manual states on page BR-3 "Depressing the brake pedal repeateadly may turn on the warning light and buzzer.It is normal if the light goes out and the buzzer stops sounding after a few seconds." The A/C compressor stops at idle to conserve energy unless MAX button is used,I have found that cooling car well at beginning of trip helps make these periods less noticeable.I have been reading about new air conditioning system using high pressure CO2 which looks interesting.http://www.visteon.com/technology/automotive/co2_system.shtml