Buying Used Prius Agonizing over Details : }

So.....still loving my pretty Pria. She's as sleek looking as ever.

Can't believe we've traveled 1000 miles already. She managed to scrape her bottom once on extra large/wide speed bump the other day and very large trucks really enjoy passing on her right.

Can't seem to pick a cabin temp that works for both mellow and cold days but I'm thrilled with how quickly heat appears.

I'm surprised dash board lights don't automatically adjust. I manually lower them at night to avoid reflection on windshield and then adjust back to brightest setting in the morning. Am I missing something? I haven't been doing my reading assignments! The vibe adjusted automatically. Still switching back and forth with vibe when doing gardening work. Hasn't sold yet!!

I'm still getting used to the interesting raindrop designs as they hit glass from different angle. I keep looking at that large wiper mechanism as it flips back and forth. : ) At least it actually doesn't have any rust on it. Must have been dirt of some sort.

Having a couple of noise issues that I need to bring to service dept. the driver's side window squeaks loudly when rolled all the way down and leaves streaks. Does this mean something is lodged inside? The other windows have no sound at all. Not sure how I missed this! It's a concern because it's completely annoying but also because my Saab had this problem and window finally ended up getting stuck. The other noise is intermittent and worries me the mos. There is a sound possibly coming from dashboard but could be glove box or maybe cabin filter. It's a rattle sound sort of like what a DVD makes when it's not secure in case. Not exactly but that kind of noise. It's definitely on right side of car. What's weird is it disappears at times which is why I didn't catch it during test drive. Much worse than wind noise on other Prius I tested. I can even hear it when radio is on. Not good! Any ideas? It actually would have been a deal breaker. May be a lose clamp or bolt?

Other than the anxiety provoking noises everything is great. Had another instance where I swore I shut her off. Came back and as I unlocked door the radio started playing and digital displays came on. Must have had her in accessory mode w/o realizing it? Yikes!

She really could use a good waxing before winter. Rinsed her off and no beading on roof. Any recommendations for a very low fume wax. Chemicals give me headaches.

Ok....another Prius novel...I knew you guys were going through withdrawal. : }

Oh and let's just assume dealer is going to investigate these noises and help resolve them. Please no comments about me needing to live with these. I'll get too anxious and really need my sleep. I'm going to pretend all will be taken care of. Wondering if I should have local service guy test drive and give me feedback before salesman makes an service appointment for me. Certainly appreciate any feedback regarding what the noises could be.

For those of you who made it this far, thank you for listening!! : )

 

Gorgeous! : )

 

Wow...she looks brand new!

 

Salesman said he wanted to set up appointment. I'll call on Monday and arrange for service dept. tech to test drive car with me until we duplicate problem. It's not consistent but frequent enough for us to catch it. I've driven around with glove box open to see if I could get a closer sense of it. Need to empty next. Just manuals and a few plastic bags are there. I've even tried putting slight pressure on them to see if they are vibrating but very solid. It's almost sounding like it's coming from the vent between glove box and digital display. Driving me nuts when I hear it! : }

Interesting the window is not squeaking after I opened it up during rain storm. There was definitely something binding but maybe it shifted with some moisture. Very strange because there were streaks occurring all along window. Who knows...

Thanks for feedback!

 

2000 mile update...

Has anyone taken a turn at intersection and had a short beep come on? Sounded like seatbelt warning or back up beep but only one beep and no lights came on dashboard. Just happened and not repeated since.

Noise coming from dashboard was fixed. Dashboard piece under tiny triangle shaped window was vibrating. No missing clamps so they used an interior noise kit. No left one is a little noisy but nothing like the right. : }

Dashboard dimmer switch is being replaced at next appointment (warranty is over next week). Thought I was losing my mind when switch was intermittently failing to adjust lighting.

So far digital display says my average mpg is 45. I haven't manually calculated yet.

Hope all is well with everyone!

Thanks!

 

Thanks! Temp was not that low when the chime occurred. I read that one chime will occur if smart key battery is low (haven't changed battery in this key because I haven't had problem with it again) but doubt that would happen as I was driving along.

Gas gage issue today scared me terribly because I was afraid I might damage car. Wil already heard about this and I've read some posts on this topic.

Gage started flashing as I was on my way to gas station. I pumped 2 gallons to get me by until I went to my regular station. The flashing gage wouldn't stop despite driving around and shutting off multiple times.Tried putting 2 more gallons but pump kept shutting off as if tank was full. Slowly clicked the 2 gallons into tank and still no change in gage. I've never let tank go below 1/4 before.

Finally after driving 20 minutes and filling up tank, gage moved to full. While all of this was happening I realized I had filled tank two days ago and taken two 100 miles trips. Tank should not have been on empty. All along I've been feeling like I have to fill tank more often than expected but I've been ignoring it because of other things going on. Need to carefully keep track this time.

Salesman (service not open today) said ball in tank could have been stuck causing tank to still read empty? He wasn't sure. I need to read more and call/email in the morning. Only have warranty until 12/8 so better be sure nothing is wrong. Could tank have suctioned into a smaller size due to pressure from being close to empty? I'm clueless again!

I'll read more on the topic. Just want to be sure they are checking everything that could be causing this. I guess documenting the issue will help in case issue lingers.

Thanks again!

Edit: Yes, I've been spelling gauge incorrectly. No, haven't blocked grille yet. Will do that this week with Wil's help but really can't have it on car when bringing it in for diagnostics. My complicated life with Pria. : )

 

I just read that others hear a chime when gauge is flashing near empty. I didn't hear any chiming. Maybe that single chime last night had something to do with gas gauge but the flashing didn't occur until
I was on the way to gas station today.

 

I will NEVER go below 1/4 tank again after today. It was unusual circumstances and a good reminder especially with colder weather coming along! Seems like I'm putting gas in Prius almost as often as I was filling Vibe. Wasn't expecting that....obviously price per visit is less.

Can't imagine how they would diagnose a gas tank bladder issue. Maybe it's either working or broken. I'll leave that up to the experts!

 

Thanks....I've actually become used to most of the noises already. Now its's the ones that pop up out of nowhere when taking a turn that concern me. I heard a small scrape when turning a couple if times too. It's obviously my anxiety regarding something going wrong that could have been caught before warranty was up.

I've logged mileage with this last fill up. I read somewhere that top part of gauge moves down faster than the second half. That's been quite noticeable to me.

Thanks again for listening to my concerns. I am enjoying the driving experience! : )