After someone offered to buy my 1991 Nissan NX 2000 off me (yes, I'm one of those drive-it-till-it-falls-apart types), I decided it was high time for a new car. I don't have a long commute, but the first car I actually bought back in 1985 got 40 mpg on the highway, which has been my standard ever since. Since the Prius was one of the few cars that could match or surpass that, I pretty much decided that was what I wanted. Based on what was available, I ended up with a 2010 burgundy model with about 45,000 miles on it. The dealer (Enterprise Used Cars) claimed that it's a Prius I, but I did some research and found that it has every feature that a Prius I supposedly lacks (cruise control, rear wiper, heated side-view mirrors, rear armrest, EV mode, etc.). So maybe I came out a little ahead. Anyhow, I've already driven it to my parents' house and back (260 miles each way) and - based on my last fillup - am averaging about 49 mpg. I'll be interested in seeing how well I do once the weather gets warmer. (My wife has had a Honda Insight - one of the early two-seater models, not the more recent Prius lookalikes - for over ten years so I already have a lot of practice at optimizing gas mileage in a hybrid.) This forum looks like a great resource, and I look forward to both learning from it and contributing in the years to come.
I also recently bought a 2010 - not from a Toyota dealer. It has been a rental and has 44 000 miles. There was no service book or records. I'm now experiencing problems when I'm starting it. The "ready" light does not go until I try the second time..
Sorry to hear you are having problems. That might be a weak 12v battery problem. What kind of fuel economy are you getting? Join Toyota Owners Online, enter the VIN # and if there was any service performed by a Toyota dealer, it will be listed.
I did that and there are no services performed by any Toyota dealer. I'm getting great mileage. Staying within the speed limit on the freeway the other day I got 58,3 mpg!
From the home page, click on the "Forums" link in the orange colored bar near the top of the page, choose "GenIII", then select the "troubleshooting" subforum. Finally, click on "new thread" button and post away.
I actually had to take mine back the next day because the temperature warning light came on. They originally sent me to the local mechanic, which I laugh about now because he could barely figure out how to get the Prius to move, let alone fix it. (Since I was running late for work at the time, it wasn't quite so funny at first.) Fortunately they eventually gave me a loaner and took the car to the dealer. It's been fine since I got it back - apparently the sensor needed replacing.
