Toyota 2003 Prius Owner's Manual page 182

If the driver's door is opened when the
the "READY" light is on and the the selec-
tor lever is at a position other than "P"
with the parking brake applied, you will
hear beeps to warn you to shift the selec-
tor 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 mechani-
cal damage and loss of vehicle con-
trol may result.
NOTICE
Be sure to put the selector lever in
"P" position when parking. With the
selector lever in "N" position, the hy-
brid vehicle battery will
charged even the gasoline engine op-
erates. 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.
(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 de-
pressing 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 dur-
ing traffic jam, it is an effective way to
control the speed using only the brake
pedal operation without depressing the ac-
celerator pedal.
Regenerative brake
not be
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 ener-
gy to charge the hybrid vehicle battery.
At this time, the electric motor running
noise becomes larger.
The operation is the same as an ordinary
gasoline powered vehicle.
You may experience the following condi-
tions while braking. As they do not indi-
cate the malfunction, perform braking as
usual:
D
When you turn the ignition switch to
"ON" with the brake pedal depressed,
you may feel a little push from the
brake pedal.
D
When you turn the ignition switch to
"ACC" or "LOCK" from "ON", the brake
pedal may move a little.
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