Made my weekly trip to the dealer today. They were kind of busy this afternoon (shoppers and low-ball negotiators) so I got the keys tossed at me by the sales manager - no greeting or nothing. Some days I even feel sorry for car salespersons - just a little tho. :-)<br>Did everything but put the Prius on a rack.<br>There are 2 obvious radiators: THE radiator with one, possibly two electric fans and a second, much smaller radiator, low and in front of THE radiator. Looks like the little one is for the AC based on it's connections. The THS box has hoses running to it but I couldn?t trace them ? me too big, under-hood too packed! Is Toyota going to hire midgets to work on these? :-)<br>There is NO 12v generator or 12v starter. Period! The only thing hanging off the ?accessory? end of the engine is the water pump. End of discussion!<br>The accelerator pedal is directly and singularly connected to a "sensor"; no mechanical connection to nothing! The throttle body is controlled by an idle solenoid (warm-up and AC on?) and a servomotor (or actuator in car-talk). No connection to the accelerator pedal at all. Hacking in cruise is gonna be a "bit more difficult" than I thought.<br>The back seat "appears" to permit pass-thru IF - _IF_ it could tilt: there isn't anything "obviously" between the back seat and the trunk except for the seat back and some trunk liner. BUT - I wasn?t about to strip it down in the lot - that will wait till I rent. :-) HOWEVER - there ain't gonna be much of a pass-thru opening: about 14-18" high, at best and about 3' wide. The battery module air input duct is nicely "folded" across the underside of the rear shelf and descends to the battery on the passenger side.<br>Oddities: Rooting about in the trunk lead me to the discovery of two "compartments" in the floor on the passenger side. One largish (4"x6") compartment may be for the GPS/Map but it was empty. :-( The other held a large ? diam ? 6? long eyebolt??? Fine-threaded - it appeared to be substantial enough to be used to tow the car. Where does it go? Whazzitdo?<br>New technical question for ee_of_ee: Does the "N" position disengage (de-gear) the connection between the wheels and the PSD/motor? Is it truly "neutral"? Again - I didn't try it - I'd look slightly pushing the Prius around in the lot - they might even think I was trying to steal it or something. :-)<br>Finally ? had a 15 second chat with THE Prius trained mechanic 0- as he was warming up his motorcycle to leave. He LIKES the Prius and, unless I mis-heard, has one on order! That'? a GOOD sign! A was kidding about the off-the-line acceleration being computer limited and asked about ?hot-rodding?. His reply ? Check back in a couple of months.<br>Bill Powell

No, N does not uncouple. It is an electronic neutral, all the power transistors are off. There is no mechanical neutral in the THS. There are also no clutches, friction elements, torque converters, linear solenoids, valve bodies or hydraulic controlled shift elements. The one and only gear set is continuously engaged.

Good eye, no generator or starter hanging on the engine. The generator is part of the transmission now, but generats 288v, 3-phase AC which is dropped to 12v DC through the inverter and converter. The same generator is motored to work as a starter on steroids.

Thanks!<br>OK - I got the hint! No small furry creatures either, I suppose? :-) The switcher is "open state" and the drive moter is "unloaded".<br>By the way - the drivetrain is quite an elegantly simplistic design. It's gonna give AAMCO Transmission Center owners fits tho! :-)<br>Then, I can presume, that in N - with power (can't call it an "ignition" switch anymore...) off - the Prius can be pushed / rolled like a normal car - without fear of damage. Note - push, roll - not tow.<br>And, it is probably safe to assume that P places a wedge, of sorts, into one of the gears?<br>So... What is the eyebolt for? It's tucked into a nice, custom cutout in the trunk.<br>I just GOTTA rent one! I can't wait for November!

Good Eye? I had to squint and peer just to be sure! It sure is tight in there! I couldn't even get my hands back far enough to be able to find the spark plugs - assuming they are on the back (exhaust) side. Is the powertrain configed to drop out for maintenance? Or do you have one of those "miniaturizers" like in "Fantastic Voyage" for the mechanics?<br>Question? I assume that the 12V Aux battery is charged by a switcher but - is it safe to assume that the 12V battery will NOT be charged with power from the traction battery? That is - 12V charged only when 288V gen running?<br>Generator part of "transmission" (another obsolete term...) guess - by it's physical location: it's NOT part of the engine - and not part of the motor and it does control the PSD??? Sheeshe! Grease covered termonolgy obsolete - must self-destruct! :-)

I've actually used the AAMCO reference in presentations! Your other presumptions are correct. As for the eyebolt, I haven't a clue. I'll take a look on Monday, I will be at another conference with a car and perhaps a little time.

You must be used to looking an American cars. The plugs are in the middle of the head hiding under 4 individuals spark coils. Coil on plug ignition. <br><br>Much of the service is done from underneath the car.<br><br>You are correct the 12v battery is charged only while the engine is spinning the generator. <br><br>Since they are all (motor, generator, planetary set and final drive)in the same housing and perform the same functions as a conventional transaxle, I still refer to them as the transaxle.

The eyebolt is used for towing the car from the front. (From the owner's manual)

I thought the eyebolt was in the trunk?<br><br>I found an excuse to stop by the dealer today, thinking I'd be able to read through the owner's manual. Was told that they didn't have an owner's manual, that's shipped with the cars they sell, not with the TRAC cars... Did spend some time reviewing the sales training manual and a detailed brochure (part of a set of detailed brochures on all of the different Toyota models). I'll post some comments/questions separately...<br><br>Kevin - I assume this means you've actually taken delivery of a Prius?<br><br>I'm surprised I haven't seen more "got mine" postings...<br><br>Paul.

The eyebolt _is_ stored in the trunk. But to use it, you screw it in to a hole under the front bumper of the car. Then you can attach a towing chain to the eybolt.<br><br>And yes, I have taken delivery of my Electric Green Prius as of 8/19/00. (I did my endzone celebration dance in the www.egroup.com message board instead of here.)<br><br>Kevin

The "eye bolt" thingie is in the right hand trunk floor "pocket" - slightly outboard of the "GPS??" cavity - under the trunk carpet. It kinda "snaps" in and definitely won't rattle.<br>Good thing they didn't have the car on a rack while I was there - eh? :-)<br>Thanks! You and priusman are unexpected and greatly appreciated benefits to us Prius owners, expectant owners (at least it feels "expectant" to me - I even crave Prius green pickles...) and Prius owner wanna-be's.<br>Any way we can sing (or at least hum) our praises to "T"?<br>Thanks again,<br>Bill Powell

Oh! Those were the plugs? Guess that is the TDI then. Thought they were the injectors in an unconventional location. Come to think of it - there wasn't a fuel rail so - Duh!<br><br>Terms - We gotta get George Carlin in a Prius so he can update his "words" routine!<br><br>Thanks once more!<br>Bill

CONGRATS KEV!<br>Can I borrow the car Dad? :-)<br><br>Thanks for the eyebolt info. Makes sense since the "loops" under the front of most Japanese cars are ugly as sin and are probably an aerodynamic issue too.<br><br>Enjoy your baby and PLEASE keep us ALL in the loop. We aunts and uncles expect regular reports and photos of our new niece/nephew.<br><br>Bill Powell