Hi. Just got a 08 Prius Picked it up cheap. Has a new battery in it and I just did a ton of body work . Replaced fender, painted ECT. No collision damage for the fender just rust Anyways what should I know about driving a Prius? Is there anything you need to do to use the hybrid system properly? I noticed when you go up a hill or are just on the gas the read out that shows mpg goes down drastically. I'm no stranger to getting good mpg and knowing how. I used to get about 38-40 out of my old Saturn SL2 manual. What should this car be getting mpg wise? How should I drive it? Is there anything I need to enable software wise to get the most out of it? Is there a way I can update the software for the navigation/ UI of the car or attempt to? Some tips and tricks would be greatly appreciated.
Congrats... You're gonna love it... Read about "Pulse&Glide" which is most fuel efficient way to drive. Also what's the history of the hybrid battery? If it's the original and has never been reconditioned/deep cycled, that will give you more power going up hill, especially climbing up mountains. Learn more about why that is here: Prolong Battery Systems. Extending the life of your hybrid. — Hybrid Automotive
congrats! just drive it, the car does everything else for you. keep a weather eye on the oil level, tires pressure, filters and etc. all the best!
Do they generally burn a lot of oil? I've felt with Saturn's mostly and you're talking like 2-3 quarts every 5k.
Was told by the seller the hybrid battery had been changed by a local place who deals only with them Had a receipt and six month warranty. That being said I was told all the cells were changed. do not know if that's actually the case though.
First the good news Just Drive It is all you need to know. you can get better mileage when you know more than the computers, but not much. (You can see hills better than the car, it only reacts to already being on a hill, and does not know when it is about to reach the top. Same with braking, you know more than the computer, so coast to a stop) On very level ground, I found I got better MPG with cruise control on. Most folks don't, as they are not as level. (i can drive 150 miles and only gain 90 feet) I am a large person who kept his Gen 2 (2004 to 2009) full of tools and supplies for my business. I got about 42 MPG. Toyota Prius MPG - Actual MPG from 1,752 Toyota Prius owners
Welcome to PriusChat! If you want an inexpensive way to see what's going on in your car, consider a cheap OBD2 code reader with a Smart App. There are many Apps out there, but depending on whether you have iPhone or Android, your choices could be limited. One Smart App which works for both is called Torque. It will allow you to read and reset codes,and is highly customize-able. If you are Android, Hybrid Assistant or Dr. Prius are good monitoring programs. Hybrid Assistant will show alot of stuff, including what your electric motors are doing. Dr. Prius is more of a monitoring program for the hybrid battery pack. It can indicate potentially weak modules before a hard failure. None of these Smart Apps are expensive, a few dollars for the 'Pro' versions. They are great tools for new Prius owners.
Congrats & good luck with it. Read the dipstick just like you would with any other 12 year old car: often. These cars are very well thought out. You can adopt weird driving styles and earn incredible MPG plus lots of horn honking and hand gestures, or you can just buckle up and drive and the computer really will just save you gas. Most everyone picks something in between.
Get in touch with them... It's most likely you have a rebuilt battery, that may or may not of been reconditioned/deep cycled, which are way more problematic than a battery that's never failed or a new one. If there's any way they can extend the warranty for a small price it'd be worth it. Or if you're a DIY person find a used battery for cheap, I've gotten them for as low as $50 and cleanup, recondition and if necessary rebuild that one, so you can simply swap packs once your existing one starts to have more problems.
I'm stumped; what is that? You can see what fellow owners are getting here: Toyota Prius MPG - Actual MPG from 8,078 Toyota Prius owners I would suspect anyone that registers and logs fillups here is going to be trying harder, so overall averages are a bit lower.
Banksy said: painted ECT I think he meant "et cetera" Banksy,: Anyways what should I know about driving a Prius? The most important thing is finding out how to turn off the annoying safety warnings. Is there anything you need to do to use the hybrid system properly? I just drive and let the computers worry about it. That's what they're for and they are pretty good at it. I noticed when you go up a hill or are just on the gas the read out that shows mpg goes down drastically. I'm no stranger to getting good mpg and knowing how. I used to get about 38-40 out of my old Saturn Yep. When you do more work per unit time, you use more gas per unit time. Your old car was the same way. I think there is something in one of the startup warning screens about how the car is not to be used to violate the laws of physics or the state you are driving in. Physics rules. What should this car be getting mpg wise? If you got 40 MPG out of the old car, I would think you could get it out of the new car too. The car will tell you how your doing. That 250k on the odometer may have some effect. How should I drive it? You don't have to baby it. Drive it how you like. We have people here who know how to squeeze every possible mile out of a tank. I just concentrate on not hitting anybody and drive. Is there anything I need to enable software wise to get the most out of it? Nah. It came with all the software it needs. It's not like its a Tesla where they reach out by radio and turn things on and off in your car. Some tips and tricks would be greatly appreciated. Just browse around. People here know how to make the car do anything you want.
First just drive it normally for a while, and learn what it does. Don't try to coax it to use battery power a lot; that can be counterproductive. First learn what it likes to do and then help it do it's thing.
You can update the navigation with DVDs from Toyota. If you are willing to settle for an older version, and/or a smaller coverage area, then you can find cheaper DVDs on eBay.
Congratulations. My only caution has already been mentioned. It sounds like that "new" battery is not new but actually a rebuilt battery. They don't often last very long, but some do. Just don't be surprised if it fails within a year or two. Otherwise, as has been said, just drive it. And use some "common" sense. Here's a great guide that @john1701a put together. It helped me when I first got a Prius. John's Stuff - Toyota Prius User-Guide (Iconic)
…as you drive it, you'll become accustomed to the sounds and noises it makes, you'll soon learn to recognize anything out of the ordinary (…take note of my recent "Red Triangle of Death" thread (Oh dear! Triangle of Death! No oil! Help! | PriusChat) - Good luck, and keep yer ears peeled!
If you ever have a hybrid problem you should take it to green tec or Prius hybrid repair or green bean
