Traded my 2011 Prius 5 w/NAV in for a 2013 Prius 4 Solar w/NAV

Hello PC friends!

. It has been a while since I have created a post vs. replying to one. I recently traded my 2011 Prius 5 w/NAV in for a 2013 Prius 4 Solar w/NAV. I bought a Prius 3 w/NAV for my wife last year, so this is my 3rd Prius. These are some thoughts, observations and experiences from my various Prii...

NEW Prius 4:
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. Power windows slow down when closing, neat!
. Seat heater switch is horizontal vs. vertical, but still in an odd location
. Power seats are nice. From driving the Benz cars for a while, I got used to sitting upright, not leaned back. So this is good for me to sit up straight again
. Controls on touch tracer have colors vs. - and +, and some buttons have switched places, same as the controls on steering wheel
. Black carpets and mats, including a black mat in bin area
. Driver’s carpet mat has twist tabs vs. the old hooks. The hooks setup dumped dirt on your hands when trying to remove them!
. Resolution on HSI display is higher
. Auto Dim on the Homelink rearview mirror is still useless. If they could move the photo cell to the hatch by the backup camera it would probably work great! (Idea for a mod?)
. Dash materials. I can't seem to keep this clean, and when I try to clean it, it seems to make things worse! Any tricks?
. Smoother and quieter ride, maybe more insulation and the 15" wheels, and no odd vibration sounds going over bumps
. Center console pocket tray was missing, so I kept the old tray from my 5, and ordered one for my wife's Prius for her phone
. Two tone softex seats look nice, feel like quality materials
. HUD is neat!
. Have to get used to a blue car from driving the red one for a while. A much darker color unless sunlight is directly shining on it!
. I like the sun roof, vent system, and remote AC. A definite plus in southwest Georgia! I got a laugh at setting off alarm by mistake instead of turning on remote AC! Buttons are close together on the fob.
. The upgraded NAV with HDD is nicer but still no 3D maps? And why does the upgraded NAV have fewer features than the NAV in a regular Prius 3? Album art on iPod connection is cool. Bluetooth, works great!
. XM radio sounds cheap, tinny. XM has too much talking needs more music
. Tried Entune, but in the south not much use for tickets and restaurants. Maybe in the big city. Plus that bandwidth is added to your phone bill
. Not sure if I will renew Safety Connect. Did not use it in the 5 at all.
. Beeps. I hate beeps. So many beeps. What is it beeping about this time? Beeps to let me know more beeps are coming? Beep to unlock, beep to start, beep to backup, beep for seat belts, beeps to lock, beeps because you left car with fob in your pocket... Beep. What was that beep for? What did I forget this time? Arrgh!
. NAV updates. How is this going to work this time?
. Rear window wiper rarely used
. Tail lights look neat

The car purchase fun:
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<rant>
In Georgia, we have to go through a SET (Southeast Toyota Distributors) dealer unless you drive to VA or some other state to buy a car. I do not know how this scam started, but whoever worked that deal is raking in millions. They (SET) have a lock down on any Toyota coming in GA, FL, SC and who knows where else. Plus, at the port (Jacksonville, FL) they add tons of overpriced add-ons to bloat the price. Most times over $1500 worth of stuff that cost them 1/4 or less of the price. Examples:
- Floor mat set $399 ($89 from Prius our shop)
- 35 state legal Tint: $399 ($129 if done professional locally)
- Bumper guard: $89 ($29 or less from internet)
- ToyoGuard: $699 (their build sheet says $239 list)
- Dealer fees: $699 (not counting destination charges)

Then there are the dealer scams:
- BS Sticker: ADMU $3,999!? for what? To give them the gas money you save vs. giving it to oil companies?
- Auto Butler: $1,500
- More paint sealer!? plus
- Nitrogen air in tires!? Wow - what a deal!
...Just how much paint sealer and fabric protection does a car need? Probably added 15 pounds to vehicle weight.
- I used to walk away when I spotted these tactics, but when they all do it, what are the choices?
</rant>

OK, I'm done. Now to the fun stuff...

New MODS:
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Got a new touch turn signal relay and installed it in the new car already. I left the original flasher in place in this car so I could just remove the touch turn relay later (at $50 a pop - yikes). I Set it for 4 blinks. I got used to this from the MB cars, plus the one I added to the 5.


Ordered:
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. Yaris yellow fog light kit from eBay. I once read in a car magazine that if you want to see, use white fog lights. If you want to be seen, use yellow fog lights.
. Prius Fog light grill from TRDSparks. Shipping was more reasonable than from Toyotaparts ($14 VS. $45). You know, it did not occur to me to look into the price for the PiP grill. It has a chrome piece to dress up the front end a bit.
. Fiamm horns from Amazon (arrived today). No more Barbie clown car meep-meep...
. Bright interior LED kits from eBay. I tried to install an LED in the headlight area, but it came out of the socket! Almost dropped inside the headlight assembly. What a nightmare that would be to get it out, and then it fell into the engine bay somewhere. Maybe I will find it when I remove the front end to install fogs & horns.

Fog Lights:
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In the 5, there was a dashboard light that came on for the fog lights. The fog light switch was on the turn signal stalk. I wonder if there is a way to hook that into the new fog light switch.

I do not plan to install JDM mirrors, shark fin antenna, LED Tail lights, or some other expensive time consuming mods this time. I Sunk a lot of $ into the 5 only to not get any return on trade for some cosmetic upgrades that most people do not even realize they are different. For example: My wife is not interested in mods. The car gets her where she needs to go. I did all that work to my 5, and it was basically invisible to anyone that did not know about JDM or other Prius mods. I knew, but still I began to think about why I keep doing this.

Wheels:
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. Install wheel locks (is there a theft problem for Prius factory wheels?)
. Maybe add some 15's that look like the persona 17's? but will the TPS sensors move to the new wheels? Those hub caps are ugly. I saw some 15" TSW wheels on TireRack.Com that looked OK, but the TPS may be an issue. I like the smoother ride the 15's have. Perhaps later...

Some old Mods experiences:
The OLD Prius:
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. Wood interior (bamboo) kit is not really wood like I originally thought. The plastic began peeling off by the window switches, but it still looked very nice though.
. Interior LEDs - got used to these so I will add them to the new car.
. I did not remove a lot of my old mods for the trade, but left them in the 5 such as the: interior LED's, touch turn relay, wood trim kit, shark fin antenna, Fiamm horns, Philips DRL's, JDM Mirrors, etc. Most mods were too much trouble to remove, plus I could not find some of the old parts I had saved. I did remove the Valenti HC LED Tail lights and the stereo amps, but do not plan to install them on the 4 Solar.

OK:
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I do not log into PC much anymore, but I do lurk a bit from time to time for some ideas. If you ask me a question, please be patient!

Thanks for reading my story! )


Some pix 4 U:


Blue!



A lot of rain lately!



One last look...

The Album: Blue Max | PriusChat

-Zed

 

Hi ursle,

. Thanks! I will try that! Best MPG I ever got was 54. The Prius 4 is about 3 MPG better than the 5 but the 5 was loaded with speakers and amps. They use 10% ethanol in a lot of gas around here.

-Zed

 

Hi fruth,
. If you can get the car at the port before options are installed you may save some money. If they are installed or if they get your car traded in from another dealer (my blue and bisque) was in Fla. and they traded it for a Camry, you are stuck. I went through truecar.com the dealer matched the price, but low balled the trade to make up for it.

-Zed

 

Hi 32K!

. Thanks for the info and tips! I thought you may have figured out the dash fog light icon by now!


Did not think about Dianne, but not sure how a trade would have worked.


-Zed

 

Hi PC,

9/28/2013 - Here is what it looks like as of today (after a few mods)



-Zed