Edmunds.com | Inside Line | Auto Observer Your Account | Help | Directory
You are here:
![[F]](http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/townhall/webxicons/site.gif){kind=small}
Forums
Hybrid Vehicles Toyota Prius Changes You'd Like To See in the Toyota Prius
36 messages, Last post on Aug 07, 2008 at 6:19 PM
You are in the Toyota Prius Forum. Your Host is pf_flyer
|
|
|---|---|
|
We've run into a strange noise in our 2007 Prius, but only with the rear windows down and the front windows up. My wife drives that way sometimes to clear the hot air out of a car after it's been parked all day. When driven like this, there is an air pressure reverberation that is really bad. Imagine the reverberation noise (slapping of the air) you hear when a helicopter passes over -- just the air slapping noise, not the helicopter's engine noise. That's what it sounds like in the Prius when you have the front windows up and the rear windows down. Has anyone else noticed this or can anyone else duplicate it on their Prius? Obviously, the answer is to not drive with just the rear windows down, but it is an old-fashioned way of getting air into a car without being blown out by having the front windows open and it can be a less windy way of having some airflow without running the A/C. |
|
|
Replying to: oldfordman1 (May 02, 2007 5:27 am) I would LOVE it if someone would bring back vent windows!  I might want them a BIT more stylish than that, but you get the idea!  Those little windows in front of the mirrors would be great if they would open to allow air flow. I have them on my Versa too.
|
|
| I just noticed we don't have a wish list discussion for the Prius, so I'll be renaming this discussion to Changes You'd Like To See In The Toyota Prius so we have a place for folks to offer suggestions that would make the Prius even better for them! | |
|
1. I would like to see modifications to computer system to allow the user easy access to more information. With all the computing in the background that the Prius does, there is a plethora of information that a good percentage of Prius owners would like to have. It seems most people in this forum and even people I've met with Priuses seem to be tech-savvy. To them, the Prius is more than a vehicle to get from A to B. To satisfy the nerds and electro-mechanics in us, it would be nice to have all the information that would be available via an OBDII-reading device display on the built-in LCD screen, with great menu screens and graphs. If Toyota must squeeze every last bit of profit out of something like this, then offer it as an "extra" for a couple hundred dollars. I guarantee there will be takers. 2. Normal-sized spare tire. 3. Rear hatch without an interrupted window. You all know what I'm talking about if you look in the rear-view mirror. With the advances in materials these days, I'm sure Toyota could manufacture a strong and solid piece of transparent polycarbonate/glass with the same "hatch shape" and do away with the cross bar. 4. Fix the gas nozzle shutoff problem we all have with this gas tank bladder. 5. A rear window wiper that sweeps more than a token 1/4 of the window area. It's pretty pathetic how small an area it sweeps! 6. Hey, since it's a "technology car": how about three rear-view cameras! Leave the one in the middle for "reverse". Add two more cameras to look at the left and right rear quadrants to display the blind-spot when changing lanes. This could be done when the computer senses a turn signal in combination with the car's speed above some threshold. 7. More than 12 FM presets. 8. Collision-avoidance radar, like your luxury European cars are starting to include. I love my Prius! It's a great car, but I'm a perfectionist and a techno-geek. So I could go on and on, but I'll save it for another day. |
|
|
|
|
Replying to: pf_flyer (May 02, 2007 5:54 am) I thought this sound problem might be unique to hatchbacks, but neither my wife or I can remember a similar noise on our 73 Vega. Yes, we admit to having had a Vega. Hey, we bought it when it was two years old for $800, had Chevy redo the heads as they were doing for free back then, got a whole new engine when the dealer overbored the block, put nothing more into it than a brake job, and sold it three years later for $875. Before the Prius, it was the only car I ever had that got more than 40 MPG. With that small four cylinder, a three speed tranny, and no options other than a radio, we regularly got more than 40 MPG on the highway. Back to the Prius, I hope others can duplicate the sound. I don't mind owning unique cars (I also admit to owning a 76 Granada at the same time I owned the Vega), but I don't want to be the only Prius owner with noises like this in the car. I haven't received any surveys from Toyota yet (do they send them out to new owners?) but I will mention this if I have a chance to let them know what I think. Filled the tank for the first time this week. The average was 51.3 MPG for 240 miles of mixed city/highway driving. That's one thing I won't complain about. |
|
|
|
|
Replying to: pf_flyer (May 02, 2007 5:54 am) I have never noticed this noise in any other car, which is why I brought it up here. I did think it might be unique to hatchbacks, but neither my wife or I can remember the problem on our 73 Vega. Yes, we're willing to admit to having owned a Vega. Hey, we bought it when it was two years old for $800, had Chevy redo the heads as they were doing for free back then, got a whole new engine when the dealer overbored the block, drove the car for three years with nothing more than one brake job, and sold it for $875. Before the Prius, it was the only car I ever had that got over 40 MPG. With that 4 cylinder, a three speed tranny, and no options other than a radio, we regularly got over 40 MPG on the highway. I hope others can duplicate the sound problems on their Prius. I don't mind owning unique cars (I did admit to the Vega and we also owned a Granada at the same time), but I don't want to be the only Prius owner with a strange sound.
|
|
|
|
|
Replying to: oldfordman1 (May 03, 2007 7:12 am) |
|
|
My 2001 Altima and my '91 and'96 Sentras did this too. I don't recall it happening on my '66 Newport. I THINK it may have do with the more aerodynamic designs now. Here's my theory... The air is flowing relatively smoothly along the car, and the air passing over the open rear window is creating a negative pressure, much like when you blow across the top of an empty soda bottle and make a musical note. The air inside the bottle is resonating. Well in this case, the "bottle" is the interior volume of the car. The air inthe car is resonating as a much lower frequency because the space is so much larger,so you get that whump-whump-whump of the air pressure buidling up and falling. I was experimenting with different window positions, and you CAN find a spot where you are letting in air but not creating the resonance.
|
|
|
|
|
Replying to: pf_flyer (May 03, 2007 3:41 pm) You said you found a place where you didn't get the noise, so I'll try it again. I only get to drive the car on weekends and it's raining here today, so no chance to check it out. It would be interesting to see a response from a Toyota engineer about this. They must have encountered it. And, I imagine someone from Toyota monitors these discussions. They'd be stupid not to read what real owners are saying. Of course, it's a pipe dream to imagine they would actually respond. I used to work for Borders and there was an internet discussion board for Borders employees at an independent site. Every once in a while, one of us would plant something on that board to see how long it took to be mentioned in a staff meeting. That's how we found out for certain that Borders management was monitoring the board to see what employees were saying in a supposedly neutral environment. I hope Toyota management is reading these messages.
|
|
|
Replying to: oldfordman1 (May 05, 2007 1:04 pm) With the 4Runner I found cracking the rear glass down about an inch attenuated the resonance so it died out. Any more and it sucked in exhaust gases. The Pathfinder is funny. In the owners manual it tells you not to drive on the highway with the windows open, as it decreases mileage. Use the A/C, as it uses less energy than is lost aerodynamically with open windows. On one road I frequently use there is a long mountain decent, and the transmission will not hold my speed to reasonable levels in 3rd gear. Second gear is too slow. So I tried turning on the A/C. No help. Then I tried opening the windows to see if that added drag would help. Sure enough it helped hold my speed! And that's when I noticed the thumping, just like the 4Runner did. A little fiddling with the rear window % open and I found a setup that held my speed and didn't thump (it's a very long decent). Wish the Pathfinder had regen. It could power a small city! 4400 lbs of unstoppable momentum! |
|
You are here:
Forums
Hybrid Vehicles Toyota Prius Changes You'd Like To See in the Toyota Prius
New? Join Now!
Forum Tools
Search Forums
Browse by Vehicle
2010 Toyota Prius
Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
Today's Chats
