B mode in drive.

[Steven83]

Hi guys. When B is selected on the auto should there be some obvious resistance when your foot is taken off the accelerator? 

i thought I’d give it a go today on a down hill slope and felt nothing and then on the flat when I would take my foot of the power it would coast just the same as if it were in D.

does this sound wrong to you guys? 

the car is a 2015 bought last week as a approved used with warranty.

the seat heater work when they went to and the windscreen blower didn’t work. I’ve taken it to my local dealer and the heating elements need replacing and the dash needs to come out as there is issues with the blower gearing.

im almost at the point of returning the car before my 14 day cooling period is up as the car shouldn’t of been sent out like this in my opinion. 

[TonyHSD]

Indeed, used approved should come like new without any issues. When choosing B mode there should be really noticeable resistance when releasing the accelerator, it’s like pressing the brake, the car should immediately slow down, like one pedal drive on Evs. If it doesn’t that means it is not working. If you are going downhill again should feel resistance although if it’s a step hill the resistance from B braking may not be enough to stop the car you may help with brakes too but definitely while in B mode there is a significant difference in car behaviour.  

[loz8]

Ditto,as Tony said.

[Steven83]

Thanks to both.

looks like this car has issues then and going to look into return it.

 

since you are here have you any experience of returning a car? 😆🤦🏻‍♂️

[loz8]

no,sorry.

[Steven83]

Also just before I do spit my dummy out and take it back, it’s the pre face lift and I only rest it at maximum 20mph 

[TonyHSD]

1 hour ago, Steven83 said:

Thanks to both.

looks like this car has issues then and going to look into return it.

 

since you are here have you any experience of returning a car? 😆🤦🏻‍♂️

I do have, car returned on collection day only after 50 miles drive on the motorway was an Auris hatchback diesel 2013 21k miles 3 years old with one local elderly man owner and full service history.….the car had developed bad vibrations., was unacceptable noisy inside at speeds over 50mph and in general my worst car ever, how could I not pick that up on my test drive is still beyond me.
I went back to the dealer they checked and said there is nothing wrong and to take the car without worry, in case there is really something Toyota will take care of but I refused the car, kick off big time and throw them the keys, took the train home and lost £500. , and I had my money back after 4 weeks. Used approved sometimes are as bad as auction ones or even worse, ok garage may help after but why you need to bother with all that stuff happening when you are buying an approved car?! I want a car to drive every day a lot not going to dealers for repairs, if I want that I would have gone for Audi, bmw or merc, they do drive much nicer at least 😉👌

[Steven83]

31 minutes ago, TonyHSD said:

I do have, car returned on collection day only after 50 miles drive on the motorway was an Auris hatchback diesel 2013 21k miles 3 years old with one local elderly man owner and full service history.….the car had developed bad vibrations., was unacceptable noisy inside at speeds over 50mph and in general my worst car ever, how could I not pick that up on my test drive is still beyond me.
I went back to the dealer they checked and said there is nothing wrong and to take the car without worry, in case there is really something Toyota will take care of but I refused the car, kick off big time and throw them the keys, took the train home and lost £500. , and I had my money back after 4 weeks. Used approved sometimes are as bad as auction ones or even worse, ok garage may help after but why you need to bother with all that stuff happening when you are buying an approved car?! I want a car to drive every day a lot not going to dealers for repairs, if I want that I would have gone for Audi, bmw or merc, they do drive much nicer at least 😉👌

I literally just sold my bmw to get a trouble free Toyota 🤦🏻‍♂️
 

my car is half deposit half finance.

did they cancel the finance for you? I had around £500 of extras fitted too; dash cam and optiwhite bulbs, but I paid cash for that, it also has a full tank of fuel so I guess I’d be losing cash too.

im pretty miffed off since I don’t really have time to deal with all this right now.

[Roy124]

The extras were part of the package you should get that refunded too 

[Steven83]

Thanks Roy. I’m still undecided on what to do. I may just get it all fixed under warranty. It isn’t the hassle free experience I hoped to get since ditching the bmw for Toyota but getting it fixed for free is still easier than going through all the fuss of giving it back.

 

however I am surprised it got through to retail without these things being noticed. 
 

im reading up more about B mode and it seems like mine has big issues as it’s doing nothing at all.

of course I expect warranty to cover it, but I imagine it will be a big job. 

[TonyHSD]

35 minutes ago, Steven83 said:

Thanks Roy. I’m still undecided on what to do. I may just get it all fixed under warranty. It isn’t the hassle free experience I hoped to get since ditching the bmw for Toyota but getting it fixed for free is still easier than going through all the fuss of giving it back.

 

however I am surprised it got through to retail without these things being noticed. 
 

im reading up more about B mode and it seems like mine has big issues as it’s doing nothing at all.

of course I expect warranty to cover it, but I imagine it will be a big job. 

My one was paid cash at the time and they returned the full price minus deposit £500, they even wanted to charge me more like £1500 . Maybe just keep it and get it fix. Your problems seems obvious, but my one especially on nearly new car finding a source of vibrations it’s mission impossible without obvious broken part,. For the B mode may just be the gear selector, have you noticed at least if the car selects B at all and light on dash illuminated B ? We had another similar bad experience with approved car from Toyota dealer but this time I sent gf back with a list of jobs that were part of the deal and they did not do it so they had to do and we kept the car, if I was with her though when she put a deposit I wouldn’t let her do it on a car advertised as approved but with so many wrong things on that needed sorting, it seems many dealers just hope the customers will never find the defects on the cars they sell , kind of lottery play. 

[Steven83]

12 minutes ago, TonyHSD said:

My one was paid cash at the time and they returned the full price minus deposit £500, they even wanted to charge me more like £1500 . Maybe just keep it and get it fix. Your problems seems obvious, but my one especially on nearly new car finding a source of vibrations it’s mission impossible without obvious broken part,. For the B mode may just be the gear selector, have you noticed at least if the car selects B at all and light on dash illuminated B ? We had another similar bad experience with approved car from Toyota dealer but this time I sent gf back with a list of jobs that were part of the deal and they did not do it so they had to do and we kept the car, if I was with her though when she put a deposit I wouldn’t let her do it on a car advertised as approved but with so many wrong things on that needed sorting, it seems many dealers just hope the customers will never find the defects on the cars they sell , kind of lottery play. 

Yes it shows B on the dash. Maybe it just doesn’t work at slow speed or needs a reasonable decline to activate? 
 

I understand your pain with the dealerships.

my auris has the intermittent heated seat issue which I asked them to sort before me picking it up, when I collected it they said it was all fine and must of been a one off. It wasn’t and then I found the front windscreen blower wasn’t working.. took it to my local dealer (not the one I bought it from) and they almost instantly diagnosed the heated seat issue and will put an updated version in on warranty, but why couldn’t the dealer I bought it from have found that fault and fixed it?! 
 

I think you are right, getting it all fixed is much easier and less hassle for me, but it’s a shame that we have these experiences when spending a decent lump of cash. 
 

I’ve been had issues proving I have warranty.

I bought it from burrows Rotherham and took it in to my local dealer RRG Stockport.

 

they diagnosed the issues but couldn’t find proof of warranty so tried to charge me £125.

 

I refused and after phoning both dealerships Stockport eventually agreed to wave the charge and do some digging to find my warranty .. still waiting.

burrows Rotherham seemed to have promised to help but never even phone me back. 
 

I think next time I’ll just by a weekly bus ticket 😆

[Gerg]

I don't think that fan problem is common, but the seat heater problem is.

[Steven83]

40 minutes ago, Gerg said:

I don't think that fan problem is common, but the seat heater problem is.

Yeh I’m not sure if I’ve bought myself a constant problem or if once these things are done the car will be fine for years.

they will fix the blower but they said they need to pull the whole dash out, that worries me a little because it doesn’t have and creaks or noises at the moment but I’m guessing it soon will. 

[Catlover]

9 hours ago, Steven83 said:

Yes it shows B on the dash. Maybe it just doesn’t work at slow speed or needs a reasonable decline to activate? 
 

You should feel the effect of B at slow speeds, a drag, and any decline.

One of the unpublished benefits of B is in snow on road conditions. Use B to move vehicle particularly at slow speed, less chance of wheel spin.

So you should be feeling effect B. Maybe an electrical connection has been disturbed somewhere.

[Steven83]

So just an update. Tried the B gear again today and it worked perfectly.

 

when I previously tried it it was at speeds of around 10mph, it seems that it needs to be used at higher speeds than that so it was my mistake. 
 

thanks for the help thought guys. 

[TonyHSD]

9 hours ago, Steven83 said:

So just an update. Tried the B gear again today and it worked perfectly.

 

when I previously tried it it was at speeds of around 10mph, it seems that it needs to be used at higher speeds than that so it was my mistake. 
 

thanks for the help thought guys. 

Cool, one less problem 👍

B mode usually works when regenerative braking is available 5mph or more and when under 20mph there is higher resistance from the e motor even without ice ( internal combustion engine) running. Toyota hybrids are interesting machines and they have a lots of surprises to any driver who never had hybrid or ev previously. Enjoy your car 👌🚗 

[loz8]

just one comment,why would you not use the footbrake at slow speeds?.

[Cyker]

Just to note, the B-mode is literally engine braking, like you would do on a normal car (e.g. downshifting to slow down using the engine rather than braking), and the effect will lessen as the car slows - Unlike what a lot of car reviewers seem to incorrectly say, it isn't a 1-pedal driving mode and it isn't a regen braking mode.

I don't know how it is on the Auris, but on my Mk4 it doesn't even max out regen, so it wastes a lot of fuel and energy that could have gone to charging the traction Battery - Aside from some initial experimentation I never use it, and struggle to think of any scenario where I would use it! If it enabled maximum regen when you lift off the accelerator it would be more useful, but it doesn't.

 

[Chriss27]

On 10/23/2021 at 1:28 PM, Steven83 said:

Hi guys. When B is selected on the auto should there be some obvious resistance when your foot is taken off the accelerator? 

i thought I’d give it a go today on a down hill slope and felt nothing and then on the flat when I would take my foot of the power it would coast just the same as if it were in D.

does this sound wrong to you guys? 

the car is a 2015 bought last week as a approved used with warranty.

the seat heater work when they went to and the windscreen blower didn’t work. I’ve taken it to my local dealer and the heating elements need replacing and the dash needs to come out as there is issues with the blower gearing.

im almost at the point of returning the car before my 14 day cooling period is up as the car shouldn’t of been sent out like this in my opinion. 

Hi I had a a 2014 auris and the seat heater was hit and miss and is known issue that was fixed under warranty 

[FROSTYBALLS]

Extracted from https://mag.toyota.co.uk/hybrid-driving-tips-for-best-fuel-economy/

 "The shift lever offers four positions: R (Reverse), N (neutral), B (engine braking) and D (drive). For normal driving, D (drive) is absolutely fine, but should you need it, position B has the effect of engine-braking handy when descending a steep hill, for example. It’s not recommended to leave the car in position B for normal driving, mainly because you’d end up using more fuel than necessary!"

[Steven83]

Yeh I would only use B mode going down long steep hills. 
 

Likely I will never have use for it in the uk. But it was just when I felt it was faulty it concerned me as there could of been other faults within the engine/motor, so that’s what made me question it. 
 

it all works fine though, I just needed a bit more speed and some decline for it to engage. 

[TonyHSD]

1 hour ago, Cyker said:

Just to note, the B-mode is literally engine braking, like you would do on a normal car (e.g. downshifting to slow down using the engine rather than braking), and the effect will lessen as the car slows - Unlike what a lot of car reviewers seem to incorrectly say, it isn't a 1-pedal driving mode and it isn't a regen braking mode.

I don't know how it is on the Auris, but on my Mk4 it doesn't even max out regen, so it wastes a lot of fuel and energy that could have gone to charging the traction battery - Aside from some initial experimentation I never use it, and struggle to think of any scenario where I would use it! If it enabled maximum regen when you lift off the accelerator it would be more useful, but it doesn't.

 

I am sure that B mode does increase regenerative braking too not only keeps the slower speed, at least on any hybrid gen 3.
 I Just used it going down the hill in town with 30mph limit. I switched to B while was moving on Battery power alone at about 30mph just before I went downhill and maintained the regenerative power (brake resistance) with the accelerator only where usually if I was in D I would have been on the brakes for most of the time, since I do go this journey quite often I know how the car behaves in both ways in D or B, for this particular case not sure which one will recharge the Battery better but it seems to me they are very equal. The wasted energy from using B mode will perhaps come from unnecessary use on level roads where B mode will kill the car inertia, because when in B mode the accelerator pedal becomes ultra sensitive and very small adjustment cause the car to suddenly slow down plus the extra drag from the ice.  

[Cyker]

Maybe it is different then! The Mk4 has 3 blocks/levels of indicated regen, and I find in B-mode it only ever reports using upto the first block, which is the same as if I lift off the accelerator - The rest of the slowdown comes from the ICE being spun up.

Braking normally gets me the full 3-bars of regen and quite a lot of braking force, even before the friction brakes cut in.

One thing we've noticed is my friend has an Auris hybrid and he has to brake going down this big hill we often cross over, and his Auris will regen most of the Battery by the time he gets to the bottom, whereas if I brake at all the car will not make it to the bottom of the hill, and if I just lift off so only level 1 regen is used, it will slightly allow the car to speed up down the hill, but I only get maybe 1 or 2 bars of charge out of it...!

Don't know why there's such a big disparity in recovered charge... Only thing that makes sense is if the Auris Battery has a lower capacity, but we know that's not true, plus his Battery has enough charge it will actually drive some miles in EV mode whereas, as mentioned in another thread, I've never gotten it to work at all in the Mk4  

It does seem the default throttle-off regen is set much higher in the Mk4 as his Auris can coast noticeably further than my Mk4, if we both throttle-off. He also uses more battery going up the hill than the Mk4 does tho' so it all balances out in a way!

Is just weird they seem to behave so differently!

 

[Stopeter44]

This video references the Prius, but the Car Care Nut seems to give a good explanation of mode B, and why it is not all it might seem :-

Mode B explained by the car care nut