2003 Toyota Prius Owners Manual - Page 19

10.Precautions for use D The hybrid system automatically controls the level of electrical power remaining in the hybrid vehicle battery. With the selector lever in a position other than "N", electricity is generated and charging occurs when the level of electrical power in the hybrid vehicle battery decreases. It is unnecessary to charge the hybrid vehicle battery from outside. INFORMATION: The gasoline engine starts and stops automatically. (It stops during a low load driving, deceleration or when the vehicle stopped.) If the "READY" light remains on, you can start your vehicle using the electric motor even with the gasoline engine stopped. The gasoline engine may not stop automatically in the following conditions: z During under gasoline engine warm- up z During hybrid vehicle battery charging z When the air conditioning is used in the "MAX" mode, the gasoline engine is frequently used. If the output control warning light ( ) comes on in the instrument cluster, the hybrid vehicle battery temperature is low or high, or the hybrid vehicle battery capacity is decreased with the selector lever at "R" during driving. As it does not indicate the failure of the system, you can continue driving but avoid hard acceleration because the power is insufficient (which is caused by the battery power deterioration). The vehicle runs in combination with the gasoline and electric power. Pay special attention to the following items. Be careful of a high voltage and high temperature. Your vehicle is equipped with the orange colored cables connected to the hybrid vehicle battery which contain a high voltage (about 300 V) and to other high voltage parts. CAUTION Do not touch or come in contact with orange cables or battery terminals. Electric shock may cause serious injury or death. Read all caution labels. A electric motor, coolant radiator and some other parts reach high temperature when you are driving. Caution labels are applied to these parts. Carefully observe the instructions on these caution labels. 12