Prius annoyances

Here are my thoughts on my Prime.
1. Rear wiper - glad not to have one. Above about 10 mph, rain slides right off.
2. Shift knob - it's fine.
3. Off centered dash - also fine. The thing I need (speedometer) is easy to see.
4. Returning to Eco mode - you have Eco mode selected, so it returns to that mode. If you select normal or power it returns to the selected mode.
5. Beeping - a bit of a pain to have to get an app to set this, I agree.
6. Entune - total junk, I don't use it.
7. ECO HVAC is only reset to Eco as long as you are in ECO mode. See 4 above.
8. Don't care. Aero alloys or hubcabs doesn't matter to me. If you don't like the hubcabs, remove them as others have done.
9. Would be nice to have some knobs or buttons. Honda returned to some knobs after customer complaints.
10. It's an annoyance - after you turn off the fan you have to turn on by increasing the speed.

Things you missed:

1. Why does the car default to EV-AUTO on every start? Would prefer to have it remember last setting.
2. Cruise control turns off every time the car turns off, and you have to re-enable it. Why not leave it on your last setting? And remember if you had it static or dynamic mode selected.
3. The 15 second boot of the touchscreen is way too slow. This isn't 1980 and computers are not this slow.

 

I agree with some of those.
1. Rear wiper - I was marveling just yesterday as I left work in a downpour how the rear window just cleared itself of rain once I hit the road. In previous generations, I was always frustrated by that tiny peephole the wiper cleared. This thing is GREAT.
2 - Shift knob is the easiest shifting mechanism I've experienced in 45+ years of driving.
3 - Off center dash sits higher than the ones that hide behind the steering wheel. No bobbing & weaving to find what I want to see and don't have to lower my eyes as much.
4. Returning to Eco mode - Mine has never changed modes on its own. Always stays in the mode I've selected.
5. Beeping - yeah, that constant beep is just dumb in my opinion. It's like a microwave that keeps beeping after you open the door. But some people like that. <head-scratching emoticon needed>
6. Entune - Yup, dumber than a bag of wrenches. But I'm not interested in any of the others either.
7. Eco HVAC - A bit annoying.
8. Hubcaps - a strange decision. I was tempted to keep my PiP wheels when I traded in.
9. Touchscreen - I sure hate turning stuff on or off as I accidentally brush a spot on the screen while reaching for something else. Dumbest automotive interface ever invented. I'm learning to accommodate it, but it's my biggest complaint.
10. HVAC controls - See #9.

The missed part:
1. Mine defaults to EV every time I start, not EV-AUTO. That's perfect for me. I would not want to have to remember to hurry up and hit the EV button if I'd shut it off last time in HV mode. Oh, wait. First I'd have to remember that I HAD run it in HV last time and then switch it over.
2. Cruise control. Perfect for me again for the same reasons. Don't want to be forced to remember what I did last time - or what my wife did.
3. Touchscreen boot time - that's just ridiculous. Put's me in the mind of loading programs into my old Commodore 64 from the tape drive. I could type the program in BASIC almost as fast. No excuse for that.

Still, it's far and away the best thing I've ever driven on four wheels.

 

Mine does as well. Typo on my part.

 

1. Agreed. It rains here a lot and you can't see through the rear windows at times. Also hate the look other than it's easier to see it's another Prime, and that's not worth it.
2. Actually like it, so easy to use!
3. Without a HUD, I never really liked it, even my Gen 3 before my Prime. More information available at a time, means more distraction as well. However, my HUD gets rid of that complaint, so I just don't look at the middle much.
4. Mine never did that, it stays in whatever it was in last time I started it. (not counting EV)
5. It's not a problem, though I do wonder why it beeps inside for backing up and not outside like some other cars/trucks do. I don't even disable the beeps, it just doesn't bother me.
6. Probably one of the reasons why my next car isn't going to be a Toyota, it has left that kind of bad taste in my mouth...
7. I actually like that feature, it saves a little more gas. Sure if it's a hot day, it's not enough, so I switch out of eco mode.
8. I didn't buy a Prius because it looks hot.
9. While I don't dislike it as much as you, it's not really an efficient interface and distracting while driving. Can't use it by feel.
10. The Advanced doesn't have the same controls, no rocker switch and no physical off switch. Since it's climate control all you need to know about is temp and the physical buttons for that is enough, I never fully turn it off, I just raise/lower the set point and the heat pump design is super efficient compared to a normal car's A/C.

Others:
11. Drivers foot well, I don't really understand why but it's not comfortable, period.
12. Some controls hard to reach.
13. Lacks the Gen 3 total recirc airflow mode. Loved it for going through smoky or smelly areas.
14. Should have a power hatch option for us short folk. (another reason I'm not buying a Prius next time)
15. Did I mention the entertainment system -- YUCK. My gen 3 worked better/easier.
16. Blind spot monitor should have an audible warning option.

Pro: Love the gas mileage, and especially the range on a tank of gas. The DRCC is a dream and love the auto wipers.

 

Not having driven a Gen 3, what is different between the Prime recirc and the Gen 3? They likely both use the same blocking door for the fresh air intake.

I'll disagree on that point. Very clunky and not well implemented. Over-reacts to sensed inputs, response is typically not smooth.

Hardly seems a reason to abandon a car brand.

 

agree with every point the o/p made, but he forgot the raised hatch floor and no spare

 

I don't get it - most items OP mentioned are visually apparent and you don't even need a test drive to figure them out. If you still bought the car, why bitch and moan afterwards?

 

You buy it thinking those things won't bother you - but then they do. Still would have bought the car, but there is always room for improvement.

 

Agree to a point. Some things on the car are glaringly apparent at first use (i.e. the dash layout, the shifter, lack of wiper, hubcaps, etc.). Other things you don't pick up on until later, such as long term comfort in the seats, perhaps the defroster is weak, behavior of the dynamic cruise control in conditions different than your test drive, etc.. You may test drive a car at night in a well lighted area and the headlights seem good, then you buy it and get them out on a dark back road and they are not so good.

I have never owned a car without things I didn't like about it, but on every car I have owned these things would not have kept me from buying the car.

I am still surprised that people buy a car without a spare tire, then somewhat later they are shocked to find out they have no spare tire.

I was a bit concerned about the lost space from the raised traction battery in the Prime. I finally loaded up my Jetta Wagon with all the stuff I frequently carried (recycling bins, etc.) and drove to the local dealer. I unloaded all the stuff from my wagon and put it in the Prime, and it all fit. So, there were no surprises later when the car is suddenly too small for my stuff.

 

In the Gen 3 it was possible to use 100% recirc for a timed amount, it never is in the prime, even in recirc mode. (it still has some air intake)

We'll have to disagree by a LOT, I love it, best feature of the car.

It's called bait and switch and it's actionable. We bought a car that had entune with more apps for entertainment, now we have only 2 and no compensation for it. So yes, I don't like giving money to a company that would do that.

 

Realize that this Entune nonsense does nothing more than you can already do on your phone with those apps installed. And better on the phone. Entune was worthless from the start, and even with fewer apps it is no less worthless.

 

Washington DC bureaucrats forced Toyota to make it beep in R. They wanted Toyota to 'manufacture' a thump like you get in old automatics when you shift to R. The Beep was a 'compromise'.

 

Still, they sold us a car that did x, and it now does x-y, and it's not like a normal wear and tear, aging thing, it's taking away features. That's just not acceptable to me. If I had the time and money, I'd start a class action suit just to punish them.

 

I actually like the idea of plastic wheel covers over alloy wheels. I took mine off the first week of ownership and stored them in the garage. If I sell the car in a few years and the wheels are scratched up, I will just pop the wheel covers back on and they will look like new. I wonder if Mr. Comer would call that "bait and switch"?

 

I'm pretty sure at some point somewhere you clicked/initialed/signed off some terms of service which included possibility of service 'modifications'. So good luck with the suit.

 

No, that's not selling something and then taking it away.

 

As I said, if I had the time and money, so it isn't happening, but you obviously haven't read about some of the class action suits out there, those TOS are pretty much unenforceable in a LOT of cases. (mainly because of implied warranty.)

 

The car didn't do any of those things per se, it was the enTune apps that did it. Toyota has no responsibility to maintain those (third party) apps into perpetuity. Would you feel any different if one of the apps you like to use in Entune was not removed by Toyota, but the app company went out of business and that app no longer worked?

Which apps are missing that are causing such consternation?

 

Is there any reference reading for this topic?