Auris Hsd In Carwash

[Opifex]

The engine on the Prius and Auris cannot start in neutral, if it is running when put into neutral it will continue running until it has reached operating temperature then shut off unless the HV battery is low in witch case it will bring it up to three bars on the display. Leaving the car enabled and in neutral is good way to flatten both batteries, and having no way to start the engine even a jump start will not work as the engine is started with the HV battery not the 12volt, this only turns on the computers. To sum up under no circumstance leave the car in ready and neutral unless you want a big bill from Toyota for charging the HV battery.

In a car wash just drive up, keep everything running as for normal driving. Ensure foot brake off and select neutral.

If you do this on a warm day with the aircon on the HV Battery can be dead in minuets.

These seem to me to be very alarming claims, and I would be very interested to know if they can be confirmed in any Toyota document. Personally I have not tried leaving the car in "N" with the HSD running so cannot confirm or deny the statements. I reecntly sat for about 20 mininutes with the car in "P" and the HSD running and radio on. The ICE started and stopped occasionally to keep the HV Battery charged and keep up the cabin temperature, and this is what I would expect if the car was in "N" position.

In answer to the original question, the car has to be in "N" position position because any other would either drive or lock the wheels. You can only select "N" when the HSD is running so the conclusion is that you must have HSD running and drive in "N" position. Considering how many Prii have been sold, and assuming that a proportion are using car washes, I feel sure that if there really was a danger of it running the Battery down so that the car can't be started it would have happened a few times by now and been added to the list of stories trotted out by the anti-Prius brigade.

[timberwolf]

When Neutral gear is selected, the coils in the motor/generators are made open circuit, so I can't see how the MG could either spin up the ICE (petrol engine) to start it or in the reverse situation be a generator to charge up the HV battery?

I stand corrected.

If that is the case, then it seems a poor design to me in that I could sit in traffic on a dark winters evening with lights and heater on, foot operated parking brake engaged gear in "N" and the engine cuts out after it's charged the HV, I could kill the car if the traffic doesn't move for a while.

Or is it not that quick at depleting the Battery ?

I was surprised by how simple the transmission was mechanically and therefore I think the design is quite elegant, although on the other hand it is probably compensated for by the complexity of the motor/generators and the hybrid control systems. I'd agree that it has some unexpected quirks from the owners point of view.

The HV Battery can deplete quickly if there are high demands, try switching on the front defogger, and see how long it takes for the petrol engine to cycle between off and on.

For the Prius and Auris HSD, Toyota engineers must have seen an advantage in removing any mechanical clutches in the transmission, as the two motor/generators and the petrol engine are permanently connected to the HSD transaxle. I guess including clutches would most likely have meant additional weight, increased mechanical complexity and it would probably have resulted in some further mechanical losses through the transmission (i.e. a bit of a reduction in the mpg).

[britprius]

I hope I do not come across as alarmist that was not my intention, the engine will start and stop to keep the batteries charged in any position except neutral, and in neutral all electrical load is on the HV Battery, this Battery even charges the 12volt Battery via an inverter, (the Prius has no alternator) the aircon runs directly of the HV battery, and on a warm day can consume 3KW of power and the HV battery is only rated at 6AMPH at 201Volts or 1.2KW do the maths remembering that many other systems are running with the car in ready mode, and these figures relate to a fully charged HV battery witch may well not be the case when you put the car in neutral.

[britprius]

When Neutral gear is selected, the coils in the motor/generators are made open circuit, so I can't see how the MG could either spin up the ICE (petrol engine) to start it or in the reverse situation be a generator to charge up the HV battery?

I stand corrected.

If that is the case, then it seems a poor design to me in that I could sit in traffic on a dark winters evening with lights and heater on, foot operated parking brake engaged gear in "N" and the engine cuts out after it's charged the HV, I could kill the car if the traffic doesn't move for a while.

Or is it not that quick at depleting the Battery ?

Never put the car in neutral at traffic lights, if you wish to take your foot off the brake to avoid blinding the person behind push the P button. The engine will continue to start and stop as normally-