For such a green car, new Prii are extraordinarily toxic....

There is -nothing- different in the Prius that any other new car has. Perhaps something got into the air intake system when it was parked, either before or after delivery. To check you have to remove the wiper arms and then the large plastic tray just at the bottom of the windshield. Under that you will find the air intake ports for the cabin air. Mice etc. can get in there, and leaves and other matter can build up there and plug the water drain holes.

All new cars have a lot of plastic inside, and that plastic will out-gas constantly. I leave both front windows rolled down about 2-3 cm when the car is parked. I have the side window deflectors to keep rain out. You can tell if there is a lot of outgasing by watching it build up on the inside of the windshield. Keeping the two windows rolled down a bit reduces that buildup a lot in my car.

Did the dealer treat the interior with some form of "anti-stain" spray? THAT will cause eye watering. Perhaps on the carpets or removable carpet protectors/mats? Try removing them from the car and see if you still react after a few days.

I do have allergies, but I don't react to Pearl (except for love ).

 

Our new prius has 110 miles on it now. My wife has extreme allergies, mine are mild. Neither of us have had any problems with our car. This seems to be unique to your vehicle or a dealer application of something.

 

No problem with mine brand new Prius. Internals of it are not much different from other modern cars. Of course probably best to keep avoiding internal air recirculation with any new car, unless driving behind big diesel trucks emitting tons of diesel dust particles direct into your lungs.

Ogo

 

Did the dealer apply fabric protector? Ask them explicitly in case it was done by accident or does not appear on your invoice for some other reason.

 

[Someone else needs to help me out here with the specifics, but . . .]
Aren't the plastics inside the Prius plant based and not petroleum based?

Your wife isn't allergic to EVERYTHING. What may not bother her could be an extreme allergen to someone else.

I have no known allergies to natural things, but my sinuses start hurting whenever I am in a new car (doesn't matter make or model), new houses, or near people with massive amounts of perfume.

I especially hate those plug-in air fresheners. Better living through chemistry my a**!

 

My wife is alergic to everything and then some. The worst is cologne stench (my car pool rider must take a bath in it and won't cut back) that gets all over the seat belts. And his kitty dander on the carpet. But try this stuff:

Zero Odor Store: safety

We spray it on the car's carpet / seatbelts, upholstery, cab air filter etc and BAM. Stench is gone ~ regardless of where it's comming from.

 

My 2008 Prius smells exacly like my moms 2008 Camry in the inside.

 

I'm actually wondering about what those cars were... The Prius has a very large (relative to others) dash that is exposed to the sun... Maybe its just stronger because of that and will fade in time

 

Take a deep breath and enjoy the high.

 

I've had this problem with every new car I've owned, except the Xebra, but that had been at the dealership for a couple of months, so I didn't get it straight off the boat. My Prius when new was no better and no worse than any other new car. I've always had to leave the windows open for the first couple of months.

 

Mine was the same way when new, it was so bad it would coat the inside of the windows and that stuff was really hard to get off. Mine sits in the sun every day for 8 1/2 hours which made it even worse. I'm not sure if its plastic degassing or fabric. It could be that those without the problem never park in the sun, or if its the fabric, they have leather. I have fabric. It eventually went away after a couple months, although after a year and a half people say my car still smells new. Park in the shade if you can, and leave the windows cracked open if possible.