Got home last night from our annual long drive visiting family. The drive covered a little over 6,400 miles and 16 states from coast to coast. We were gone about 3 1/2 weeks. The car performed like a champ. Car prep: 120k service done a few thousand miles early, including new serpentine belt and 12v battery. I also used the Prolong Deluxe battery conditioning system on the hybrid battery since it was showing some signs of age. Tire pressure was set to 40 psi front, 38 psi rear Griot's bug protectant applied to the front of the car after a serious washing and waxing. Conditions: Almost all of the driving was between 65 and 80 mph and the air conditioning was on 100% of the time. Temperatures were always between 90 and 104*F as we traveled only during daylight hours.The car was loaded with my wife, one daughter (she's 5'10"), myself, four suitcases plus cosmetic bag and CPAP unit, two ice chests (one medical, one food and drink) and other items for delivery to family that were replaced by souvenirs and stuff as we went along. We were also carrying four seat cushions. Observations and end results: The air conditioning performed flawlessly, even in high humidity while climbing. Entertainment was provided by a tablet with a 64 gb microSD card plugged in & placed into the console. It was a great way to go, compact and thoroughly enjoyable.No need for CDs or the radio. We didn't use the seat cushions a lot as the seats were a little more tolerable than we thought they would be. Next year we'll only take along two of them. The car never struggled to maintain speed, even over mountain passes. We had a couple of days where the battery was down in the purple almost all day long due to gradual climbing but it recovered nicely when it had the opportunity. The car is burning about 1/2 quart per 3,000 miles. A big shout out to Modern Toyota in Winston-Salem, NC for the great treatment during the 5,000 mile service performed on that side of the country. Great service and very accommodating. I wish I had the bottle of Griot's bug protectant with me. That stuff is phenomenal for keeping the bugs from sticking but it needs to be reapplied after each downpour or wash. The car averaged 44.2 mpg for the entire trip, raising the average since we bought the car to 43.0 mpg. We fell in love with this car all over again and can't wait to do it again next year.
Great to hear your Prius did so well! There's a good chance I'll be taking mine for a cross-country trip at the end of the year, so your experience is very encouraging.
I put the Prolong Harness on our 2010 Prius II when it had 149 k miles on it. I began to see the battery cycling on the HSI quickly. In discussing with @jeff652 and looking at the Hybrid Automotive website, this is an early sign of battery degradation. In CA the battery warranty is up to 150 k miles, so I knew I would be out on miles before the years, and I want to drive our Prius into the ground and last many more years and miles. So I went down the preventative maintenance route. Did a top end balance in March which helped keep the battery from cycling as much. I have a 36 mile one way commute, and there are many slow downs along the way. The battery definitely has lasted longer than this trip in the past. Did 2 cycles of reconditioning over Memorial Day weekend and the battery has definitely shown signs of being more durable. I have not seen the battery on the HSI drop below 5 bars. Just my experience, but I plan on doing a top end charge in August to stay on the every 3 month plan. Hope that helps.
On the MFD screen the state of charge was changing rapidly up and down and it was not holding in the upper blue area as well as it should. When first starting out in the morning the car was in the purple within a block no matter what the conditions. Now it's holding the charge much more consistently; it's not nearly as volatile. One big change now is heading up the Cajon Pass near our home. The car was drained to the point of showing a white screen (not even a purple bar), something we didn't see with the previous Prius. Since the Prolong treatment I've climbed that pass twice now and had two bars at the top both times.
Just play with the seat positions till you get the right angle and distance from the pedals and wheel. I never have back problems driving anything, although after about 15 hours on the motorcycle my shoulders used to be wishing I had arm rests. LOL! Speaking of bikes, here's an old biker's trick. Take a couple aspirin before you start your trip.
Stop at a Dollar Store and grab a couple of cheap mesh lumbar supports. Makes all the difference in the world.
Me too bro wow is right. The seats kill my L5 L4 and I find the car crippling to drive for any length of time. Hits hard you hear every little road defect and requires constant steering input. Aside from that it's the best little car I have ever owned it's reliability cannot be beat. My wife has no comfort issue with the car but if you have a bad back it will kill you.
Travel with a spouse who needs frequent restroom stops or stop at almost every rest stop and utilize them to get out of the car yourself. Walk around for a couple of minutes while stretching the legs and back. Also, rotate seat cushions in and out so you are constantly changing the feel, cushion and support of the seats. We mainly used some seat cushions that had really good removable lumbar support pillows. They separate so you can use the full seat cushion with lumbar support, full seat cushion without lumbar, just the cushion under your derriere, just the back cushion or just the lumbar pillow. Picked them up at a Costco outlet store for less than $20 each.
A very important consideration is avoiding deep vein thrombosis (DVT) from sitting in one position too long. Those blood clots are what recently killed a 35 year old mom who used to bring her child through my crosswalk. No matter which seat cushions you get make sure you are changing your position, getting out of the car, walking a little and stretching from time to time. Keep the blood circulating.
