Toyota Prius: Problems & Solutions - READ ONLY

711 messages, Last post on Oct 27, 2006 at 3:23 AM

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#114 of 711 Re: 2005 Rear Window View [tigertale] by ruking1 Jan 31, 2005 (3:11 pm)
Replying to: tigertale (Jan 31, 2005 3:06 pm) Yeah, actually there is a pretty solid way to work around it. Yes most folks have thir mirror array adjusted incorrectly. Basically it involves adjusting your side mirrors and rear view mirror.
#115 of 711 Lower Mileage in Cold Weather by cobi Jan 31, 2005 (4:59 pm)
I have an '04 Prius with 9,800 miles. I seemed to get better mileage before cold weather set in. Has anyone else noticed this? Thanks! Replies to this message: tempusvn (Jan 31, 2005 5:56 pm) cobi (Feb 03, 2005 9:13 am) mcr1 (Feb 21, 2005 4:31 am)
#116 of 711 Re: Lower Mileage in Cold Weather [cobi] by tempusvn Jan 31, 2005 (5:56 pm)
Replying to: cobi (Jan 31, 2005 4:59 pm) All cars get lower mileage in cold weather. It's just more noticeable in the Prius. Lots of factors can contribute to lower mileage in the cold. 1) Check your tire pressure. Your tire pressure will drop as it gets colder and if you don't keep checking it and compensate, you will wind up running on under-inflated tires, which will kill mileage (and may be unsafe). 2) See if your locality uses oxygenated (Reformulated or RF) gasoline in the winter. This gas formulation contains less energy and results in lower mileage. This alone can drop mileage by 2-3% minimum and more in some cases. 3) Cold air is denser than Warm air, making it harder to push the car through and decreasing mileage. 4) The Engine takes longer to reach operating temperature, and cools off faster due to cold air over the radiator, meaning it must run more often. Lots of people block a portion of the radiator in winter to cut down on this effect. 5) The Engine is also providing your cabin heat, so it has to keep the coolant hot for you too. 6) The Engine is also keeping the catalytic converters up to effective temperature, so even if the engine is warm, and you are warm, if the catalytic converters cool off, the Prius will run the engine to heat them back up. Remember, the Prius is tuned to minimize emissions, not maximize mileage. It will sacrifice mileage if necessary to keep the emissions system working at peak performance. 7) The HV battery gets cold too. It's warmed by cabin air, and by charge/discharge cycling, so it won't be as efficient initially either. 8) Short trips that don't let anything warm up will be even worse on mileage in the cold than they are under normal conditions. Gasoline doesn't combust as efficiently in a cold engine, so there's a double hit for short trips, which are bad enough even in warm weather. If you think your mileage drop is way out of line, get your dealer to check, but a drop of 5 MPG or more when going from 80 degrees to 20 degrees isn't surprising depending on all the possible factors. Replies to this message: cobi (Feb 03, 2005 9:13 am)
#117 of 711 Re: Lower Mileage in Cold Weather [tempusvn] by cobi Feb 03, 2005 (9:13 am)
Replying to: tempusvn (Jan 31, 2005 5:56 pm) Thanks for the great info! Come on warm weather!
#118 of 711 Re: Terrible Problem [jebster] by stevewa Feb 05, 2005 (8:25 pm)
Replying to: jebster (Jan 30, 2005 1:37 pm) QUOTE: Hey! Got a '05 and, although pleased in general with the car (av 48MPG - 500+ Miles per tank) I have a terrible issue. The CD player wont display titles of songs! ANSWER: Audio CDs don't normally contain the title and artist information. There is an exception, some CDs have a "CD-Text" logo which indicates they can provide this information on the display, but not many CD players support it. Your PC can display the titles because it looks at the CD and based on the tracks and times it looks up the info on the internet. Since we don't have internet in our cars yet, that doesn't work on the road RDS is a system that sends short text messages from FM radio stations to your receiver. Many FM stations use this to display song titles and artists which you can see on your display when you bring up the audio screen. It also can indicate the "format" of the radio station which can allow you to categorize all the stations in your radio, but many stations change format often enough that the format info in the RDS stream may or may not match what the station actually airs .
#119 of 711 Re: Quality issues with 2004 Prius [ahurst] by pmichaels1 Feb 09, 2005 (5:46 pm)
Replying to: ahurst (Jan 08, 2005 2:56 am) Thank you for your message. I had thought about this occurring because of the desire to get more cars out. I think it's an anomoly as well, though there was a Wall Street Journal in Fall '04 talking about some difficulties Toyota is having in maintaining the culture of quality throughout the world. But I wouldn't expect this to happen in the plant where the Prius is manufactured.
#120 of 711 Re: Quality issues with 2004 Prius [findir] by pmichaels1 Feb 09, 2005 (5:47 pm)
Replying to: findir (Jan 10, 2005 11:08 am) Thanks for your reply. Glad you are having a good experience with your Prius. I loved my '01, so I'm a little envious.
#121 of 711 Re: Filling gas tank [fred8] by stephane Feb 11, 2005 (7:34 pm)
Replying to: fred8 (Sep 03, 2004 4:19 pm) Go to your dealer ask if your vehicle is included in the VIN break for TSB that is ther to resolve this issue. There is a redesigned "filler neck" to address the issue you are having. Only if your VIN applies if it is after counter measure you already have the latest part. If in that case you may have a defective gas tank (the tank is made up a metal body with a rubber bladder that expands and contracts, it may be defective). Consult with your dealer.
#122 of 711 Re: Starter battery short lived [engin2] by rab2 Feb 15, 2005 (5:57 pm)
Replying to: engin2 (Jan 25, 2005 11:03 pm) Ironically, I replaced my 2002 Prius starter battery today! I have 24K miles on mine. I had problems with the started battery while it was under warranty (late last year). If I did not drive the car for over 4 days, I found my battery dead. This year, I left for a week (and had to charge the battery), left again for 4 days (and had to charge the battery) and finally gave up. I told the dealer that I had had the problem while under warranty, but to no avail. The new, heavy duty battery cost about $165 plus an additional $130 for the mounting kit. Then, yet another $60 to install it. So, consider yourself lucky that you only paid $200. I have a 2005 Prius on order. I hope it already comes with a heavy duty battery. RAB Replies to this message: rfruth (Feb 15, 2005 6:31 pm) stevedebi (Feb 16, 2005 1:11 pm) rfruth (Feb 16, 2005 2:21 pm) and 1 more...
#123 of 711 Re: Starter battery short lived [rab2] by rfruth Feb 15, 2005 (6:31 pm)
Replying to: rab2 (Feb 15, 2005 5:57 pm) Does the `02 Prius even have a starter motor (the `04s sure don't, they use the big traction battery to start the ICE) as for telling the dealer you had a problem early on was it acknolged in writing ? Replies to this message: stevedebi (Feb 16, 2005 1:11 pm) rfruth (Feb 16, 2005 2:21 pm) gagrice (Feb 16, 2005 2:39 pm)