Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
I also make it a point to keep those scratched wheel cover on the passenger side wheels whenever I do a tire rotation. This will always keep the driver side wheel covers scratch free.
I know there is no alternator / starter motor... just wondering what else there might be (or not be) that is shared with a convensional car that might go bad. Water pump?
Finally, when coasting and braking, the current MPG goes up to 99.9. Just wondering if that is figured into the average MPG report. For example, if I have 3 readings of 35 MPG, 45 and 99.9, will my average be 40 (thowing the 99.9 out) or will it be 59.9?
Alternator - Gone
Starter - Gone
Water Pump - Electric
AC - Electric
Power Steering - Electric
Brake Pump - Electric (With UltraCaps no less)
MPG is calculated by fuel injection metering. The 5 minute bars are just displays and those numbers aren't used in the calculated total.
Welcome to the Forum,
The main battery has a 10 year 150k mile warranty if you live in CA. That is the law on cars rated AT-PZEV. Any part that is required to keep that rating is covered. I don't think I would let that discourage me if I liked the car.
Does the Platinum warranty (or any other) provide that same coverage in the state of VA where I live?
That was forced onto the hybrid manufacturers by CARB. To get the AT-PZEV rating you have to warranty the components that can drop that rating. I would think that most of the drive train should be covered. Anything that does not operate properly can screw up the emissions.
I don't believe you can get the AT-PZEV rating in any state that does not mandate low sulfur gasoline.
We have a new 05 and also find the reverse beep annoying...actually more than annoying. My wife has hearing aids and the beep causes ringing and discomfort. I have also noticed that someone standing behind the car cannot hear the beep, so it only discomforts the passengers and does not help protect pedestrians against the stealthly moving car in its electric drive mode. Strange...the rest of the car seems so well engineered.
Tsvi
Tsvi
Don't spray anything onto the screen as there's a chance it could drip down into the innards.
Did you get your answer to the worth of the prepaid maintenance contract? We got talked into one, but when it was received, I noticed it really only covers oil changes, fluids & inspection of hoses. When sold to us, I was told that Toyota does all kinds of electronic tests on the condition of the car that cannot be done elsewhere.
I also saw in the fine print that one can get out of the contract within 60 days...I have a few days left to that point.
Tsvi
JJ
- Greg
==============
1. Power on the car to IG-ON or READY. IG-ON will do for this purpose.
2. Using the Trip/ODO button, set the Trip/ODO display to ODO (not Trip A or Trip
3. Power off the car.
4. Now power the car to READY (brake on). This is required so that step 6 works correctly.
5. Within 6 seconds of powering on, press and hold the Trip/ODO button for 10 seconds or more.
6. WHILE STILL HOLDING ODO *after* the 10 seconds, shift the "gear" selector from P to R, then back to P. Now release the Trip/ODO button.
7. If the last step was successful, "b on" or "b off" should be displayed in the location where the Trip Odometer or Odometer is normally displayed. "b on" is beep on, and "b off" is beep off.
8. Press Trip/ODO to toggle the mode.
9. Now power the car off to exit the toggle mode.
10. Power the car on to READY and confirm the reverse beep status by shifting to R. The beep should not be audible if "b off" was selected, and should be audible if "b on" was selected
==============
some misnomers. -- while a small 40A "alternator" isn't in the Prius - a huge generator is. That electricity must come from somewhere.
While a conventional tiny starter that you start with a key is gone, the main electric motor will turn over the motor to start it - (by the way, the starting procedure is monitored by the computer which controls aspects such as timing, opening of valves, and metering of fuel to ensure a "jerk" free low impulse start of the motor so don't even think of trying to "push" start this baby. If you run out of electrical juice things get tough. yes there are emergency procedures... recommended only for emergencies)
Most importantly, regarding MPG --- it is calculated from the fuel used (determined from fuel injection metering and mileage.) What is calculated for the min by min MPG is real...as real as can be... except when the MPG goes over 99 MPG or, as happens, goes to infinity (this is when the battery is being charged up by coasting or breaking and no fuel is being consumed yet the car moves.) it only shows 99.9 mpg. The total cumulative fuel usage is still being accumulated in the computer as is the mileage. This means that the 5 min bars will show TRUE mpg "for that 5 min time period" . The total is a compilaiton of all the mileage divided by the fuel use, which is mathematically the same as adding up those mpg bars... HERE IS THE RUB.
You can NOT take an arithmetic average (what most people think of as average) of the bars to get the true mpg. You have to take a harmonic mean. I won't explain the math. The reason is that what you are really measuring is the fuel used to drive a distance. This is gallons per mile. You can average these figures to get a total fuel usage because what is being used is fuel. In fact they use that method in europe.
Bottom line if I want to get 50 mpg for 10 min, and I did 25mpg the first 5 min (one half of the desired millage) I would have to get double the mileage (100mpg) for the next 5 min to get an average of 50 mpg - not 75mpg.
Call this small lesson "How MPG is calculated"
the 12 battery in the prius is a very low capacity unit, and i'd wager it could be easily damaged by putting a really dead battery across it and then trying to start the disabled car. electronically, a dead battery is the electrical equivalent of a short circuit until it charges up. and the starter looks like a heavy load, too, unless the disabled car starts VERY quickly....
more details or stories? i used this technique at about 15 degrees below in troy new york, decades ago, and got a friend's car started after he'd unsuccessfully tried a jumpstart from three cars simultaneously !!!!!!! picture that!
it took us half an hour of chatting in my warm car as my car charged his' battery, and his lit off without any spray ether or whatever. he gave me a buck for the gas consumed, which was a drastic overpayment at the time....
yeah, they tried that in the D.C. area on one of the connectors near an airport.
it cleared out the hov lane all right... it emptied it. onto the service roads, which were then REALLY blocked up...
if you think arranging a carpool schedule for two people is fun, it goes up exponentially with three!
if the hov lane is full, as in LA, and all of the lanes are going slow, can you ask yourself why there is an hov lane?
next, if the hov lane is lightly loaded, and the other neighboring lanes are slow and packed, can you ask why there is an hov lane?
keep working on that one.......
I did talk to my dealer about a trade for another bybrid however he was only willing to offer me $8000.00 on my 2002 because of the high mileage?
Any feed back about high miles and trade in value would be appreciated.
Thanks
Angela
Thank you! :shades:
Obviously, if the traction battery goes out, it becomes a 3000 lb paperweight until it is towed to the dealer. The HSD has some advantages over the Honda IMA, but this is the drawback to HSD.
maintenance was suggested at this point. She printed out the list and
it came to $379. Of course 2/3 of it were "inspections". The only
work on it was the oil change, the engine air filter, the a/c air
filter (both of which I'll do myself) and engine coolant replacement
and inverter fluid replacement. Does anyone know what the "inverter"
fluid replacement is? I asked them what it would cost just to flush
the engine and inverter fluids. The inverter would be $250 and the
engine $200. Sheesh. I'm having them change the oil. I'll think
about the other two. Any ideas or opinions? - Rick
JP
Meanwhile the Prius guide suggests oil/oil filter changes every 5,000 mi. and at 15,000 an inspection of certain items, same thing at 30,000 except to replace the air filter...that's it.
I plan to adhere to the Prius' plan except I think I should change the oil at 4,000.
My main concern, however, is that while the dealer's plan suggests replacing the timing belt at 60,000, I can't find any suggested replacement of the timing belt in the Prius guide straight through to 120,000 mi. Did I miss something here?
Hope this helps.
Toyota Ken
Toyota Ken
Thanks.
Thank you!
The tires are basic rim protectors and don't hold the road well, but they ride okay and are fine for non spirited driving. I have my doubts they would do well in the snow. The car comes with traction control so even with these tires you should be able to get around during the winter.
I still have my SUV (MDX) and find it nicer for long drives. Nothng wrong with the Prius for long drives, just not as nice as the bigger (more room inside) car. I'm find that the Prius A/C has to work hard to keep me cool on hot days (95 plus), while my other cars don't. The Prius needs recirculated air and more fan speed, but gets the job done - with more wind inside and more fan noise.
I've seen other posts that changing tires on a Prius makes a significant positive change in ride, quiet, and handling while not hurting mpg much.
How does the maintenance differ for this hybrid vs. non-hybrid auto?
How does it handle in snow?
How long does the battery last? And what's the typical price to replace it?
Thanks,
carol7565
For driving in the snow, it is front wheel drive, so works well, you may want to invest in snow tires if you're in a snowy region of the country.
Batteries have lasted well over 200k for several owners and there have been no issues with many owners over 100k on them. They're made up of smaller "blocks" of batteries, so you don't have to replace the whole battery pack if there is an issue, just one of the MANY smaller packs, and regardless, they're covered for 8yrs/100,000 miles.
Hope this helps.
Ken
In short, winter performance was no different to me than with any other car I've drive in a snowy climate. My Prius did seem to provide warm air sooner which I attribute to the faster warming of the engine due to the stored, warm, coolant. I did have a slight decrease in mileage due to cold and winter fuel mixes but it was still in the low to mid 40's on average. In better weather I was averaging closer to 50 MPG. John1701a has dealt with this question extensively here and on his site, john1701a.com if you need more detail.
Thanks
of Instruments and Controls: Gauges, Meters and Service Reminder
Indicators", item (j) in the "Service reminder indicators and warning
buzzers" section.
http://smg.toyotapartsandservice.com/index.php?vehicle=Prius
Call around to service shops in your area to find out what the going rate is for the listed services. (Most services is just a oil/filter change and tire rotation. US 2001-2003 Prius is 6 months or 7500 miles, US 2004-? Prius is 6 months or 5000 miles, in other countries the period is usually longer.)
The Prius performs like any other FWD car of its weight class. I would suggest getting a set of snow tires, though.
The Prius doesn't use a CVT, it uses a Hybrid Synergy Drive. I distinguish them because the CVT technology generally has a belt (usually made of metal) that enables continuous gearing. The HSD uses planetary gears, a more reliable design.
I haven't seen any reports of failures on the HSD.
Good idea? Bad Idea? Anybody have one?
The strip on my Accord has saved my door several times...I don't want the Prius door to be dinged likewise. I will be buying a Prius, within a month or so so that the vehicle is delivered next year. Will be my first new car...
Thanks!
The CVT belts are pretty reliable, unlike the CVT of a decade ago. They are metal now.
BTW, timing belts are still present in the engines - I believe the Prius also has a timing belt for the ICE.
Thanks.