I just got an idea. I see a lot of "how do you" threads, and I'm already worried about how I'm going to get up to speed when (if?) my Prime actually arrives. I think it would be a tremendous help if I could talk a local owner into spending an hour with me to cover some of the basics. From my interactions with the staff where I ordered my car, I think an actual experienced owner is going to be much more help than a Toyota salesperson (at least, given the relatively inexperienced dealerships in my neck of the woods). Maybe folks would be willing to give their location and comment if they're willing to be a Big Brother or Big Sister to a spanking new Prime owner?
Im sure I'll find a Prime owner who would do this......the salesmen don't know anything other than what they really need to know to sell iPhone ?
I'm spoiled. Todd at Tampa Hybrids spend about that much time with each of his buyers as a routine practice. Why would a dealer not want you to be happy with your purchase? Are they hoping you WON'T come back?
My Gen 1 driving salesman spent over 30 minutes reviewing the car features before a test drive. "Toyota Sam" Lee at Miller Toyota in Manassas VA. We arranged many things by email & phone before we visited.
I'm in NJ and based on how little I've learned from the dealers, I understand your concern. I made a list when I was waiting for the car of things I wanted to do when it showed up, and I watched all of Toyota's Prius Prime videos (and several for Prius 2016) as well, some of them more than once. There were also a couple of pretty good videos by a guy whose youtube name is something like Cloud9Life - he had some "real life" demos of the Dynamic Cruise Control and Lane Departure Alert. I still haven't gotten the Simple Advanced Parking Guidance System (love that name!) to work correctly. So far it's been easier to just park it myself, but I haven't given up trying yet. Here was my list, based on an Advanced. Most of them were not that hard. I also found the manuals online via the links here in the forum (in the Stickied threads), so I read up a little ahead of time. OK, let's be real; I geeked out a lot! Still reading the manuals. Upon delivery: Reverse beep setting to minimum (dealer must do this one, and they didn't until I brought it back with pages printed from the owners manual) Ask for the original sticker (prior to delivery - they did this) Battery charged / set up charging schedule Visual inspection, interior and exterior, paint Check / Test both key fobs Check for charging cable, spare tire kit, lug nuts, tonneau cover, carpets mats and cargo mat Oil level, fluids Tank of gas? (if included on sticker, it should be in the tank) Antenna installed (not really relevant for the Prime) Pair phone (salesman actually helped with this, but I could have done it myself) Ask about recommended E-Z pass tag location on windshield (they had no useful suggestions) VIN etching? If yes, notify insurance Entune free subscription info / setup (had to do this myself) Safety Connect free 3 year subscription (had to do this myself) 3 years of Toyota Roadside Assistance ChargePoint card (was stuffed inside package with owner's manual) Afterward: Set up Homelink garage door opener Tire pressure (41-40, rec 36/35) Turn on auto-headlights and high beams iOttie phone mount - still haven't done this. Need to start a thread about where others are mounting phones with the larger screen since I don't see one when I search. I have been trying out the Toyota Nav but I still want Waze. Umbrella Insurance card / registration Grocery bags USB cable Set up some navigation defaults, home, work, etc. Radio stations (this was fun - lost all old ones in old car in September with 12 V battery replacement, so I did research and set lots of new ones!) Cruise control and LKA settings Reflector triangles First Aid kit Jumper cables Change for parking meters E-Z pass tag Tire pressure gauge Snow brush Clear garage area for charging cable / add hooks
Wow, Ruby, that's quite a list! When I test drove my Prius, the sales person didn't even know if it was a Premium or Advanced, and was unable to demonstrate a couple of basic features I asked about. I don't know if we have a hybrid car group in Minnesota - there is definitely an active EV car group here, but I don't know of any Prime owners in the group. That should change with time, hopefully.
Awesome. There's a new member here who's contacted Todd about coming up from somewhere out of town in FL. Honey2017, if I remember right.
I finally got back in parking to work tonight! The trick (found that by searching in the 2016 Prius forum here) was to turn the blinker on so it knew which direction I wanted it to look for the spot before I pressed the button. It even offered to correct the centering, and ended up perfectly on its second try. I will continue to practice using this since I tend to do it daily at work.
I got it from my previous Prius list, where the antenna screws on (Gen 2). Turns out it really wasn't relevant with the shark fin antenna on the Prime, which I suspect is not as easily removed. Edited list above to reflect that.
That would have been helpful for me. So I'm willing to be a big sib to someone reasonably close to central Maryland.
If there's anyone in the Atlanta area that would want to be a big sib to me, my car's supposed to get here in a week and a half and I can guarantee the dealers around here know next to nothing about them.
