Hi Prius People, I just got home with my new white Prius!! I drove 55 miles, went through a big thunderstorm, and enjoyed every minute. Are there any rites of passage for new owners that I should know about?
Congratulations!!! I'm sure you will enjoy your new car. One rite of passage might be getting gas for the very first time and seeing how little you actually have to buy!
Go get a sheep, a flat of petunias (preferably purple) and a bag of cotton balls. Check back in with us when you have acquired everything.
The Prius membership rite of passage is when you drive rite pass the gas station like it's a distant memory. Congrats on your new Prius.
Congrats on getting the virgin snow white, it looks far bigger than the Salsa Red that I have. You did not mention package level, I have a BC or package six. The various rites of passage: Making the NAV work flawlessly Getting the bluetooth system tuned to the phone Getting the tech to get the car into the bay for the first, second and third oil changes. Instruction is needed each time, unless you luck up and get the same woman each time. Women need verbal instructions but men... Rite of passage: having the car tire tech have you drive it into the bay because he can't so he can rotate the tires. And there are some things I just have not gotten over yet... 1. Having a cool car in which I get more ladies to check me out in than I have in say...20 years 2. Driving the cool car of the year, the joy has yet to wear off 3. Showing off the cool car of the year 4. Answering questions from strangers about the cool car of the year This is just one fab experience, and enjoy every minute of it.
Congrats WhiteCloud, the rite of passage is passing the gas station with 427 miles on the tank and still having (3) three hash marks --little less then one fourth of a tank of gas left!!! This little marvel is a joy to drive and with a little effort on your part really pay off money wise. Welcome aboard and to the car..you will not be sorry with this one.
Congrats to you! And me--I got mine July 15. A Salsa Red package 8 (I think). Rite of passage came tonight when I took three long-time best friends for a ride in it tonight and hearing them "ooh and ahh" in amazemnet. Still working on the dealership's complimentary tank of gas 11 days post purchase
What would the reason be for this? Is there something different about this car from ordinary vehicles that most mechanics would not know how to drive it? Just wondering.
[font=Comic Sans MS:fabcb98698]Sileny Jizda, do you have one? If not, take one for a test drive. There's nothing extraordinary, except it's not like any other car you've ever driven. I think it's mainly tech intimidation. Mechanics are guys (neutral gender) who tend to be mechanical. A connects to B. The Prius runs on logic. Pressing the brake pedal does not directly engage the master brake cylinder, but rather the brake pedal angle sensor tells the brake computer the degree of stopping power the driver is indicating and adjusts various electrical and mechanical systems to deliver, while keeping track of vehicle stability and wheel traction. Some mechanics have a problem understanding that. PS. Congratulations, WhiteCloud! arty: I call mine the Silver Cloud.[/font:fabcb98698]
The car is generally intuitive., but many times mechanics tend to mishandle cars, and most Prius owners take pride in their car and want to make sure the correct procedures are followed. Toyota includes a valet card pad, to ensure the car is correctly handled. Some mechanics prefer to have the driver drive it. To answer specifically, the car is electronically controlled by computer, and most chores are originated from electric signals. The transmission for example, does not have MECHANICAL linkage. To start the car, you have to have your foot on the brake, and press POWER, if you do not do that the car will not move. A hybrid uses batteries, and sometimes the car is "started"., but there is no engine noise, because the car will move by electric motor. This may confuse an unfamiliar person, mostly Toyota has designed the control program for the computer to avoid mishaps, these do not occur, but then you have a person who does not know how to get the car to move !
i got mine yesterday! seaside blue, bc/#6 it's not even a reality yet... seeing that fuel gage go down so slowly (my previous car was a 91 chevy s10 pickup truck... that sucker would breathe gas)
Yes, the Prius is different. After ten months and 11,000 miles, one would expect the driver (me ) not to make the following boneheaded driving error: My car with four people inside . . . lots of talk and general commotion. We pull into the parking space next to the other car in our Monterey whale watching posse. Windows are rolled down to facilitate coordination. A few minutes later plans are finalized. People start exiting cars . . . so I also start to get out. At that moment all kinds of pandemonium breaks loose. The car starts beeping and the dash lights up like a Christmas Tree, everyone (else) in unison starts yelping, and the car rolls forward a few inches. In all my 30+ years of driving, I have never tried to get out of a running car that I was driving. The low morning sun was in my eyes, so I didn’t see the indications on the dash that the Prius was still in drive. (Yeah, that’s it. That’s the ticket.) A regular car would have warned me with noise and vibrations. So yeah, some mechanics are smart enough to ask the Prius owner to drive the car into the service bay. Let’s just hope the Prius owner is smart enough to turn the car off before exiting. :roll: I don’t think that quite qualifies as a “right†of passage (as it was oh so wrong) . . . unless other Prii drivers care to fess up that the idiosyncracies of driving a Prius lead them into a driver error incident. .
Don’t get too excited about the gas gage. It is not based in reality! It is highly weighted toward the full side. You can easily get around 150 miles before the first hash goes away. You ARE NOT going to get 150 miles on each of the remaining nine hashes. (That is unless someone is going to tell us the amazing story about how they managed their record breaking 1,500 mile tank of gas :wink: )
AW Sufferin..Hope nothing happened to the Prius (OOPS I meant the people,,,,,,,,,,not) Yikes..have had a few senior moments myself. Forgot that you had to press brake to start the car, panicked at the RaceTrack sak and pak store, and was getting ribbed already about the dead Toyota after less then 400 miles..by "helpful" customers. Was told at an intersection red light, that my car had stalled. Pressed the power button to re-start the car......that shut the sucker off!!! It was running on electric!! That was my first week..now things better....
[font=Comic Sans MS:5af7a47bef]Congratulations, Davedog! You made a great pick. Now the fun begins!artytime:[/font:5af7a47bef]
Go DaveDog..you got a good car and with a little work, you'll amaze yourself and others at the results and still have fun watching the others stooping (stopping) for GAS.
I forgot to mention the package--BC. It took me awhile to figure out how to do these quote replies. I am slowly learning the nav system. Its really fun! I got my nearest Rita's entered as a destination :icecream: I suppose I'll get serious after a while... WhiteCloud