Hi everyone, Just bought a Prius III yesterday, and am about to embark on a 500 mile trip. I know there's tons of info here on the subject, but I am about to hit the road. So can you tell me anything I need to know before I take this trip as far as treating the car on the first outing? Just don't want to do anything wrong. Also, I drive a ton of miles, like 35K per year. If I got the extended warranty for 4 years and 125K miles and I paid $970 for it, did I get scalped or do alright? Thanks in advance for any insight. I'll do more research on my own when I get back!
You should have been given the general instruction not to drive too fast and to vary speeds. How do you stop the car in an emergency? Read the manual to make sure you know what you can. The warranty figure sounds ok, I think, I don't have one. Maybe they scalped you on the price of the car instead.
Don't run out of gas. Fill up when the tank is 1/4 to be safe IMO. If you do run out of gas tell whoever is bringing you gas to bring at least 3 gallons. Other than knowing how to stop the car in an emergency and not running out of fuel I cannot think of anything you need to know for this trip.
When you mean how to stop in an emergency, do you mean holding down the power button for 3 or more seconds?
Yes. Or pressing the Park button when traveling over approx. 10mph OR pushing the gear selector to the neutral position and holding it there for approx. 1.5-2seconds.
This has been tested thoroughly on the GenII Prius and I've read that the effect is the same on the GenIII but it would be a good idea to search the forum just to ensure I am not wrong. I've tested all three methods on my own car at speed between 15mph and 100mph and they all effectively negated the effect of a stuck throttle or "runaway Prius" situation. I highly recommend trying different methods of controlling your own car so that you remain calm and in control if a bad situation occurs. Obviously only do this when conditions are safe.
That's a really good price for the extended warranty. :thumb: If you really want to have one, that is, of course.
One time I was coasting in a parking lot at 3mph ready to stop, and I accidentally pressed 'Park' instead of PWR (audio off), and my whole car jerked to a stop. It was actually pretty scary.
Which is why I recommended speeds over 10mph. I cannot think of many situations where speeds under 10mph would require an emergency shutdown. Your experience is similar to what others have described when hitting Park at very low speeds. I bet it freaked you out.
Mmmhmm yes it kind of freaked me out, but the part that freaked me out the most was wondering if I damaged the car in anyway.
Obviously I have been living under a rock. Of course, I have heard about the runaway stories, but I thought I had heard that almost all of them have been proven to be operator error and that the issues have all been fixed. Reading this, it seems that is not the case?
You are correct in that almost all of the runaway stories were basic user error but it never hurts to know how to disable your car in an emergency. A lose floormat or other large object could pin down the gas pedal and require that you know how to slow the car down safely. Luckily my 2005 Prius brake pedals ALWAYS over-rides the gas pedal so these other methods of disabling the car are not really required. In 122,000 miles I have never had an issue with my car.
And if there are future Prius owners out there, know that all 2011 Prius have a brake over-ride system that cuts ALL power to the accelleration pedal if the brake is even tapped. The National Highway Safety Administration has disproved the run-away story of the highway patrolman. The brakes on gravel issue was an easy programming fix in the Prius and Ford Escape, so I feel pretty confident with my 2010.
Back to the OP, I'd just add enjoy the car, get used to the feel, and watch the instantaneous mileage every now and then to begin getting a sense of how gas mileage is under various conditions. Welcome to Prius!
