Does anyone know whether there is a way to tell the build / assembly date of a Prius III ? Is there a sticker somewhere that provides that information?
I believe there's a sticker with the Month and Year the unit was built, it's on the drivers side, inside the door opening on the "B" pillar. David (aka Blind Guy)
Having worked in a car assembly plant for almost 2 decades I can tell you, in addition to the previous 2 posts, that you can also find many dates on the individual parts of your car (the date these parts were made at various suppliers). Many plastic parts will have a date the part was build molded in with " date-time wheels", for example plastic fuel tanks have the date to the hour. Other parts have stickers with the date. You will have to look around. Try under carpeting in the trunk, the spare tire, jack etc. I do not have my Prius yet after a 3.5 month wait so I can't be more specific at this point. (The fact that this car is built in Japan may prove to be more of a challange, because even if the date is in arabic numbers, the irrational way Americans think of a date (month, day, year) will be in a rational fashion (year, month, day or day, month, year) but the year may be the year of the emporer's reign not the year A.D.)
We just got our 2010 Prius V on December 30th and I will check to see what the build date is. Is it possible that Toyota changes/adjusts/corrects problems found on cars built at a later build date for the 2010? I've been reading about all the braking issues, etc., and was wondering if these sorts of things are addressed during a model year run or would one have to wait for the next model year? I would assume they would but wanted to know if anybody has any information on this. We've only had our car about two weeks now and have not had any issues with this braking problem but we also had a 2005 Prius and are used to how the regenerative braking works and some of the "strange" sensations you somethimes get when the regenerative braking releases before the friction brakes engage and the car completely stops.
Please do come back and tell us the problems you observed! I am very interested in what you find. Unfortunately I dont have an answer to your question - actually I am wondering the same.
Toyota, like others, does make changes during production runs. This is one reason why TSB's reference specific ranges of VIN & not the entire MY. (Problems can also be traced to a specific supplier or batch of affected parts). The cargo net attachment problem sort of fits. Safety Connect/USB port will be an easy way to tell the difference between early & late production. My Certificate of Origin is dated 11/20/09 and the invoice date is 11/21/09.
Thanks! Have you noticed any of the problems listed in the http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...2-summary-problems-reported-prius-2010-a.html with your Prius? Please if you can, send me the list of what you observed - I would like to update the list. I am taking note of the latest vehicle build date for each issue, to see if they get resolved (see the first post in the list of problems).
very possible. **shameless thread plug warning!!** i have a thread going...well, ok, its comatose right now http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii-2010-prius-fuel-economy/73945-fuel-gauge-data-collection.html where i am collecting data to see if the accuracy of the MPG has improved over time. i received my car in mid may on PPP program, so i have one of the first ones built and i also am displaying one of the largest discrepancies on computed verses actual mileage (check sig) you are invited to post your observations **advisory; you are now safe to wander about the website** one thing Toyota has is "Kaisan" (sp) which means continuous improvement so yes, the older the build the better is should be
Found the label inside driver's side door; it says 11/09. Does this mean they only report the month/year the car was built or does it mean it was manufactured November 9, 2009? Also, had my first experience with the braking issue and for me it was a non-event! See the NHTSB thread on braking.
Where are these two dates located? I saw only 11/09 on the label on the inside pillar of the driver's side door. I looked at the sheet that was affixed to the window and there are not dates located there either that I can decipher.
From the pillar, mine is 07/09 (July 2009), purchased 20 Aug 2009. From the VIN, built in factory "5". My regen to mechanical braking transition is totally smooth and seamless. Very well done.
Thanks for that. I found an example of it, thanks to Patrick (see http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...5-cloudy-blurry-ac-screen-21.html#post1041196) I updated the list of problems - it is now solved...
The Certificate of Origin is a "large" square document printed on safety paper and serves the purpose of a title. The invoice was a computer generated document, not a pre-printed form. Both are located in the dealer's office. Ask for copies.
i have a somewhat related post going http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii-2010-prius-fuel-economy/73945-fuel-gauge-data-collection.html that tracks correlation between build date and gas gauge accuracy... you are welcome to post your observations there
Hi everyone, I have just bought a GEN 3 in the UK. It was first registered in Dec 2010, but I would like to know when it was manufactured. The plate on the door jamb is different from those that I have seen here so far. Are there any experts here that can decipher the codes? Any other information like the actual factory etc would also interest me. I attach a photo. Thanks.
A guess , on vertical letters, under A / TM , could that be Assembled / Toyota Motor ?? shows 'P410' ... for ____ , 2010 don't know what P4 is. P doesn't seem a month. too far in alphabet.
