What every newb should know

Hello all. I bought my 2013 Prius Persona last Friday. Finally stopped driving it long enough to look for Prius Chat. I went in planning to get the Prius II, but they had one Persona on the lot...I fell in love, and ended going home in it. I dickered them down to where the Persona's payments are only $10 more than the II would have been. I must say that the 0% interest for 60 months deal was a big deciding factor in buying a new car at this time! So far I am loving this car and the only complaints I have is that the owners manuals don't cover everything (setting gas price when refueling for example--had to go back & have saleswoman show me) and the steering wheel shape makes finding a comfortable grip for any length of time difficult. Other than that this car is great. And I love the Persona's Black Cherry color and black interior.

 

Thinking about buying a used 2006 Prius for 13K. It has 80K miles on it. My major concern is... I've heard that batteries can go on these puppies at around 150K, and it costs at least 3K to have one replaced. Can anyone shed some light on this issue? I'm also wondering how bad they are in the snow. Looks like tight wheel wells and not much clearance. We'll be moving to Pittsburgh where it is hilly, and the winters can see some snow and ice. Will a couple sandbags, and decent tires help keep it drivable in the winter?

 

PS - I kind of know Prius' aren't great in the snow. Our other car is an AWD Subaru Outback. So... we will drive that in bad weather. BUT I'd like to know if we can drive it a little bit in the snow, if need be. I just want to make sure this thing isn't a total deathtrap in the snow?

 

The Batteries could go out at any time. Any part on any car could go out at any time.

You do not mention where you are, in some US states, the warranty is for 10 years/150,000 miles, much of the rest of the world it is 8 years/100,000 miles. You should check local to your actual location, where ever it might be.

It would be true that if you had the dealer install a new battery, that you should expect to pay $3000, but why put a new battery in an old car? ReInVolt sells remanufactured batteries for about $2000 installed. Ebay sells used batteries that you install starting under $1000.
Remanufactured Hybrid Vehicle Battery Packs
Toyota prius battery | eBay

I can't imagine how sand bags would help any front wheel drive car, but what do I know? I recommend snow tires.

 

We would buy the Prius in PA. We live in MT and sandbags are the way to go to keep from fish tailing in the snow, especially with pickup trucks. Hmm... Well I certainly appreciate the input.

 

i think what he was saying is that how can putting sandbags in the back of a front wheel drive vehicle going to help. in a truck you have rear wheel drive (or 4x4) so sandbags in the back add weight to the tires that are actually propelling the truck. with this strategy in a front wheel drive car you would have to put the bags up front to achieve this.

 

Two and 1/2 weeks in with owning my first Prius. Excellent information. Thanks !!

 

sorry to revive an old thread but can someone please refer me to a post with information or FAQ on the gen 2 (2006) brake actuator.

my mom's local dealer is trying to charge her over 4 grand!! (fremont toyota)

 

I previously owned a "c" but moved up to a new Prius 2 - I got it last weekend. One question - finally drove it at night tonite - was of course using the headlights - got home and push the park button and turned it off..got off the car and noticed the headlight was still on - no warning bells to let me know I have to turn off the lights..nothing.. Is this standard... Seems strange to me.
Any advise. Thank you for your help guys.

 

On the liftback, by default, the headlights are on a 30 second timer. You can change it to 0, 60 or 90 seconds.

http://www.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/om/OM47791U/pdf/sec_06-02.pdf
(Page 4 of the PDF, or Page 599 of your owners manual)

I park in a garage mostly, so I set mine to 0 seconds.

 

Will the 2012 Prius front bumper fit the 2010 Prius front bumper? I like the 2012 front bumper better. Lmk. Thanks!

Galaxy Nexus ? 2

 

I wanted to update. I have had my 2013 Prius since December and have put 12,000 miles on it. I have owned a 88 Nissan Hardbody, 98 Ford F150, 99 Honda Civic EV, 00 Honda Civic CV, 05 Toyota 4Runner, 69 Chevy Impala, 08 Toyota Tacoma and this is all I have to say...this 13 Prius is by far the best and "funnest" automobile I have owned. And I am averaging 55 mpg.

 

No longer valid question. Please ignore post.

 

Thanks for the tips!

I'd figure after a few "tanks" (picking a consistent pip level to get gas) you'd have a sense of what kind of "range" you get before you need to top the tank again. Glad to know that when it says you're empty...you're EMPTY.

 

I have never even let my '09 Prius get down to 1 PIP. Freaks me out too much with the bladder tank.

 

i also do the same thing, I dont want to be stranded somewhere without any gas

 

Just bought my first new car! 2013 package 2 prius. I got sold on the "pre-paid" maintainence. This was about $1,400 for all maintainence up for 75,000 miles. Is this worth it?!!? I have herd mixed reviews. One is that all those toyota things they check arent necessary. Others say its good to do to keep up on all your maintenance, and it looks great if you ever go to sell your car. Any advice??? Is it about the same cost, yet one you pay up front, or would not getting it be WAY cheaper? Help! Thanks!

 

Its close to the same amount either way. But for a young person with their first car, it's not a bad idea. You can get the service done at any Toyota dealer and you'll never worry about paying for it, or skip it because you're short that month.

 

I'm not a fan of "pre-paid" maintenance, but there are certain questions to ask.

1. Can you work on your own vehicles (have the skills)? How extensive is it?

2. Do you have time to work on your own vehicles?

3. Who would honor the warranty and what is their reputation?

If you're the type of person who would have to believe magical gnomes make the car go because you wouldn't know better, it might be worth it...especially on a more technical car like the Prius.

If you can do your own wrenching, odds are all the typical maintenance issues you can do yourself and just pay Toyota (or a qualified mechanic) to do when the time comes.

I do my own auto work unless it's something that requires tools I don't have or can't rent. Even then, if it's a job best done by someone with the right tools who could do in a day what I'd spend a weekend or two wrestling with, it's sometimes worth hiring them to do it for me.

On the Prius, I'm a bit concerned about how high-tech it is, but I'm hoping that by the time some things need work, there will be shops other than Toyota with people who know how to do it.

My closest Toyota place has a poor reputation, and the next closest one is part of the same "group" of dealerships, so I might not get a better level of quality. There was no point paying for extra protection with that situation.