Why I sold my Insight and why I regret it.

[theaveng]

I guess. I just drove my cruise-control insight with the control off for 3000 miles. It wasn't really an issue (though I removed my shoes for better comfort).

Originally Posted by Cobb

I heard from the toyota dealer that once the battery is used up in the prius, the turtle icon comes on and its limited to 45 mph til it recharged.

Doubt that's true. Also doubt a Prius will ever need a new battery. Consumer Reports bought one with 200,000 miles and could not find any degradation in performance. Toyota designed the Prius so it barely uses the battery at all, keeping it at 50-80% charge* in order to avoid stress. They don't want to be replacing batteries like Honda got stuck doing.

*approximate

[Eli]

I really think driving the car as gas-only is what did it, in your mind. It's not really that much fun, and would leave a sour taste in almost anyones mouth.

It's like a completely different car with an IMA battery that doesn't throw codes, and even more so with a brand new battery.

[theaveng]

Originally Posted by Mario

I was climbing a particularly long hill and the battery went flat. I had to put it in second and floor it, and I was only going 30!

You should never climb any steep inclines at less than 3000 rpm. If you had shifted down, that battery would not have emptied. I've climbed over Eisenhower Pass at 60-65.

Also: If you watch the CVT version of the insight you'll notice it has similar behavior (shifts the engine to a faster RPM rather than drain the battery). I think the insight is hella fun. Just gotta stop draining the battery. Shift down to 4th or even 3rd.