Greetings to all. I just joined the forum after buying a 2013 v Five on Wednesday. My 2007 Camry was diagnosed with an engine problem that was sort of band-aid fixed but would in the future eventually mean an engine replacement. At 172k miles, that wasn't going to happen when I got an estimate of $7,100. Yeah, I know. I rented a Prius v from the dealership while they looked at my car. I had driven a Prius back in 2006 when I got my Camry, and the only issue was they were maybe a little smaller than I wanted. But I made a vow to myself to at least get a hybrid car next time I got one. Since waiting until 2017 for the Tesla Model III was out the door, I was happy to discover this model. It was comparable to my Camry in interior space, likely with more back seat room. So I ended up with a 2013 with 19,000 miles on it. I think it has everything you can get aside from the JBL sound system and remote start. The dash console is really nice and gives you good feedback on how you're driving in regard to fuel economy. With the rental I had for two days literally off the truck, I got either 35 or 37 mpg. That's better than the 24 or so I ususally could get with my Camry and will save me billions (OK, a few hundred each year) on fuel with how many miles I drive on average. Glad to be part of the club so far. Still learning a new thing about the car almost every day. I found out that the washer fluid on the headlights was real by accident. Also discovered how to lower my seat, which I had done with a little switch on my powered Camry seats. Still can't get the Home Link to program my garage door opener, but since it worked at my parents' home I think it's just a weak battery on the remote. If anybody has any "hey stupid don't do this!" advice, I welcome it. I already read here not to jump another car from mine unless I know exactly what I'm doing. I'm not a car expert, so I will never try that unless it's post-zombie apocalypse.
Congrats on the new Prius v. Ours is our first Prius and we are getting around 44 mpg through the first half dozen tanks of gas. Still trying to work out the most advantageous driving style.
To the original poster: I've had some trouble programming the Homelink to work with rolling code garage door openers. Older style ones have worked fine. If you figure out a trick let me know.
Very true. I filled up last night and reset the trip odometer. Gone about 100 miles since on a mix of surface streets, highways and freeways. Sitting at about 41 right now. My Camry averaged about 23-24, so this is awesome. Thanks for all the welcomes! I tried replacing the battery in my GD opener and retried setting HomeLink. I'll find out tonight if it works now.
You may have better luck with the homelink thing by following the garage door opener's instructions instead of the car owners manual instructions. I know they made better sense to me and worked. If you don't have them, a quick google of that opener's model number should find them.
Question: Does Homelink work without the Smartkey nearby? Since we often park the v on the driveway, I'm worried that someone could potentially break into the car and have access to my garage.
The Homelink buttons work all the time regardless of system state or key proximity. But of course its easier to break in to a garage door than a car. If someone wants to get in there, they will.
Regarding your last paragraph, don't ever try to jumpstart another car from your Prius, your Prius 12 volt is quite small, it's main function is to just start your cars computers. As for jump starting your car it can be done but read and understand the instructions in the owners manual first. A mistake there is a $2000 mistake (so I've been told).
Our 2013 Prius v is now eight years old and I'm worried about the Hybrid Battery. Getting stuck in traffic or even in a McDonalds drive through, the battery goes down to two bars. I talked to a Toyota Tech on the phone about this and he says, " Good luck getting Toyota to replace this Battery under warranty". But, will the car still start, if for some reason we had to turn it off in that condition. It will charge back up with about 5-10 miles of driving, but when it gets that low, we turn off the air conditioner, defrosters etc. Has anyone been able to get a battery replacement under these conditions.
For Homelink I just get my son to do it, lol. 12 volt battery disconnect does NOT screw it up, praise God…
No warning lights no problem no warranty. The hv battery gauge is a very narrow window into the battery. It normally shows a range of 60-80% of battery charge even though it looks like 0-100% to you. When the hv battery discharges enough the engine starts to boost the charge a little. Normal. So the battery rarely discharges less than 60%. Warning light while the car is still in warranty, maybe. Toyota warrants longer than 8 years 100k miles in some states but we don't know your state or mileage. For example California is 10 years 150k miles. The fact is sooner than later it may need a refurb, used, new cells or new battery assembly depending on your wallet and wishes for long term ownership past that time. Those options are discussed endlessly here. But you might have several years to go.
