What every newb should know

Hi all, just wanted to thank everyone for the great info here. Already answered several questions that my dealer had no clue about.

A work colleague has had a GenII for four years and loves it, in that time the only money he has spent apart from oil/plug changes was new tyres at 110000km (65000mi).

So today I put down a deposit on a 2010 i-Tech which should be here in about three weeks. I spent a chunk on extending the Toyota warranty out to five years, on the basis that if anything goes wrong, it is likely to be something the size of a cigarette packet with wires hanging off it costing $2500 to replace. Time will tell if thats a smart move or not.

Anyway, looking forward to getting my first-ever new car...

Cheers
Charlie (Melbourne, Australia)

 

Hi Charlie,
We picked up our I-tech about a month ago. You are going to love the car.

Cheers
Warwick

 

On the Freeway: Pulse And Glide or Cruise Control?

Which will get me better mileage at 70 mph (driving slower will be a traffic hazard...)?

Aloke Prasad

 

Re: On the Freeway: Pulse And Glide or Cruise Control?

I can't imagine using pulse and glide techniques on the freeway, unless I were the only car around. Things go a lot better and safer when everyone drives at the same steady speed. Pulse and glide works OK at slower speeds on roads without much traffic. On the freeway I set the CC for the speed most of the traffic is moving at and let the mileage end up wherever it does.

Of course, as with any other car, the faster you go beyond the point of maximum mileage the worse the mileage will be. With me sometimes consideration for other drivers and safety, or just getting somewhere, need to take precedence over mileage.

 

You can also purchase the Toyota extended waranty from Prius Chat source and save almost half....this can be done anytime up till regular waranty expires.
I assume other countries than USA apply ?
Either way your 2010 sounds great.

 

Thanks, Warwick. Picking it up tomorrow afternoon. Pics on the website tomorrow evening!

 

Well actually there are some things one can do, most of them involving more instrumentation (e.g. ScanGuage) to learn and optimize engine load at highway speeds. For average drivers, cruise control is probably as efficient as it gets.

 

Congrat Charlie, you are going to love the new iTech, I loved my drive in Sydney and I was able to tell the gurus at Toyota about the Hybrid system stuff they didn't know. Prius Chat should be used to train Toyota sales personnel, seriously!!

I think you wasted your money on the extended warranty but time will tell. I have spent $25 on repairs in 2.5 years and my 2004 has 130,000km on it. My battery is still under warranty!!

See below for my opinion of extended warranties.

 

Re: What every newb should know: cruise control

I am 80 YO and lease my Prius 2008. It doesn't have 4000 miles on it yet. So I will always be a newb. I enjoy these columns because I have no one else to discuss this with in a daily way.

I really want to learn to use cruise control. However, I don't know where to learn. I am a tenant in a multiresidential with lots of parking areas. I only drive in the residential shopping areas.
Still I'd love to learn how the cruise control option works. Is property of my apartment home a safe place to learn? Most tenants are gone all day and only use their apartment for sleeping. I just want to know if I'll learn by driving around the complex: cruise control? Of course the problem is the limit is 15 mpg. After that I could experience the 30 mpg.

 

No you can't, minimum speed for cruise is 40km/h.

 

40 km/h = ~ 25 miles per hour

Cruise control is most useful when driving on an interstate highway or other straight, long road with minimal traffic where you want to maintain a set speed for a long time. There really is no need to use it otherwise.

 

I am a new Prius owner of two weeks. Thank You Richard for the warnings regards this "new kind of car". I've always been one who "tested the limits" of gas tanks, and always "squeased" the last drop into the tank when I filled up. I will change my ways! At least with this car.

 

The facts about THE JEFFERSON BIBLE I have differ. He finished it in about 1820, but did not wish it published during his lifetime. The first publishing was in 1895, followed by one by an act of the US Congress in 1904 for the United States Congress. For many years copies were given to new members of Congress.

 

I couldn't buy mine from Amazon until 6/2006. Wouldn't you think that Newt Gingrich would have encouraged this book for his students? I heard him pointificate on Jefferson's religion in 2007 on TV and he never informed any of us about being able to see for ourselves. So I purchased mine in 2007 from Amazon. I call it as I sees it. You might have bought your copy earlier. I don't know.
I just thought you should know what I mean by "secret".

 

Re: "Pip" marks. When the last pip mark is blinking I have about 2.5 gallons of fuel left. I could go another 125 miles! I've verified this by letting it almost run out of gas. So don't let this guy scare you! Feel free to fill it up when it starts blinking but don't think you're going to run out of gas (at least for a 100 miles or so).

 

Realize that this thread started before the 2010 model was even announced. So if you are driving a Gen 2 (04 -09), Richard's advice is very good and there are many reports of owners running out of gas because they thought there was plenty left even though the car was warning them with a blinking PIP and a message on the MFD.

The 2010 no longer has a bladder in the tank; so it is more conventional with regards to fueling. However, it isn't a good idea to run out of gas in any automobile that uses the fuel to cool the fuel pump (which is essentially any vehicle with electronic fuel injection).