Dissatisfied owner....

I just love my ride, and I barely have it for a week... I drove ti before several times before... And believe me it worth each € I've spent on it. Of course I might be influence by our compact cars standars here in europe...

 

To be fair, I have been extremely dissapointed in the build integrity of our Prius. It rattles like an old Chevy with only 40k miles on the clock, and has since about 10-15k miles. It rattles more than any car I've ever had, which includes Fords and GM vehicles. This has certainly not been the case with the other Toyota products I've had or had experience with and its been very dissapointing.

Its not an econobox, I paid $27,000 for ours and they're $30k loaded now. You can't make the excuse that its a $15,000 car because it isn't, its in the same price class as a Camry. For the money...they could have improved a lot of aspects of the car.

I like the look at feel of a lot of the interior materials (even the cloth is pretty good) but insofar as build integrity is concerned its a big dissapointment so I do agree with that.

As for the moldy AC smell...c'mon....

 

ahhhh..... but it IS an econobox... you just never listened to the car editors who tried as hard as they could to tell you it was simply an extremely overpriced econobox - that you might as well buy a civic or a yaris and save your $$... that you pay a healthy premium for it being a hybrid and that you'll most likely never recoop the extra costs ... pretty much everyone here knows this... we were all warned... many simply dont want to believe it (still) ...

regardless it's a cool car... that's why I bought it... not to save the planet. If you wanted to save the planet you should've bought a used 1984 honda civic or a bicycle

 

***sigh***

 

truth hurts, eh? ... regardless, I still like mine!

 

I've owned econoboxes (and hated them). The Prius is not an econobox. Methinks you and the editors you mention don't have any idea what an econobox is.

 

And I would add with that much room and comfort ??

I completely agree. The Prius is a midsize car with lots of equipement.

Regarding the quality of the car, have you sit in any new Toyota vehicles lately !? I did last week when I was at the dealer for service. I sat in every vehicles in the showroom playing with the buttons and controls. Let me tell you that my 05 Prius really seems better built and solid regarding the interior.

Then again I'm not trying to convince you to like your car (that's your choice) but to my eyes it's definately not an econo car if you consider that most cars nowadays are built cheaper anyway then the Prius is a step above.

 

in denial still

 

I am not privy to his history, but a few cars are prone to AC mold issues because the drip pan doesn't drain properly and moisture stagnates there.

To prevent this problem with my car, I always turn the air off a mile before my destination and open the outside vent if the humidity is low outside or that sudden blast of humidity coming in through the vent will just produce more moisture.

 

Wait until the 2010 comes out. After 30k miles or so, it will rattle like all the other US made cars.

Oh... and watch out: Obviously Toyota is moving manufacture stateside in order to save import costs and taxes, but I'll lay money on the table that the price will not go down - but likely go up!

 

Humm, Pearl doesn't rattle except for the shelf in the upper glove box. I fixed that by wrapping it in tool box foam covered mesh.

I will admit the Prius is in the upper part of the low speed collision costs though. If you think a rear end collision is expensive watch out if you run into something. It can easily take out the thermos (and pump). Costs can run upwards of $3000 for a 5 MPH collision. The rear is about the same as most other cars and SUVs. The bumper cover is usually destroyed and the foam under it has to be replaced. Much of the cost is labor (time to remove the old, paint the new, and install it).

I wish somebody would enforce the English language here. We don't have "bumpers" anymore. A "bumper" is designed to -bump- things. What we have now is decoration that -looks- sort of like a bumper. It's just a body part engineered to absorb energy, in the process sacrificing itself.

 

sorry to hear your Pri is not meeting your expectations... and with the price of gas going down, im sure those expectations are rising daily. The car is not for everyone. but at least you bought the car with the least risk. you will not find a car with a better resale value.

if i were you, suck it up until summer. gas prices will rise, and the value of your Pri will probably jump a few grand... probably only make a few hundred instead of several thousand like the people who sold theirs last summer, but hey!! better than trying to sell a practically new Accord... you be taking a $2,000 bath on one of those.

as far as the A/C is concerned, heck you should try living in the Pacific Northwest!! talk about mouldy!! but actually isnt that bad. best thing to do is turn it off a few minutes before you get to where you are going.

the mold happens because the condenser is cold, water condenses on it and bold develops. just run straight fan for 2 minutes, it will warm up the coils so minimal water condenses and that should clear it up...

 

any econo-box deniers should take a wheel off their prius and look to see what it's made from... I just did (mounting my new snow tires)... and I have to say I am stunned. A pop can is made of higher quality, thicker, stronger material than the prius... wow... (and no... it's NOT "weight savings" ... dont even start with that crap)

 

Name one car that costs less than 30 grand that is of a significantly better build quality. If you wanted a luxury car you should have bought one. And even those vehicles the differences are mostly cosmetic.

 

I absolutley love my Prius. So much better than the Passat I had. I'm happy with the interior, exterior, ride, mpg...everything.

Sorry you're not happy with yours. I'm sure there's someone out there that would buy it from you really quickly and be super happy.

 

I never said I wasnt happy with my prius... quite the contrary.... you'd better go re-read my posts...

I'm just realistic about the fact that it's poorly made, and I accept that fact.

 

Okay, so how many wheel failures do we know of from these allegedly defective wheels? If they aren't failing, then they are adequate for the job. What makes you think it's not a weight savings issue? Unsprung weight is a huge issue for mileage.

Tom

 

Wth are you talking about?? who said anything about defective wheels???

I'm talking about the goulash chassis of the car...

man oh man

 

I would compare the build quality of the Prius to that of the Honda Civic, which is a very good car. It is the "economy" car from Honda though.

I have a Nissan Maxima, which has a quieter ride, plusher suspension, handles better, has a superior audio system, sunroof, heated leather seats, and MUCH more get up and go. It did not cost much more than the Prius, although I did get 10% off sticker on the Maxima, and paid full sticker for the Prius. The Maxima is a better built car.

Even though we own the Maxima, my wife and I fight over the Prius. Why is that? Just something to ponder.

I for one am satisfied with my Prius. As for rattles... it has a few, but if I take the crap out of the door pockets, console, glove boxes, and sunglass holder it is remarkably quiet again. Hmmm.

Oh, my Maxima has a smelly AC system occasionally. I don't think you will get away from that with any car.

Mike

 

The car that saw me through real tough times when money was tight was a Hyundai Accent. THAT was an econobox. Bare essentials except I insisted on an automatic transmission. Everything else is manual-- Crank-down windows, AM/FM Cassette. And yes, the A/C smelled too in my Hyundai.

My present Prius is no subcompact econobox like my old Hyundai. The build quality is definitely better, the car is bigger and more versatile, and my Prius isn't bare-bones like the Hyundai was.

The Prius has never claimed to be a luxury car, but it's no el-cheapo subcompact econobox like my old Hyundai either. If one wants a luxury hybrid, try looking at something like the Lexus GS450h.