Toyota Prius: Problems & Solutions - READ ONLY

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What is this discussion about? Toyota Prius, Hybrid Cars, Hatchback

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#164 of 711 Accelerator stuck on 2 month old Prius by reddoch Mar 21, 2005 (2:23 pm)
I own a 3 month old Prius and our music teacher owns a 2 month old Prius. She had the accelerator stick the other day and she had to slam on the brakes. Even so, she hit a wall and although there air bag did not deploy, the bumper needs to be replaced. Anyone else experience this? Do insurance companies track this for safety purposes?
#165 of 711 Almost Every Case.... by jrct9454 Mar 21, 2005 (3:27 pm)
...of the kind of situation you describe has been traced to the driver hitting the wrong pedal, or accidentally covering the brake and accelerator with the same foot. You can report it to the NHTSA - insurance companies depend on them for stats. My skepticism that there is anything actually wrong with the car runs very deeply, however.
#166 of 711 New Owner Questions by drtravel47 Mar 21, 2005 (8:19 pm)
Greetings all Just got a Prius last Friday and am still confused about a few things 1. Is the bottom part of the hatchback window connected to the defroster? When I turned on the rear defroster, the top defogged fast, but the bottom did nothing. 2. I'm totally confused about the Consumption display. I drove today about 20 miles over 35 minutes. It began at about 25 mph (it always seems to start low), then jumped up to 50 ish, and at one time jumped to 75, then back to 50. Sometimes, the little car icons appeared (2 of them), other times, only a half of one. There seems to be no relation to MPGs and the icons. Can someone explain this? 3. Can you make the lights on the steering wheel brighter? I can hardly find them at night? 4. Is the MPG average accurate. I filled up today for the first time. My calculations said 37 MPG, but the display had me in the mid 40s. 5. Does the battery ever get fully charged. When I bought the car, it was in the blue zone. It usually gets to one green bar, and only one time have I seen it with 2 green bars. Is this OK? 6. Finally, is there a way where I don't have to undo the compressor every time I want the heat on? I always wind up 'unclicking' A/C, which I assume is the compressor to save energy and improve gas mileage. Thanks in advance! Replies to this message: stevewa (Mar 23, 2005 12:18 am) toycash (Mar 23, 2005 7:22 am)
#167 of 711 1. Back Window Noise====2. Air Conditioning vs. Heat by drtravel47 Mar 22, 2005 (12:08 pm)
1. Back window noise. There is SO MUCH NOISE when the back windows are open it is PAINFUL. Besides this, the radio begins to sounds like flub, flub, flub, flub. 2. Air Conditioning vs. Heat: Maybe I wasn't clear on this before. When I turn on the heat, the A/C button is automatically lit. I assume this means that the compressor is working, which, of course, is not only not needed in cold dry weather, but wastes energy. So, I shut off the A/C button and run the heat. Why can't I just run heat wo/ A/C? Thanks again--in advance. David Replies to this message: systems_joe (May 21, 2005 1:47 am)
#168 of 711 Re: New Owner Questions [drtravel47] by stevewa Mar 23, 2005 (12:18 am)
Replying to: drtravel47 (Mar 21, 2005 8:19 pm) I have a "Classic" Prius, but I can answer some of your questions. 2. The car icons represent regenerated power from the brakes. That's "free" electricity you recoup from slowing or coasting. It is unrelated to the MPG. 4. The MPG readings are somewhat controversial in all these cars. It depends a lot on how consistent you are at the fill-up. If you take 5 tanks and average the result, then average out the display readings, you're likely to see a closer number. 5. It's perfectly normal that the battery not get fully charged. You always want to have some room in the battery in case you get an opportunity for some more "free" electricity, like a big downhill. 6. In the current Prius the A/C is run by an electric motor, so it has a lower impact on your mileage. In the older models it was run off the engine, so turning off A/C did make more of a difference. Hope this helps.
#169 of 711 Re: New Owner Questions [drtravel47] by toycash Mar 23, 2005 (7:22 am)
Replying to: drtravel47 (Mar 21, 2005 8:19 pm) That bottom section of the window should defrost also. All Toyotas with climate control will show the A/C light when you put them in Auto mode. This doesn't necessarily mean that the A/C is actually running, only that it is available if the computer decides it's needed. And, if it's below a certain temp., (40, I think) the compressor won't run at all, even if the light is on.
#170 of 711 Re: MSG 134 Engine problem- faulty computer? [gs80] by fred8 Mar 23, 2005 (11:31 am)
Replying to: gs80 (Feb 28, 2005 4:50 am) Had the same problem with my 04, 22,000 miles. Pulling out of a parking lot I suddenly got a string of error messages, including the red triangle and yellow circles with exclamation marks, brake advisories and heaven knows what else. The car stopped with the "ready" message off but the rest of the dashboard on. Couldn't turn the power off. I was running on the remote key, and finally tried inserting the fob into the dashboard slot, which allowed turning off. After a minute or two I hit "power" again and the car started but left three error messages in addition to the red and yellow little devils. I called my Toyota dealer, who suggested driving it carefully in to them (about 25 miles through rush hour LA traffic), which I did very gingerly but without obvious problems. On arrival at the dealership I absent-mindedly turned off the power and removed the fob. A minute or two later I turned it back on again using the remote key, and now all error messages had vanished. I left it for the dealership to look at, though their Prius techie said he had no idea of the cause. They reprogrammed it and told me to bring it back if the problem recurred. Since then (about a month) there have been no problems, but, like previous posters, I must say I've lost a little confidence in what I'd previously felt was probably the best car I've ever owned. The sooner Toyota honchos address this problem and issue a fix I believe the better off we're all going to be. I had to abandon an older Mercedes because of intermittent electrical problems resulting in my wife refusing to drive it any more, and I now notice her eyeing the Prius in a similarly suspicious manner. My reassurances to her are beginning to sound a little hollow, even to me! Replies to this message: stevedebi (Mar 28, 2005 2:18 pm) oregon_trail (Apr 10, 2005 1:05 am) stevewa (Apr 10, 2005 10:29 pm) and 2 more...
#171 of 711 Re: Horn Honking [gumbeegreen] by worldpaz Mar 24, 2005 (12:24 pm)
Replying to: gumbeegreen (Dec 09, 2004 7:36 am) Hello, I'm experiencing the very same thing with our 2005 Prius that my husband & I purchased last December 04. Any resolution to the problem? My car is in the shop now for the first time having our 10K maintenance but we've been having this experience just before our 5K (my husband thought it was a fluke). The service people said they've never heard of this problem. Thanks.
#172 of 711 Carwash instructions by kjvd Mar 24, 2005 (2:07 pm)
The guys at the carwash don't know what to do with a hybrid, and I'm not exactly sure, either. I tell them to put it in neutral (press Park and then joystick to N), and let it go. They usually turn it off, and I don't know what that does when it gets pushed through. Then the wipe guy at the other doesn't know what to do to restart it. I haven't seen anything in the manual on this, and would like to type up a sheet to give them, or at least read from, when I go in.
#173 of 711 Why on earth buy a prius? by johnnyringo Mar 24, 2005 (2:13 pm)
I am currently in the market for a new car... Although I usually buy American I was considering a prius for the gas milege... but after reading the posts here it sounds like the prius is more trouble than its worth. Is prius ownership really a non stop trip to the toyota dealer for repairs?... even if under waranty my time is worth too much to have to spend that much time worrying about weather or not my car will start. Replies to this message: toycash (Mar 24, 2005 3:26 pm)