I am new to the forum after having just purchased a 2010 Prius III. So far, I can honestly say it is the greatest car I have ever owned. I use EZPass daily and need to mount the transponder in my new Prius. I was thinking about mounting the transponder above the rearview mirror in the area of the windshield that has the black dots. My fear is that if I use the velcro strips that come with the EZpass transponder, upon removing the velcro strips at a latter date, it may damage the black dots on the inside of the windshield. Does anyone have experience with this and where have others mounted an EZpass transponder on a 2010 Prius? Thanks in advance.
This should help: http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii-2010-prius-main-forum/65508-ez-pass-placement.html
Hey, if you are concerned about how your car looks with the EZ Pass transponder properly attached to the inside of your windshield, check out Logo Toll Tags (dot) com Some people don't like the looks of their EZ pass in their windshield, so they either wave it at the tollbooth or let it slide around on their dash. This can cause accidents as people search for their ez pass transponder and can cause the EZ Pass transponder to be read incorrectly or not at all. The EZ pass Holders from LogoTollTags have sports team logos on them from the MLB, NFL, NHL, some colleges and some NASCAR teams. I think they look better than just a blank white spot, but most importantly it is safer for you and the other drivers on the road to have the EZ Pass mounted properly.
I mounted just below that area (I also have the strip of window tint across the top of my windshield) and the transponder is mostly blocked from my view by the rear-view mirror. Works out nicely!
For a different approach I didn't mount mine at all - I keep it in the upper glove box, and I haven't had a problem with it being read yet. Depending on what roads you frequent be sure to look for discounts in the EZ Pass program for hybrid vehicles (GREEN pass) - the NY Thruway and PA bridges&tunnels have them, as does the Garden State Parkway/NJ Turnpike (off-peak discount only).
I use my EZPass 2-3 times a day. I found this the most effective mount for me. Both glove boxes are lined with felt. That is why they are so dark.
That's great, but what about when you don't want to use the pass. Do you have to leave it at home, sit on it, put it under the seat? Actually, our local turnpike authority gives away metallic envelopes that you can put your transponder in and it won't read it, even in that top box. Thank goodness because we get the high occupancy toll lane gratis with the hybrid.
Well, we have a dash mat and the hook-and-loop material on the transponder sticks like glue to it, so there's no sliding around. We just keep the FasTrak in the glove box and set it on the dash mat, in the middle of the dash, whenever we're going up north where we cross all the bridges.
And of course I don't have to tell anybody who lives in NY to get a green E-ZPass for your Prius? It saves 10% off the regular E-ZPass rates.
And being green colored, they look a lot better too (none of that pasty white stuff). Here's a pic of mine in a black plastic suction-cup mount holder: [IMGLINK]http://priuschat.com/forums/members/boo-albums-prius-picture816-green-ezpass-in-black-ezpass-holder.jpg[/IMGLINK] The Green EZ Pass can give you a greater discount on the NYS Thruway at all times, and on the NY-NJ Port Authority bridge and tunnel crossings during off-peak hours. But you have to make sure to specify that you want both the NYS Thruway and the NY-NJ Port Authority Green Passes, and both discounts will be programmed into your green colored EZ Pass transponder.
The other thing you could do is swap your conventional tag for one of the exterior ones - it gets mounted just above the front licence plate using the same screws that hold the plate to the car - it is available for a few cars that have funky front windshields but when I got my ez-pass (New Hampshire) I got to choose.
I'm in the process of doing a little research into this. It is worth keeping the thing shielded between tolling locations, as there are some other, uh, "uses" cropping up that want to read the transponder. According to the folks at Mark IV, who make the units, they are less sensitive along the bottom edge [as typically mounted in a vehicle] and thus that's the right place to handhold them if you're going to do that instead of mounting it. What's not yet known is how effective a small metal box to drop the unit into between uses is with regard to actually shielding it against trigger pulses, but now I've got a thread to post results into once that's determined. . _H*
Hey... that is really good information!! I had no idea that the EZ PASS would pick up by being in the upper glove box. I live in Belle Harbor in Rockaway and use the Marine Parkway Bridge daily. I have my pass mounted behind the RVM. I think I'll try and see if it works tomorrow.
Do you all get to stop and wave it around to see where it works? In California (FasTrak) you drive under the sensor without stopping. That's a heck of a way to "test" a theory. I'd love to be able to keep it in the glove box, but it's not like I get a second chance.
I have that same fear about keeping the transponder in the top glove compartment. I don't know if the transponder would be read at those tolls that you drive under at highway speeds.
