What Is The One Thing You Would Change?

Ted; u just pointed out the# 1 reason why I paid a ton extra for pkg 4 over 3 and under.

After having an 04 that did not have it and with an 06 that does have it I determined that 3 door SKS was not optional for me

 

The one thing that I would change about my Prius would be the armrest inserts in the interior doors. My driver's side armrest separated from the rest of the interior door trim. Looking on the inside of the interior trim, the armrest is only attached to the door trim by melted plastic over some attachment posts. No clips, washers or pins to re-attach.

My dealer took it to an automotive interior shop and they melted more plastic over the attachment pins to give it more holding power.

Josh, one of the Prius Technicians on the forum, recommends that we ask the service departments to submit a Dealer Product Review since these door inserts are a known problem. This will help with Toyota replacing the doors with higher quality ones.

 

Back up camera with out the navigation system for 2000.

 

If I could change one thing, I wish I would have bought another model of Toyota instead of the Hybrid. Too radical, and if I want to keep it, I may have to buy an expensive battery in several years. Not many people would admit they spent so much $$$ on a purchase they made - bad judgement on my part I guess. In the long run, I don't see how any money is saved by buying a Hybrid, considering the high initial cost, and possibly expensive replacements later on. Fun to drive & easy on the gas, but bottoms out on pot holes & visibility is the worst I've ever seen.

 

Hi laplante236,

The gas savings is a break even with the extra costs, at least it has been for me. Thus the money saved is in not having to do friction brakes, starters and alternators as routine wear and tear service. And there is some luxury involved not stoping at a gas station twice as often as in other gasoline cars.

The simple HSD transmission has a long life in the Prius, so the battery then is similar to the maintenance that would be needed on an automatic transmission of a traditional car.

With the Prius Battery and Traditional automatic transmission being a wash, And fuel savings and initial cost adder being a wash, the savings of the other maintenance items adds up to several thousand dollars.

The overall cost of Prius ownership used out to 150K + miles is on the order of $.25 / mile, which is quite good given what a Prius is. The NW Labs has a web site which gives their experience running cars around in the Phoenix valley. That is where the total cost of ownership comes from.

 

Your profile says California, so in your case the battery is covered for 10 years or 150,000 miles.

 

Every time I go the the US, your roads are immaculate. LA and San Diego is no different than ND or MN, so I fail to see how you "bottom out". Canada spends a mere fraction of what the US does for infrastructure. Exaggerated to make a point?

Rear visibility is worse than the average sedan, I'll give you that. But many owners have adjusted to it. Front visibility is ok for me.

 

Canada has a bit of a stiffer climate challenge for road maintenance...and we have a bigger tax-base.
You guys and gals have much higher fuel taxes, but we have more drivers.

Im sure the math is going to change on this somewhat---for lots and lots of reasons---but your winters aren't going to get any easier on your roads....well......unless the whole global warming thing really takes hold!

 

1. Make power mode persistent.
2. Eliminate rattles in interior - better quality plastic - the gen 2 is better.
3. Heated seats switch on steering wheel
4. Free maintenance for 3 years
5. Zero financing
6. 100,000 mile warranty
7. More choice of colors
8. BETTER FM RADIO
9. Softer seats and power seats with memory
10. Improved ride - more like Camry would be nice
11. A bit more power

 

Move the seat heater controls some where ACCESSIBLE!! Who came up with the idea to mount them underneath the shift knob console???

 

Minor stuff but here goes...

• A few more cubbyholes, like a place for coins or cell phones worked into the bridge somehow.
• Height adjustment on the passenger's seat

I can't stop thinking that the graphics need an update. The monochromatic green and black feels very Apple IIc old school especially when compared to the display in the Fusion Hybrid.

This is one of the things I'd expect to see in the next-gen car.

 

Id prefer more luggage space..

 

Kind of picky I guess, but here goes. My Prius doen't have running lights so we have to turn the parking lights or headlights on during foggy or stormy days. When we do all the dash lights are dimmed and the nav screen blacks out and is unreadable. The fix is to only dim the dash when the headlights are on, but not when the parking lights are on.

 

Coin compartment! That's the one thing I have struggled with since Day 1. I don't know where to put my coins. I move them to different places, but none seem good.

When my passenger and I both have drinks, I can't put my phone in the cup holder. I don't like putting it in the center console because I use the navigation/iPod on my iPhone frequently.

Suggestions for the change and the phone?

 

1. Rake angle adjustment for seat bottom.

 

Back up camera standard.
Switch the radio with the heater controls . It can be dangerious having to take your eye off the road to change the heat or cooling modes.
Seamless power control of transmission as in Gen II models.
FishHawk

 

Make the center console so it will open without sliding it back. I had five in my car the other day and the center console hit the person in the center back seat. The purpose to open it was to plug a game in and when we did it would not close again because of the cord, so I guess a rear 12 volt port would be nice also.

TED

 

It worked on my V! It shows up on the display, normal mode shows just the drivers door open, hold all 3 buttons on the keyfob and it shows all of the doors open. I tried it, all of the doors unlocked when I touch the door handle. Unfortunately the remote still only does the drivers door, and press twice for all doors. Thanks Ted!

 

I'm going to change my vote. I had previously wanted seat rake adjustment for the bottom of the seat. But since adding three 3/8" washers to give me more support under my legs, my new #1 wish is:

1. Fewer interior rattles.

Solution, Toyota needs to spend more time in a sound chamber, especially in cold weather. Most of these rattles should have been sorted before the car was released. And, the "euro-tuned" suspension is stiffer than it needs to be. The Prius will never be a great handling machine, soften up the spring rate and shock dampening about 10% and I think a lot of the rattles would go away. I really wish Bilstein made a PSS9 coilover set for the Gen 3 car, I had them on another car and they were buttery smooth, even smoother than stock.