INTRO: (no questions) I commute 100 miles a day: from Bradenton to Tampa, FL mostly in I-75 (anyone who drives in Florida can sympathize!). I traded in my 12 year-old Crown Vic one month ago for a new 2011 Prius II. Techno Shock! My gosh, it's like a mini space ship! I'd have to sit in the car for a full minute to remember how to turn it off. Only about 30 seconds to turn it on. The first day it rained, I had to pull over to read how to turn on the windshield wipers! Still haven't exactly mastered that! But since rainy season isn't here yet - I have time! I read the manual from cover to cover - at least twice, which provided info overload! Unfortunately, I didn't find this site until about a week ago. Now, I'm really on info overload!!! My Prius is dark grey. I had a choice of Black or Dark grey, so... I love it! I am struggling to re-learn how to drive after 45 years of driving high-powered American cars, but am enjoying the challenge. I have struggled in naming it. It's dark grey color gives it a very distinguished look, and perhaps would require a dignified name. However, I found myself so enjoying toodling around in my little tiny car, that seems to have a slightly quirky, but very tolerant personality - that he ended up being called 'Toodles' - not in the least elegant or distinguished. So far, he doesn't seem to mind. I do definitley miss my Lumbar support, and have found the rear visiblity to be awful. But I am adjusting. He had his first carwash bath last week. He has the extra xylon coating (love bug central here!), so I was concerned. The carwash owner and personnel were very understanding. It is a 'soft cloth', no brushes, carwash, and all went well, until I drove off, and it began to beep viciously! I was frantic - no warning lights were displayed, no indication of what was the problem - and the manual is HUGE. I pulled into the nearst gas station, and considered: all doors were closed, etc. Yes, they had replaced the little antenna - I gave it a little extra turn to make sure it was on securely. Got back in and drove off with no beeping! I have no idea - except perhaps that one extra turn on the antenna solved the problem?! The little bugger has 4,000 indicator symbols - but not one that says "Hey! antenna issues dummy!"?? After reading a plethora of info on getting good gas mileage here, I realize I have done virtually everything wrong - but have still managed to get between 49 and 52 mpg (calculated) during about 1700 miles. I expect improvement once I grasp the Glide thingie, and sort out tire pressure. P.S. I noted in the manual where it says it might use a quart of oil every 600 miles - especially when new and/or high speeds. Since I was both, I checked the oil myself at about 700 miles. First time I've actually checked the oil on a vehicle in about 30 years! PROBLEM: they need to add food coloring or something to that synthetic oil! Old eyes can't see it on the dipstick - at all! I added some Mobil 1, hopefully not too much, and am hoping for the best. Regards to all, Betrock
Welcome aboard! Great job reading the manual over. Those numbers on oil consumption are extreme... I don't think anyone here has experienced anything remotely close to that. Enjoy the ride!
Congrats.... Having been in a "town car" there is nothing like it, but I am VERY happy with the Prius. I have no complaints on the comfort of my 2012 Prius so far....
I traded a 2000 CrownVic myself for a Prius about 2 1/2 yrs. ago. Never looked back. It was a nice model too, but I got tired of never being able to park it on a NYC street.
I love the Vic, I have owned a few of them and a town car also. They were the most reliable cars I ever owned. The last one I owned had 490,000 miles on it and still ran great. Hopefully the Prius will be just as tough, time will tell.
Wow, that's an incredible amount of miles. I typically keep a car 14 years, but never even get it to 100k. I usually wind up junking them due to rusting, or some expensive part failing (like an exhaust manifold on my 95 Rodeo). My Crown Vic was a creampuff though, barely 55k miles, leather interior. I started needing to travel into Manhattan a lot and could not find street parking easily and had to go for a garage more often. When I traded it in 2010 for a Prius, it needed about $1000 in work...a tune up as the engine was misfiring, and brakes, the front rotors were warped. I sold it to a used car dealer for a decent price. I did tell him what it needed. those repairs cost almost nothing when you are in the business.
Welcome! That's quite a change. I sat in a Crown Vic and they are quite big! Cute name! I named mine Buster, after one of my favorite baseball players.
Mine only had 130,000 - it broke my heart to trade it in. It was perfectly maintained, and never gave me a moments trouble! The last 30,000 was put on in one year - commuting this past year! Had to do it. It's been a bit of a shock, and an adjustment. I still haven't learned not to back waaay too far up before moving forward - out of my driveway, out of parking spaces, etc. The turning radius for the Prius is sooo tiny compared to the Crown Vic! Ah well.
Cheers, Betrock. The engine runs remarkably clean, but if you wait a few thousand miles the oil will take on just enough tint of gold so that old eyes escape embarrassment. The statement in the user manual about using a quart every 600 miles is just lawyer CYA. You should expect oil consumption to be zilch for the next decade. Though by all means check periodically. I check every 3k miles or so, and stick to Toyota's recc to exchange every 10k miles. Best to avoid filling engine oil past the 'full' line. Poorer fuel economy may result, and oil can spill over into the manifold and dirty the PCV. How much oil did you add ? A quart to a Vic may be a drop and a half, but a quart in an already full Prius is a reason to crawl under the car and correct your mistake.
