Reverse gear

[Lager shandy]

Had a bit of a though from years ago remember the old belt driven daf cars the early cvt transmission . That could go the same speed forward or reverse if you were brave enough .Has any one tried this with the cvt Rx.

[ColinBarber]

Reverse is achieved by electric motors only and is limited on all Toyota/Lexus hybrids.

[Lager shandy]

Ok that seems reasonable what happens when your hybrid Battery is very low and you need to reverse up a long steep hill .Will the engine kick in and take over .

[ColinBarber]

The engine will kick in and drive the motor generator, which will produce electrical power for the motor to use. The engine doesn't drive the wheels directly in reverse.

[Britprius]

The strange phenomena with Toyota/Lexus hybrids is that reverse is pure electric drive. If the drive Battery is low on charge the engine will run to charge it, but because the engine only runs one way, and there is no mechanical reverse gear the actual fact that it is running reduces the effectiveness of the electric motor drive the engine try's  to drive the car forwards.

With the gen2 Prius if you park facing down a steep hill it is possible the car will not reverse if the Battery is low, and the engine starts. Force charging the Battery by holding your foot on the brake, and applying the accelerator till more charge bars appear resolves the situation as the engine stops with the charge level being higher.

John.