Toyota Prius: Problems & Solutions - READ ONLY

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

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#124 of 711 Re: Starter battery short lived [rfruth] by stevedebi Feb 16, 2005 (1:11 pm)
Replying to: rfruth (Feb 15, 2005 6:31 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 ?" The 2004 Prius certainly does have a secondary battery, and I'm under the impression that the vehicle won't start without that battery working. Anyone out there ever started the 04 Prius with a dead secondary battery? Replies to this message: rfruth (Feb 16, 2005 2:21 pm) gagrice (Feb 16, 2005 2:39 pm)
#125 of 711 Re: Starter battery short lived [stevedebi] by rfruth Feb 16, 2005 (2:21 pm)
Replying to: stevedebi (Feb 16, 2005 1:11 pm) Did I say or imply that there was no secondary battery ? Didn't mean to cause there is and yes both need to be in good working order for the Prius to operate normally but back to the original post that said they replaced a 2002 Prius starter battery for $ 165+130+60 which would be a real sweetheart of a deal, not for the 12 v though which could be considered the starter battery... Replies to this message: gagrice (Feb 16, 2005 2:39 pm)
#126 of 711 Re: Starter battery short lived [rfruth] by gagrice Feb 16, 2005 (2:39 pm)
Replying to: rfruth (Feb 16, 2005 2:21 pm) not for the 12 v though which could be considered the starter battery A poster last year paid $300 for the 12 Volt battery in the Prius. It does seem high, but it is a Toyota. They did not get to be the highest profit automaker giving cars & parts away.
#127 of 711 Prius' In The Northeast by doyle99 Feb 17, 2005 (11:10 am)
I live in the northeast here (NJ) and do most of my driving between Jersey City, Newark and Manhattan. A lot of the posts I've read here are from folks in warmer climates. Does anyone posting on this board drive in the tri-state area and what if anything have you noticed about the Prius' ability to handle the hot / cold seasons? Also, I was thinking that having a Prius would be great for all of the city driving that I do, but after reading a lot of these posts, I'm questioning the mileage claims by Toyota. One other comment... I swear by the STP gas treatment stuff. When I bought my 89 Caddy about 6 years ago, it got 6.5 MPG. After using the STP treatment for about a year, I got 14 to 15 mpg in the city, and between 25 and 28 mpg on the highway (great for a land yacht). Anyone use any fuel additives in the Prius? If so, did it help? Replies to this message: mcr1 (Feb 21, 2005 4:38 am)
#128 of 711 2004 Prius accelerator assembly problem by amdcj Feb 18, 2005 (5:28 am)
I had a 2004 Prius for 6 months. I had a problem with the accelerator assembly. Toyota tried to fix it 5 times. I had to invoke the lemon law. Symptoms: As a accident evasive action I had to change lanes abruptly and accelerate full to go with the flow of traffic in the left lane. There would be a "Thump" and the acceleration would go the power of "IDLE" speed. This nearly caused two accidents as the car behind me did not see any brake lights but I was effectively braking hard. Once this happened the car would only go a maximum of 37 MPH! Toyota says the "codes" indicate the accelerator was in an "invalid position"! I checked all the forums and no one else had ever reported this problem. As a result of the lemon law I will be receiving a new 2005 Prius next week and of course will try "the maneuver" before accepting delivery.It seems to me that this would have come up with many other Prius drivers but since there was no reference in any forum I feel confident that it was truly just a lemon car. Other than this the Prius is my favorite car ever!!!!!!! 44-48 MPG average.
#129 of 711 PRIUS AUDIO SYSTEM by kemax Feb 20, 2005 (10:40 am)
I have a 2004 Prius,1 year old, and a month ago I could not get the audio system to work. Not the radio, tape, or disc player. When I go to audio I get "Audio Off" , and no matter which button I push, I get nothing. I took it to the local Toyota dealer, who said I needed a new system, which they ordered. It arrived 2 weeks later and they installed it, but when I tried it, It still did not function. They said that they would have to contact Panasonic for their technician to come and fix it. In the meantime the car sat on their roof for 2 more weeks with the dashboard torn apart. After two weeks they said that Panasonic does not have the part, and will have to backorder it from Japan. They did put the dashboard together,about 1 hour, and I now have an audio quiet car to drive. Has anyone else had that problem?
#130 of 711 Re: Question about Prius [motownusa] by mcr1 Feb 21, 2005 (4:12 am)
Replying to: motownusa (Nov 05, 2004 6:48 am) I assume the Prius he ordered has the Automatic unlock feature. This feature is constantly using battery power to communicate with the Key Fob. You can deactivate it by a switch under the steering wheel. This will greatly reduce the cars need for electricity. From what I was told by my dealer, The car may still need to be jump started.
#131 of 711 Re: 2005 Rear Window View [tigertale] by mcr1 Feb 21, 2005 (4:28 am)
Replying to: tigertale (Jan 31, 2005 3:06 pm) It does take some getting used to. But it is fine for me now . (I have had mine for a year, Not that it took me that long) I actually find the "A" pillars are more distracting. They are so big and slanted it is hard to see into a turn. But I still love mine
#132 of 711 Re: Lower Mileage in Cold Weather [cobi] by mcr1 Feb 21, 2005 (4:31 am)
Replying to: cobi (Jan 31, 2005 4:59 pm) YES!!! I will loose a little from 20-35 degrees (maybe 2-3 mpg: I get 38mpg as compared to 41mpg overall) But when it gets down to 0 to 10 degrees. I got barely 30 mpg. This was mostly city, but even when I got on the Highway, it did not pick up much
#133 of 711 Re: Prius' In The Northeast [doyle99] by mcr1 Feb 21, 2005 (4:38 am)
Replying to: doyle99 (Feb 17, 2005 11:10 am) I have found that my MPG drops significantly when temps get to 0 to 10 degrees. I normally get 41mpg i was getting 30mpg during that frosty weather in January