What To Do When Getting A New Prius

Well, avoid hard acceleration and braking.
Do not use the cruise control because the engine will stay at a steady RPM. It will be okay after the break in period though. I'd avoid going over 75mph.

 

Leave that smart key in your pocket, on you, never in the car. Come to think of it, SL Honda female advisor was very respectful to keep key with her, not leave it in the car.

Some say 'change the oil early' but just listen to what owner's manual says. I really don't think you want to change out synthetics or even blends early. My Honda owner's manual says do not change the oil until it is due. I will follow their lead no matter what any backyard mechanic says.

I like to bring a flashlight, rag and tire pressure gage. Before paying for my car, I like to spend at least a half hour looking everything over - look for any damage, seats that don't adjust very well (yes, sometimes the seat tracks don't click in well simultaneously (at least I've seen that in some certified units)).

Look at the oil, check the tires. Avoid hard braking and acceleration. Maybe racers break in cars like they stole them, but they can also afford to rebuild them all the time and have no warranty obligations.

Have them show you the PDI sheet. I could go on about detailing. Read up on it at autopia, other enthuse sites.

Use 'Top Tier' gasoline in the car. Do a search on top tier gas retailers. Shell, Chevron and 76, others are on the list. IIRC, Arco is not. Gas may be the same, but the additives from different companies are not.

I wouldn't drone along the freeway at constant speeds for long periods on a new engine. It is my understanding engines don't like that.

Make sure you get a fax copy of insurance tags - you must prove you have insurance the moment you drive it off the lot after delivery.

 

Make sure they change the reverse beep from continuous to one beep.

The closest dealer to you is 150 miles? Or was that the best deal you found? I would have paid a little more to buy from a local dealer.

 

:welcome:

You've already signed the purchase order I presume, so most of my usual advice about purchasing a new Prius is now moot.
(getting them to throw in a third key fob, NOT buying GAP or the extended warranty at the dealer, having them provide the 4 metal wheel center covers, etc....)

With all due respect to Jim, I think driving 150 miles to save money on the purchase price is quite reasonable in fact, I drove 900 miles the last time I bought a motorcycle and saved over $500 after I backed out the extra expense of the travel. I've seen price deltas of several thousand dollars for Priuses---but all of that is probably moot for you now as well.

As far as break-in strategy, there are wildly varying schools of thought on this topic, and forum battles have been raging on this topic for years.
Mostly it doesn't matter for 2 reasons:
1. People have been breaking in modern cars for the last number of years with all kinda of daffy methods---and car engines seem not to mind which one you use. Car motors, even 'neglected' ones, usually last for the service life of the vehicle. Engines just don't fail that often.
2. Most people that buy new cars replace them with other new cars within 5 years or so.

My advice: Read the manual.
There's no 'magic bullet' for break in, otherwise rental agencies, and fleet vehicle operators would employ people to 'break in' their new cars.

Mostly, I'd try to relax and enjoy your new car!!!!

Good Luck!!

 

Picking it up:

Pick it up during the day, so there's light for you to inspect it. If they deliver it to you inside or under a roof, have them move it outside.

• Go over every inch of it. Have a flashlight for the dark areas. Look for scratches, dings, etc. For the interior, look for marks and stuff under the seats.
• Check the odometer. A couple miles is ok, but even that's a lot just driving it around the dealershp. More than that, and the sales manager used it for a week, or lent it to his son.
• Bring a tire gauge and check the tire pressure, including the spare.
• Check all fluids
• Ask for the pre-delivery checklist, and go over the items yourself (the ones you can). Look in the glove box. If there's a plastic bag with two plugs in it, those are supposed to be installed in the rear suspension during PDI.
• Have them disable the reverse beep if you want to.
• Make sure the auto-up and auto-down windows work. (this is a setting in the computer)
• Run all motors (windows, sunroof, blower, AC, etc.)
• Make sure all the tires are the same brand/model.
• Check all lights, LED's.
• Make sure the luggage cover is there.
• Manuals present
• Look in center console, should contain removable cupholder

Operation:

• Check for engine noises
• Check parking brake
• Drive it normally. Make sure it doesn't pull to one side on a good road.
• It's important to vary the engine load more than the engine speed. Unfortunately, the Prius doesn't give you control of the throttle, the computer decides what the engine does. I'd just avoid cruise control and vary the pedal position a bit even if you're driving straight and level.
• Avoid sustained high load (don't go 75 on a flat road for hours right away).
• Brakes have to wear in and smooth out the machining marks on the rotors. Just go easy on the brakes, but use em if you have to.

I changed the oil at about 1500 miles, but I'm old school. It's probably not strictly necessary. Then at 10000 total, and now every 10k when it flips a new digit.

I agree on the top tier gas recommendation. However, most stations are privately owned. If the station looks iffy, or the owner is a lowlife, I'd avoid it even if it is a top tier brand. Lots of things can work incorrectly. Are there filters in the pumps, or did he take them out to save a few pennies? Is he actually buying the brand gas all the time, or does he buy a no-name tankerfull once in a while? Is he dumping used oil into the gas tanks? Any of these can happen, but are less likely at a clean and prosperous-looking station.

 

I would download the manual today so you can look at key areas tonight. http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...7-2010-prius-owners-manual-available-pdf.html.

I would contact the dealer before going there to ask them to make the configuration changes that are only configurable by the dealer.

Most important of these is changing the continuous beep inside the car when in reverse to a single beep. Almost everyone hates the continuous beep and its so disctracting its arguably a safety hazard.

You will find others in the manual.

If they balk (they probably won't), I would tell them that it is a show stopper. After you have driven all the way there, it's harder to take a tough line if its needed and you sure don't want to have to make a 2nd trip back to get things done.

 

Make sure the radio antenna is screwed in, make-ready forgot to put mine on, caught that just before driving away.

And have the owner's, warranty and service manuals in their nice leatherette folder.

And floor/cargo mats.

 

Our dealer missed the spare tire pressure, it was around 40 psi, not spec'd 60. No big deal, it probably still work ok.

Also, ours had a near-dead 12 volt from sitting on the lot, which they replaced.

Likely as a consequence of swapping the battery the window auto-up/down feature wasn't working, just on the drivers window (I believe it's only the two front windows that have this. You can "re-train" that yourself, I believe procedure is in Owners Manual, or get them to: to test, start the window up with a solid up push and release. It should continue on it's own.

Make sure you get: 2 fobs, a little metal tag with a number (fob related), Owners Manual, Supplement (has maintenance and warranty info).

Really being picky: check the time on the clock

 

The best advice I can give you is to drive your new Prius home safely, watching the road and traffic rather than the graphic instrumentation. You'll have plenty of time to check out stuff, nit-pick swirls, tire pressures, etc. once you're home.

Be careful with dealer demands especially if you sign your paperwork first. Secondly, the dealer may be willing to take care of a few things such as modify the reverse beep, but just may not be able to do it on a Saturday. I'm assuming you will have a Toyota dealer closer to home for warranty.

Finally, remember your trade title if available and certify your funds if you're handing over a large amount of cash.

Read the owner's manual twice for familiarity, but don't try to absorb every nuance at once.

Congrats on your new Prius and welcome to PriusChat.

 

As others are saying, check to radios, fans, etc.. things to make sure they are working, which is good,

but, the most important thing to check is the body and interior appearance of the car. If you miss seeing a small ding or scratch on the car, drive it even a few hours, it's over. You will be paying to have that fixed since no way to prove it was there before delivery.

In fact, a walk around is always a good idea when checking a car in anytime.

New cars can easily get 3 miles or so just from doing the pre-delivery inspection.

Thoroughly test drive the car for sure. Read up on edmunds.com on how to do that. You may have 20 miles after a test drive. I test drove mine twice, so the car had 34 miles when I took it home. It had 11 when I first test drove it.

Then they need to take it to the gas station to fill it up.

If the car has over 50 miles, obviously it's been demo'd a few times. I put about 20 miles on a Mazda3 on two test drives and decided not to buy it. Good car, but Mazda dealerships are fewer.

 

Here's an interesting one....

I wrote a personal check to buy the coupe in full ....

the snitty finance guy put 10% APR in the finance section. I said, what is that? He says, oh, if your check bounces, this deal goes over to finance at 10%. Considering my credit score was over 800, that was a nasty thing. I gave dude < average rating on survey.

Before that he lied and said Honda ext. warranty can only be purchased at time of purchase. Ding, not true.

In two new car purchases, the F&I guys were kinda nasty. One threw pen down on the table, they play frustrated, say why wouldn't you spend another $2k to protect your car? It's a job I would never do. I'd hate it.

 

be happy with 10,000 mile oil changes

be happy with not changing brake pads up 200,000 miles (depending on driving conditions)

be happy with the gas mileage because gas is going up with rising tensions in the mid-east

 

Have heard of some new cars (not Prius) that were out of alignment when purchased. Perhaps you could ask the dealership to check the alignment before delivery.

 

You should get ready to pay less at the pump.