A Few Questions From a New Member

Hello All-

I have a few questions I hope some members can guide me with.

I currently have an 09 Honda Sport Fit. I traded in my Honda Civic Hybrid because the hybrid battery kept getting drained when I would drive around town and use the AC. The only god thing I can say about the 2 years I had that is that I learned good driving habits because I was trying to get the "best" gas usage and at first, I was told by the service dept. that I needed to change the way I drive.

So, the Fit Sport is going because I kind of did not expect to get an automatic, the salesguy said there was not one in the US but he could order one. The next day I got a call from him saying y car was in and to come down and let's get the trade-in done and get you in your new car. I never even sat in a Fit Spot and I never even looked at the car in detail before I signed all the papers and drove away in the new Honda fit. I noticed that I was too big and could not comfortably drive in the car--esoecialy for long.

so, I want a 09 Prius. I have 2 friends that have them and they have had issues that I wanted to run past you experts here.

One is an 07 and one is an 08. The 08 has had the tire PSI gauge go of from the beginning. he would bring it in to the shop and they would say there was nothing wrong with the tires. he would fill 2 tires up a bit and the light would go off. Well to make a long story short, this went on and off for about a year until he finally took it to a dependant tire store. They told him the front 2 tires were bulging in the inside and he needed to replace them. He did, did not save the old tires, did not go back to the Toyota dealer, etc. I was wondering since the front and rear tires have different PSI requirements is it OK just to get new tires on the front?

The other frined has had a nightmare with her keyless entry system. She has lost the battery charge twice, I guess from acidentaly leaving various lights on when she thought she had locked the car and al lights were off. I was in the car once, right before another battery failure when she walked away, locked the doors by the little box keyless thing and I noticed the car quickly unlocked and several interir lights went back on. Currently there are od things happening to her and I think she is close to another battery failure.

The problem, I think, is that she locks the car when she is still too close to the car and the keyless system identifies this and unlocks the car. Any siggestions on this would be helpful.

I am in the market for an 09, package 5 Prius. I would like to get some feedback from drivers of Priuses and let me know about the problems mentioned above and anthing I should look out for when getting a new 09 Prius.

I am going to use the Honda 09 Sport Fit as a trade-in because I do not have the time to try and sell it on my own.

I am interested in the navi system but can't get leather seats because I let my dog in my car. I have checked out 4 dealers in the Salt Lake City area and the price (if they can find this package) ranges from $28,000 plus all the extra fees to $30K plus all the extra fees. Are these prices competitive? Any idea what a good price for the 09 package 5 Prius should be?

I really appreciate any info. I can get. I feel really bad I have to trade in a new car, but I pray the Prius is a good car and will hold up for 5 years.

Cheers

 

thanks for your answers.
so you got a new car and put new ties on it? These were the tires that came with the car (on my friend's car). I noticed on the door area that the front and back require different psi. I thought that was odd.

His low pressure light kept going off but the toyota dealer told him they could not find a leak. he noticed 2 tires down about 5 psi every other day so he took it to an independent tire dealer and they sold him 2 new front tires.

I told him that was not right for toyota to tell him there is nothing wrong but the low psi light kept coming on. I think the bulge in the inside of the front tires was from him driving the car when the tires were too low.

anyway the 2 new front tires fixed the low tire pressure light. it does not come on anymore.

 

I tried but the car is not in KBB yet. I have had it just a few months. If it is not close to what I paid, I will not accept it. I know they do not give as much if I sold it privately but a lot less hassle, less tax on the new car, don't have to worry about transfeing the title, etc. I look at all those "opportunity costs."


(I think I learned something in the MBA Program)

 

I was in the passanger's side. I think it was a sign the system was getting ready to go because the picture that comes on the screen when he backs up---that unction no matter what was on (radio, a/c, etc.) would not come on except for short bursts and I checked if the "off" was pressed. You know the off or on to have the screen go off or stay on.

His tires looked decent to me but I am no tire expert. It was odd that 2 of them had a slow leak (we found out but he was too busy to bring the car in) He took it to this tire place and they sold him Arizona's for a hefty pice. I had never heard of this brand tire.

Do all Priuses come with these "low-bid things?"

 

Yea, I think you are right. He never did read the manual. However, there were signs that something was wrong with the battery (maybe not "wrong" but going to happen by the way it acted. The way you describe using the system is very interesting. i do not think he knows what those soft pads are for.

 

I read that section in my friends manual and there are 2 instances when the low pressure light goes on. One is a or more than 1 tire pressure is LOW. Once the tire pressure is brought back up to the recommended amount (plus or minus 5% or something around that) the light goes off. I witnessed this about 20 times before my friend gave in and put new tires on the car.

the second reason the same light goes on is more severe and this calls for a reset but I better not state the exact reason.

If I am wrong with this, my memory is getting really bad. I just read this tying to help my friend get his tires fixed and not have to worry so much about the low pressure light.

If it does ned reseting why when I would put air in to 30 or 35 would the light go off until the air was low again?

Did I read that somebody keeps 40 or 45 psi in their Goodyear's? Wow, that is tight tires. What is the purpose of that?

 

wow, interesting. I was told you have to chuck the old plates and pay for the license and registration for the new one right there at the dealer.

So you sold it to the Honda dealer and not even having a trade-in? I never heard of that. is that a common thing if I ask them if they want to buy the car they just sold me back? I even purchased the extended warranty. With my Honda civic Hybrid I got some of that back even know I NEVER used it because my 3 year car only had 13,000 miles on it.

I built a car and I have the MSRP but everybody tells me; "do not ever pay MSRP."

So you got that shield thing Tim was referring to. Is that something you are glad you got?

 

yea, I sat in the Honda Fit Sport after I purchased it and drove it away and thought; "this is a real cool car..." But after a 2 hour drive......the "coolness" was not there any more.