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Random questions

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by Harshlife, Sep 6, 2010.

  1. Harshlife

    Harshlife Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 18, 2010
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    Location:
    Ohio
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    About a month ago i bought a tier 3 with nav, black with dark grey interior. Completely happy with the purchase overall but the car has a few odd quirks that may or may not be normal....

    vents- always seem to be open. A breeze goes through them even with the fans off. Are these supposed to (internally) close when fans are off?

    Cruise control kicks off ev mode. Havent seen this mentioned anywhere, anyone else have this?

    I hear a whirling sound when the car senses my key and i open the door. Seem to be coming from the front drivers sided but cant narrow it down.

    When driving and i switch to power mode- it doesnt seem to switch until i have braked, even if its only for a second.

    Gas gauge seems to skew the total amount. Takes a lot of driving to drop one bar, but after that it drops as expected. Starts flashing empty with roughly 2.5 gals left- a huge amount considering the mpg.

    Sat radio trial is missing some of the better stations (howard stern). You would think a trial would include the full set of channels.

    Another question i have is about the tires. Are tier 5 with the 17 inch tires mechanically the same as other tiers with 15 inch tires? As in the diameter of the tire is the same, but the features of the tire change to reflect the larger overall size. I was wondering if it would be the equivalent to tier 5 standard tires to just put plus size tires on my tier 3.

    Thats pretty much it except for my gripe about the reverse beep. Why the reverse beep? It cant be heard outside the car and lets face it- if you are driving and cant tell if your in reverse you have more problems then a beep can solve. Thankfully its reprogrammable- though i had to literally convince the service guy that it was possible. Had to read to him from the manual after which he said- "well if it is possible id have to hook it up to the computer".
    Most salesmen seem to know little about the cars they sell- but it seems they are extra ignorant about the prius...
     
    #1 Harshlife, Sep 6, 2010
  2. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 4, 2005
    12,544
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    Location:
    SF Bay Area, CA
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    HowStuffWorks "How Fuel Gauges Work" discusses some of the sources of gauge gas inaccuracy and non-linearity.

    Do you hear the same whirling sound if you pump the brakes a few times?
     
    #2 cwerdna, Sep 6, 2010
  3. Erikon

    Erikon Active Member

    Joined:
    Dec 5, 2009
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    Location:
    Rochester, NY
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    Do you just turn the fan setting all the way down, or actually turn off the climate control?

    The whirr is the braking system pressurizing, it's just the sound the Prius makes waking up after a long snooze!

    The V steering is tuned differently, has a beefier power steering motor.

    You don't love the reverse beep? Gosh, it's everybodies favorite feature! Dealer will turn it off for you.
     
    #3 Erikon, Sep 6, 2010
  4. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

    Joined:
    Nov 25, 2005
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    Location:
    Huntsville AL
    Vehicle:
    2018 Tesla Model 3
    Model:
    Prime Plus
    Welcome,
    There is a normal recirculate and external air button. You'll also need to make sure the vehicle environmental controls are set to "OFF." You might have another problem but you'll need to make sure everything else is off and the car is in recirculate mode, both buttons on the left, one above the other.

    Cruise control has a lower limit of 23 mph and due to variation, 23 mph is not usable due to normal +/- 1 mph that can kick it out. In my car, EV has a maximum speed of ~25 mph. So it may be possible to use EV and cruise control at 24 mph but that seems impractical.

    That should be the brake accumulator charging.

    I haven't seen that but I don't switch 'modes' often. The "PWR" mode just changes the accelerator pedal response curve and since all vehicle power ranges are available in ECO, normal, and PWR, I don't fiddle with it.

    My measurements indicate closer to 2.1 gallons to complete fuel exhaustion from "flash" to ICE off. As for gas gauge accuracy, it will always be a problem as long as a single float sensor is used. They try to integrate but a slope or steady curve can throw-off the measurement. A more accurate, non-mechanical gauge using at least three sensors would solve the problem by averaging points throughout the tank.

    I fired XM radio when I got my iPod Touch. Instead of a tone-deaf radio programming, I now choose my content and haven't looked back.

    I don't know the specifics of these tires but Tire Rack has the detailed specifications including miles per revolution. However, I now use our aftermarket, Garmin nuvi GPS as my primary speedometer and trip meter. The vehicle trip meter is only used to calculate the fuel burned over any segment.

    I would also add the turn signal 'clicks' that would be much more useful if co-located with the lights. Personally, I think turn signal clicks and flashing backup lights with clicks would solve a lot of issues quickly and effectively.

    They have other skills . . . that remain elusive to me too. Having tried sales, I don't begrudge their work.

    Bob Wilson
     
    #4 bwilson4web, Sep 6, 2010
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