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Toyota Prius: Problems & Solutions
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Always remembering that the Prius will not run at all if the battery is below 20%. The software is supposed to keep it above this level.
more than a Corolla which gets about the same mileage. I would like to hear from other people who have had the recall done to reprogram the ECU.
Granted any car that is flooded may be a total loss, but for me the bottom line is: as much as I like the (fair weather) mileage (definitely suffers in colder weather), the Hybrid technology is still vulnerable, and I won't be getting another one right away. My only hope now is that my Prius held its value & it's worth more than I owe ~ :sick:
Happy Motoring Prius owners - it was fun while it lasted!
I'd like to know too. Wasn't mentioned in the owner's guide. Starting to get self conscious every time I back out of a parking space. Thanks in advance.
+prius +beeping +reverse
i'm sure you'd find hits that address disabling this safety function.
the issue is, is this a good thing or a bad thing?
i presume the warning exists to make sure you are attentive to the fact that the drivetrain is engaged, perhaps because the engine is quiet and you have good cabin insulation from the engine compartment.
if i owned one of these cars, i think i'd leave it enabled. i spend perhaps 0.1% of my driving time each day in reverse.
anyway, if someone outside the vehicle could hear it (?) and cause them to look, that would be safer, and also might get more people to take notice of an advanced technology vehicle.
vmccaul, "Toyota Prius Owners: Accessories & Modifications" #30, 1 May 2005 11:44 am
the issue is, is this a good thing or a bad thing?
i presume the warning exists to make sure you are attentive to the fact that the drivetrain is engaged, perhaps because the engine is quiet and you have good cabin insulation from the engine compartment.
No, there's a gear indicator on the dash that tells you what gear you're currently in, like many other automatic trans. cars. If I'm the one driving and not know which gear I've selected, then I've got serious problems. If the car makes it hard to tell, then *it* has issues.
anyway, if someone outside the vehicle could hear it (?) and cause them to look, that would be safer, and also might get more people to take notice of an advanced technology vehicle.
I think the beeping is there for the same reason dump trucks have them, to compensate for rear view blind spots.
Now the Prius's rear blindspot is nowhere as bad as that of a dump truck and I want my car to be noticed for its unique styling, not because it reminds people around me of construction sites.
Toyota did so many things right on this car, but they've really screwed up on this one reverse beeping thing. First, was leaving it on by default. Second, they made it so ridiculously convoluted to toggle it on or off. (Read the link above and you'll know what I mean). This pretty much ensures once I manage to turn it off, I would not likely turn it back on again. So the few times when I might actually want it on, such as in a crowded shopping center parking garage during Christmas shopping season, I won't have it available. *Grumble*
May I point out that the beeping is not heard on the outside, shoppers wouldn't hear anything anyway.
Serious? Then it's useless on TOP of annoying.
What was Toyota thinking? :P
If it's any consolation, your Prius is to be admired not so much for fuel mileage but the lack of emissions. Regardless of whether the Corolla can come close to your fuel mileage, it will never come even remotely close to being as clean-burning and environmentally friendly.
A poster last winter in New England said the same thing happened to him. He just parks his Prius in the winter and drives his SUV. I think the problem is the skid control won't let the wheels spin. I'm sure there are others that drive their Prius in the snow. Not many have complained.
Yup, it is even more interesting for the HH and RX400H owners with AWD. The rear electric motors will stop functioning if they get too hot, which is why those vehicles are not really meant for off-roading.
Just out of curiosity, wasn't the ICE motor still driving the wheels?
While I agree with you that the engine should not have shut down (okay for the motor to turn off), I can also understand the reason - in a sense. With no traction from spinning tires, steering capability (directional control) is reduced and maybe cut to nil. Therefore, in this sense, stopping the wheels from spinning can make directional control better - a positive safety decision.
Taking away all driver control of the engine seems, to me, to be too drastic, especially since it apparently has a rev limiter.
I had a low traction situation several years ago in a 300 hp FWD car with traction control. Wet conditions and too much gas pedal. As soon as the wheels broke free (very low road speed), engine power was drastically reduced and the car seemed to stop accelerating, but at least the engine kept running.
I also agree with other posts that better tires would probably decrease the chances of this happening. The rim protectors the car comes with are not noted for great traction.
Please, does anyone have any advice on how to maintain the Bluetooth connection?? I of course would rather not have to buy a new phone.
Also, a friend suggested that my problems may exist because the 2006 Prius supports only version 1.1 of Bluetooth, whereas my phone might be v. 1.2. Any thoughts?
Thanks in advance.
This has to get fixed by Toyota. The wheels need to spin a little in order to get forward motion started again..
also at the time the auto is braked to a stop, if by chance the brake is momentarily released and applied again, there is also a noticeable clunk and vibration in the car. I don't think this is correct, and I think we should all write to Toyota and complain.
Would like to start out with good tires instead of experiencing the troubles some have had here. Previously used Michelon Harmony tires on my 2002 Camry and they were the best I ever owned. Thank you for your comments.
Any help would be appreciated!
Note, when the power turns off on the car, so does the power to the BT transmitter, it will disconnect. My v360 takes about 5-8 seconds to transfer back to the phone, or, inversely, takes about 5-8 seconds to transfer to the car when i'm talking on the phone and then turn on the car. It's irritating when I forget that delay.
Where is the latest, greatest, info on the 2006 PRIUS and Civics located??.. I want/need actual user reviews, not dealer hype.
What are you hybrid owners thinking, hearing, experiencing with your vehicles, etc..???
I test drove a new entry level civic yesterday, before the blizzard hit. Busy suspension, not bad. I am interested, very interested.. Considering that I almost bought a new Harley for a bit more$$$,,, I re figured my plans and decided to go for a New car instead.. But, after reading about the Prius, I would like more info before committing to one model or another. Going to be one of these models.
As far as the tires go on hybrids, I would be willing to bet that the problem is with the stock oem tires... The ones on the Civic Hybrid yesterday were Michellins avx4??? something or others.. They are AB rated with Tw OF 320.. That should tell you something right there. The rolling resistance is going to be good, and I am guessing it wasn't by chance these tires were chosen by the manufacture with increased mileage in mind. But, in NE winter months we need sticky tires, and on a light car, narrow aggresive treaded tires..
I once had a VW rabbit that came with 195 tires. IT was a blast to drive on warm days.. The first snow storm with it I came down i91 from Bradley Airport sideways toward Hartford!! The tires were too wide for the weight of the vehicle and road surface. I stepped down to 165/75 Gislaved rubbers and then could OUTPERFORM SUV's GOING UPHILL IN 6" snow!!!! Tire choice is the key.
'Triangle of Death' event. I had one also but it was because I was driving with the 'Fill me up, stupid' flashing and the computer shut down the ICE. The key is that the software protects the Ni-M Hydride battery. It will shut down the system if there is a risk, like a constant voltage drain, of the main battery being damaged.
The more you drive the higher will be the charge. I drive 150 mi/day and after the first 20 mi or so it's always in the 'pink'. Short trips will kill your FE and prolly never get the charge up very much.
BTW.. the charge will never reach the top and, see posts above about dead batteries, it should never go below 2 blue bars. This is the design which makes the batteries go for the life of the vehicle. The State of Charge (SoC) is carefully controlled by the computer.
On my 75 mi trip home I can drive the last two miles in EV mode using no fuel. The 'bio-feedback' mpg bar is pinned to 100 mpg.
my own '05 which I took home on Nov 30th past.
For a comparo between the new Civic ( great vehicle ) and the Prius ( revolutionary ) see Edmunds here; they did it already.
How deep do you want an explanation? My normal delivery of a Prius takes 60-90 min before the new owner takes it home. The Navi/BT features add nearly an hour by themselves if the new owner is new to Navi systems.
Want first hand driver reactions or all the techy things to watch for /learn? There is a wealth of info on certain places, a treasure trove of technical specs etc., that I shouldnt mention here.
Tires, pressure, diagnostics, easter eggs, driving methods, first person reviews, you name it.
First person driving reations:
Give me a Prius, anyone's Prius, and I will get FE ratings from 35 mpg to 75 mpg. Tell me what number you want and I'll get it for you on any Prius. On my own, I travel at ~65 mph for 140 mi everyday and coast/cruise for 10 at City speeds. I average, data posted, ~ 46 mpg in two mo's of winter driving.
One 'Triangle of Death' event. proly my fault. The Prius drives better than any of my last 4 Camry's. I love the Electic Steering and the EV torque boost when passing. I also love the seats and position much better than my Camry's.
The one thing I dislike is that it wanders too easily. As noted in the posters above I have the Integrity's and soon I'll swap them out for Michelins as I've done for all the Camry's. While I used to live in the Snow Belt up by you, I'm now on the ocean in NC and it's dead flat.
Good point which is not known very well. Although you can take the risk to just leave it in the garage at home while in Fla for 3 mo's it's not a good idea.
Guidelines:
1) If you are going to leave it for more than 5 days, disable the SKS antennas with the button under the steering column.
2) If you are going to leave it for more than 2 weeks, then take the wiring harness off the positive terminal in the fuse box and reconnect it when you return. This shuts down the entire vehicle. You will need the mini-key in order to open the drivers door, in order to pop the hood, inorder to reconnect the wiring harness.
I have also seen my battery gauge hit 2 pink bars, usually when going up certain hills around where I live or travel. Ironically, the hill that I take to work (and back) doesn't induce this state. Go figure that one out...
Only once I have seen my battery guage go down to 1 pink bar. This was when I ran out of gas while traveling up a hill (that same hill I take to work). By the time I got to that 1 bar, the car wasn't moving at all and was basically telling me to go stuff myself. Or rather, to go stuff some gas in the tank. A call to AAA, a few gallons of gas, and a couple of "reboots" of the car and things were fine. My point is that no matter what I tried, the car refused to let the battery be depleted further than that 1 pink bar.
I wouldn't be too worried if your battery gauge never hits 7 or 8 green bars. I also wouldn't be too worried if it hits 2 pink bars unless you've run out of gas and are limping along in electric only. I have been stuck in stop-n-go traffic when the battery gauge hit 2 pink bars. There was no need to panic, pull over, or get off the freeway. The engine kicked in as needed to recharge the battery or provide propulsion and things were fine.
I know that in the case of my 2005 Prius I have been able to leave the car parked, with SKS on, for 2 weeks without any problems. Car started right on up.
I also know that the car is perfectly capable of being jumpstarted normally. The procedure to do so is in the manual and specific connection points in the engine compartment are provided for this. Luckily I haven't had to do this. However, I know from personal experience that you can also jump start another car with the Prius using the same method/connections. Just hookup things up like you would if you were being jumpstarted, turn your car to IG-ON (ready mode) and let the other person start their car. I recently had to do this for a Porsche owner here at work and there was no problem.
Remember, the 12-volt battery in the Prius is mainly there to provide power for the alarm/smart key system and essentially boot the computers that control the traction battery. Yes, it will also supply power for the radio, headlights, door lights, etc, when you are not in IG-ON (ready) mode. While in IG-ON mode, the stuff that requires 12-volt power will get the power from the traction-battery, but via an inverter (which also charges the 12-volt battery).