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What you don't like about your Prius?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by txl146, Aug 22, 2011.

  1. WE0H

    WE0H Senior Member

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    Reverse is away from you on the shifting pattern, neutral in the middle, drive toward you. The shifter is NOT column mounted so the clockwise rule has nothing to do with the Gen 3 shifter. Park is NOT on the shifter. It is that button you push every time you park your Prius :eek:

    Mike
     
  2. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    I'm pretty sure the column shifter doesn't include electronic shifters because BMW and MB that have column-mounted shift-by-wire transmission stalks have a push button for the "P" located at the end of the stalk (so think of the cruise control stalk and push the end button for Park, push the stalk up for R and down for D. Pull towards for N).

    Also, Toyota has the P at the bottom of the shifter in the HS250h I believe.

    In the Prius, it's in the standard PRND layout.
     
  3. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

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    P needs to be nearest R, N must be between R and D, and there must be a gear with increased braking force, but I see no specification saying where it is to be located.

    My Prius is
    P
    R
    N
    D
    [​IMG]

    Newer Prius also seem to be
    P
    R
    N
    D
    [​IMG]
     
  4. zenMachine

    zenMachine Just another Onionhead

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    The underwhelming but overpriced JBL "premium" audio system.

    And the crappy center speaker, which should be used for Bluetooth phone (and nothing else) instead of the left front speaker.
     
  5. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    mmm. The 6-speaker JBL audio system on our 2002 Camry sounded much better than the 9-speaker system in the Gen 2
     
  6. samsprius1

    samsprius1 Active Member

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    I wonder if it's the speakers? You don't realize how bad it is till you drive a car with a good system! Going to do something.maybe Crutchfield.Car Selector
     
  7. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    It could be the speakers, the headunit or just the fact that the Camry doesn't have paper thin plastic door panels that allows the hollow space bettween the inner and outer door panels to resonate. The Gen 3's JBL system is better but I still think it's not quite there yet. The most noticeable difference is the relocation of the tweeter/midrange speakers to the base of the windshield (same setup as the Camry). The Camry had the benefit of a parcel shelf to mount the rear speakers while the Prius makes do with two door-mounted speakers (they're also not very strong). JBL's Distributed Subwoofer System helps a bit with the front soundstage. The bass does feel stronger in the 2010 than in the Camry.
     
  8. lwhanna4x4

    lwhanna4x4 retired

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    After over a year and 18,000 miles, I have found nothing that would qualify as a dislike.

    With the split rear window as many dislike. Does not bother me. If a car is behind me, I still know that it is a car. Also, I have found that with my seating position the bar goes right across the area of the headlights of the car behind me at night. So, if the idiot driver did not dim his lights, it does not matter. I find that bar to be a good thing.

    I am very pleased with the overall handling of the car. I drive Vipers, Vettes and a MX-5. the Prius is just as fun to drive. It did great in the big snow falls that we had last year.

    So far I have hauled a new washer home that I thought that I would need to go get my truck for. After that I bought a new recliner and once it was out of the shipping box it also fit right in.

    So to me it is a little sports car, a truck and one heck of an economical ride.
     
  9. Telkwa

    Telkwa Junior Member

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    I can't believe nobody mentioned the climate controls! For God's sake. Could Toyota have possibly designed a more fussy, inscrutable, does-what-it-wants-to-do set of climate controls?

    I've been futzing with the buttons for months. I'd guess that about 1 time out of 10 the @$(*&% thing does what I wanted it to do.

    Our 2001 Subaru Forester does the same things as the Prius. It has A/C, fresh air, recirc, defrost, etc. A couple of sliders and a button for the A/C. And they all do what you expect them to do.

    With the Prius I swear to God for any function that you desire there are 28 wrong ways and one right way.
     
  10. ItsNotAboutTheMoney

    ItsNotAboutTheMoney EditProfOptInfoCustomUser Title

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    Unfortunately the hiding of the headlights also hides their turn signals. I use turn signals of following traffic to tell me whether I can glide slowly to a stop or maintain speed to allow them faster access to a turning lane.
     
  11. ItsNotAboutTheMoney

    ItsNotAboutTheMoney EditProfOptInfoCustomUser Title

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    Unfortunately the hiding of the headlights also hides their turn signals. I use turn signals of following traffic to tell me whether I should courteously maintain a higher speed.
     
  12. slkjohn23

    slkjohn23 Junior Member

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    Small gas tank. Btw, how much gas is left when the indicator hits 0 miles?
     
  13. Sofakingcopter

    Sofakingcopter New Member

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    That was by far my biggest disappointment. They could have done a way better job with that. Keeping the interior scratch free is just about impossible. That really bothers me since my girlfriend could care less and scratches the hell out of my glove compartment with her high heels. :(
     
  14. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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    depends. i went over 100 miles once after DTE hit zero.
     
  15. Britprius

    Britprius Senior Member

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    On the UK Prius,
    GEN2 non heated mirrors, ornamental fog lamps,cruise switch fastened to steering wheel.
    GEN2 & GEN3 within the EU it is illegal to tow with a Prius because Toyota give it a tow capacity of zero and therefore does not have type approval to tow anything. Tow bars cannot be manufactured or fitted without this.
     
  16. GoMetricToday

    GoMetricToday 42 is the answer to the ultimate question.

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    I have to say that the only big things (for me anyway) that I don't like about the Prius is the inability to change the entire display from US Customary to Metric. Just being able to change the speed from MPH to km/h is not enough for me. I would like to have it all change over to Metric when I press the button.

    The other thing that I don't like is the thumping noise from the brakes that happens when I hit a bump. Even though I have been told by people on here and at Toyota that there is nothing wrong with the brakes, that not all of the Gen III Prii make that noise. It is remedied by putting a shim in to fill in the gap, but at the customers expense. :shocked:
     
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  17. Davidgr

    Davidgr Junior Member

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    I've only had my Prius IV for three days, so admittedly I'm not qualified to give a full evaluation. But it bugs me that the US models don't have auto on headlights or auto on/off windshield wipers. The Canadian and European Priuses (Priuii?) have these features. Why is the US different? If it's due to price, at least make it an extra cost option!!!
     
  18. Philatc

    Philatc Pushing Tin

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    I like being able to control the wipers and headlights on my Prius. I love being able to turn off the wipers while sitting at a traffic light. Having auto headlights would be nice but at the same time it takes a split second to turn them on. I am also curious about how much fuel is really remaining in the tank when she hits E. I feel its safe to say that on my Prius at E I have 1.5 gallons left in the tank. This is assuming that what I've filled up with is correct. ;-) But speaking of complaints, the RDCC on the car is nice until you are following behind a slower car. With my Prius she will break instead of coasting to have the proper distance. Other than that I love my Prius!!!!
     
  19. salyavin

    salyavin Junior Member

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    I found it odd I could not change temperature to Celsius and such as well. We are more accustomed to metric so it is inconvenient.
     
  20. zenMachine

    zenMachine Just another Onionhead

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    Totally agree. Really annoying that you can't switch to metric. My other car, a Nissan, has one simple button for that. It also has a very useful compass!