Toyota Prius: Problems & Solutions - READ ONLY

711 messages, Last post on Oct 27, 2006 at 4:23 AM

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#655 of 711 Re: Prius in the Snow [gagrice] by midnightcowboy Sep 08, 2006 (11:02 am)
Replying to: gagrice (Sep 08, 2006 6:24 am) Gagprice, I will have to ascede to your years of driving experience, I have only been driving since 1963 and in my limited experince RWD sucked in snow and ice. Now if you didn't have snow tires and a if you had a very low ground clearance then maybe just maybe a specific FWD would have more problems than a specifc RWD. But itill contend for most cars and for most people, a FWD does much much better than a RWD in the snow and ice. The funniest to see are AWD or 4WD they can get going better and therefore they drive faster, but all cars stop the same or DON'T. I think more in part is what are host, Mr. Shiftright said "Just a wild guess, I'd say 50% driver experience, 25% tires, 25% car itself. My hat's off to anyone who can get a light RWD pickup truck through the snow." I would chnge the percentages somewhat, I don't think drivier experience is that big of factor maybe 1/3 (33%). If Mr. Shiftright gives hats off to a RWD pickup driver , I would give hats off to a 60s mucle car driver that could do the same; I had a 1970 Oldsmobile 442, but any of those vintage cars would do. The absolute best car I had for getting around in the snow was a 1970 Audi LS 5-speed , 5 cylinder, FWD. Would drive up snow and ice covered hills when other cars were in the ditch. However, the Audi mechanics knew me by first name since I visited them almost weekly. Lately I haven't e countered any snow or ice problems either FWD or RWD, but then there isn't any snow or ice here. MidCow Is you name like "sticker shock" ? Replies to this message: dmathews3 (Sep 08, 2006 1:29 pm) midnightcowboy (Sep 11, 2006 7:14 am)
#656 of 711 Re: Prius in the Snow [midnightcowboy] by dmathews3 Sep 08, 2006 (1:29 pm)
Replying to: midnightcowboy (Sep 08, 2006 11:02 am) remember back when the very first Toronados came out in 1965. Front wheel drive. They built a rear drive one for advertisements that they showed against the front drive on a solid ice road. The FWD walked away from the RWD. Replies to this message: midnightcowboy (Sep 11, 2006 7:14 am)
#657 of 711 Re: Prius in the Snow [Mr_Shiftright] by stevedebi Sep 08, 2006 (1:42 pm)
Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Sep 08, 2006 7:33 am) Is everyone ignoring the reports that have been posted in this forum, detailing how the Prius can render itself immobile in snow situations, due to the fact that the traction control cannot be disabled? I mean, getting stuck in the snow with the car refusing to move at all - because the computer is preventing it - seems a bit frustrating to me... Some posts have claimed that Toyota changed the Prius to allow some wheel movement in these situations, but I have never seen justification for those claims. Replies to this message: Mr_Shiftright (Sep 08, 2006 2:34 pm) kdhspyder (Sep 08, 2006 2:43 pm) user777 (Sep 10, 2006 5:31 am) kdhspyder (Sep 10, 2006 6:30 am) and 11 more...
#658 of 711 Re: Prius in the Snow [stevedebi] by Mr_Shiftright HOST Sep 08, 2006 (2:34 pm)
Replying to: stevedebi (Sep 08, 2006 1:42 pm) no, no, I think we all understand that Prius owners have long had to deal with the TC acting up on slick inclines, ice, etc. and rendering the vehicle somewhat immobile. There seems to be no real solution other than to try the non-Prius aspects of a cure---that is, driver technique and better tires. I have heard (but have no idea if it works) that if you just keep the pedal floored eventually the Prius computers will allow you to creep through the slippery part or up the hill. But your problem is REAL, no doubt about that....question is, what can one do? Better tires, maybe "charging" a hill, maybe reversing the car before going forward again, etc.
#659 of 711 Re: Prius in the Snow [stevedebi] by kdhspyder Sep 08, 2006 (2:43 pm)
Replying to: stevedebi (Sep 08, 2006 1:42 pm) Is everyone ignoring the reports that have been posted in this forum, detailing how the Prius can render itself immobile in snow situations, due to the fact that the traction control cannot be disabled? For the 2006 models and later this changed. Replies to this message: user777 (Sep 10, 2006 5:31 am) kdhspyder (Sep 10, 2006 6:30 am) stevedebi (Sep 11, 2006 10:14 am) and 10 more...
#660 of 711 Noise from front of car by tico_cat1 Sep 08, 2006 (5:45 pm)
I just purchased a brand new 2006 Prius 2 days ago. As soon as I brought it home, I noticed a whirring noise that would last about 5 seconds coming from the front of the car. It only seems to happen when I am at low speeds-- sometimes when braking, sometimes not. I think it is the same sound as when I put my foot on the brake before powering the car on. When I called the service department at Toyota the person had never heard of such an issue. Is anyone familiar with this sort of problem? Replies to this message: kdhspyder (Sep 09, 2006 5:48 am) pathstar1 (Sep 09, 2006 8:19 am)
#661 of 711 Re: Noise from front of car [tico_cat1] by kdhspyder Sep 09, 2006 (5:48 am)
Replying to: tico_cat1 (Sep 08, 2006 5:45 pm) If it's when you are braking to a stop it's the friction brakes being applied. If it's that then it's perfectly normal as part of the regen braking. It just sounds different.
#662 of 711 Re: Noise from front of car [tico_cat1] by pathstar1 Sep 09, 2006 (8:19 am)
Replying to: tico_cat1 (Sep 08, 2006 5:45 pm) Be aware also that the car had to be designed so it would operate properly without the ICE (internal combustion engine) operating. To get most things the gas engine provides on other cars they had to put in electic units, such as the A/C, some coolant pumps, etc. There may be an electric vacuum pump for the brakes.
#663 of 711 Re: Prius in the Snow [kdhspyder] by user777 Sep 10, 2006 (5:31 am)
Replying to: kdhspyder (Sep 08, 2006 2:43 pm) kdhspyder, you wrote: For the 2006 models and later this changed. would you know what they changed? assuming it was software only, perhaps a programming change is available for the earlier models? i'm thinking however, that the modules associated with these functions also changed and a reprogramming isn't all that would be required to upgrade the older units. Replies to this message: kdhspyder (Sep 10, 2006 6:30 am) stevedebi (Sep 11, 2006 10:14 am) kdhspyder (Sep 11, 2006 5:00 pm) and 9 more...
#664 of 711 Re: Prius in the Snow [user777] by kdhspyder Sep 10, 2006 (6:30 am)
Replying to: user777 (Sep 10, 2006 5:31 am) In the situation where the Trac Ctrl brakes the wheels to keep them from overspinning, which in prior models caused the vehicle not to move now the computer allows some spinning to allow the vehicle to move forward slowly as it's supposed to do. Whereas in the past on a slippery climb the Trac would keep the vehicle from spinning out of control but also wouldn't allow any forward movement. Now the spinning is kept to a minimum but forward motion is allowed. I can't speak for the older models since I don't know if it's just software or might also be mechanical. Replies to this message: stevedebi (Sep 11, 2006 10:14 am) kdhspyder (Sep 11, 2006 5:00 pm) stevedebi (Sep 12, 2006 9:29 am) and 8 more...