2001 Toyota Prius Owners Manual - Page 111

If the driver's door is opened when the the "READY" light is on and the the selector lever is at a position other than "P" with the parking brake applied, you will hear beeps to warn you to shift the selector lever to the "P" position. CAUTION While the vehicle is moving, never attempt to move the running mode selector lever into "P" position under any circumstances. Serious mechanical damage and loss of vehicle control may result. (f) Vehicle driving characteristics Creeping In order to hold the vehicle properly on an incline and for better accelerator pedal operation at starting, vehicle is designed like an ordinary automatic transmission vehicle which tends to move without depressing the accelerator pedal with the selector lever in a position other than "P" or "N". With the selector lever in a position other than "P" or "N", depress the brake pedal firmly even when stopped and apply the parking brake as required. When moving in a restricted area or during traffic jam, it is an effective way to control the speed using only the brake pedal operation without depressing the accelerator pedal. Regenerative brake When the accelerator pedal is released or the brake pedal is depressed, the electric motor acts as a generator and converts kinetic energy to electric energy to provide deceleration and recover the electric energy to charge the hybrid vehicle battery. At this time, the electric motor running noise becomes larger. NOTICE Be sure to put the selector lever in "P" position when parking. With the selector lever in "N" position, the hybrid vehicle battery will not be charged even the gasoline engine operates. You cannot start your vehicle if the selector lever is left in "N" position for a long time because the hybrid vehicle battery will discharge. 103