What every newb should know

I did the same thing. Now I only have to worry about the other two bladders in my new Prius . . . . . mine and the wife's.

 

Hi: I am having difficulties posting a message and thought I'd try it here. I had put down a $500 deposit on a 2010 Prius IV (w/Nav, leather, Solar roof, etc.) on July 18th at the Preston Toyota Dealership in Boardman, OH, and as of today the dealer has no idea when one might appear. I am open for suggestions. Also, this is the first time I have ever signed for a vehicle at full sticker price.
Thanks in advance for any help. MDG153

 

Congrartulation on your choice. When you get a Prius you won't be disappointed. You have selected a relatively rare vehicle and Prii are selling very well...I understand there is a 10 months wait in Japan. If you open your choice to less specific options and expand your dealer choice you could get one a lot sooner. :welcome:

 

battery jump question

 

I carry a battery "one-jump" plug into the lighter pak for my audi. Can I use this if need be for a 2010?

 

Maybe. There is a similar battery back-up device that seems to work for
the Gen II. It does require an "always-on" mod to the power plug under
the dash. But you have to be careful. Gen II knowledge doesn't always
map successfully to the Gen III.

Here's a discussion of the Gen II work-around. The first post summarizes
the thread:

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-.../42651-dead-12v-battery-glove-box-remedy.html

Somebody has to be the first to try on the Gen III, why not you? :cheer2:

 

I agree with all of that, however I would also add "The back of the car is not magnetic."

I upgraded from a '97 Volvo wagon. I went to put my "Support the Troops" ribbon and my "NoBama '08" magnets on the back. They would not stick. No part of the back end of the car is magnetic. I could stick it on the sides, but that would mess with the aerodynamics. My husband is a physicist and he confirmed my math. I guess I will have to live with my static cling stickers on the inside of the back window. Now I have to find a sticker that conveys that at least this Prius owner is a conservative.

 

Actually, Prius's reject the Nobama...

 

Nope, just the magnetic one. The static cling one went just fine next to my St. Andrew's Cross flag, my Celtic cross and my American Flag.

 

I am a newbie on this site, I agree that it's probably not a good idea to drain the tank dry, however I had to do it just one time to satisfy my curiousity. I wanted to see just how far my 1st gen. prius would go from full to empty. Here's what I did, I drove my prius only on monday thru friday to work and back (21 miles one way). On the weekends I drove my Toyota Corolla which is almost 15 years old and has over 220,000 miles and still runs like a champ with no major maintanance issues. but that's another story.
I drove my prius slowly (below 30) on a backroad route that had several small hills which is very good for hypermiling, I also used ethos fuel reformulator which helps the gas burn more evenly with less polution and sludge build up in the engine and no wasted fuel. Most of the time the traffic was very light or none at all. one small stretch of road (about 4 miles) did have moderate traffic (only on the way home) that forced me to go 45 mph. to keep from slowing the flow of traffic. I got 725 miles on 12 gallons. About that last pip that starts to flash, well believe it or not, I got to work and back for one and one half days after the warning first started, that's 63 miles on the low fuel warning light. I think I could have gone farther overall, prehaps 800 miles if I could have avoided that 45 mph stretch of road. not bad for a gen. 1 prius. can you say WOW.

 

Re: What every newb should know + NEW QUESTIONS!

thank you...

 

I guess I'm one of the personalities that have to push the limits. This is my first Prius, an '010, much less my first Toyota/import/foreign make. I've been commuting 100 miles round trip to work for 6 years in an Aerostar (extended length at that) solo, and had to fill up every four trips. I desparetly wanted to fine tune my budget to fill up once a week. I pay close attention to fill ups and milage and estimate how close to absolute stall I can get while maximizing my trip milage. I have been scorned by a buddy with an '05 Prius about this, but it has been in my nature to get maximum distance for my fill up investment. With all due respect, would you give somebody $100 to hold while only having access to half of it?

 

Not sure what you mean. One fill-up cost me around $25 for 8.5 gallons(just before the light blinks). I was able to fill-up to 9.2 gallons once. (Oops not supposed Top off).
Anyways. Figure there is 10 gallons max(including reserve) in the tank. So the Gas Companies are holding onto my 1.5 gallons or $4.50 while I have peace of mind.

On the other hand people fill up when they still have half tank left. The Gas Companies are holding $15 and not $100 dollars.

Finally, let say you run out of gas and run your HV battery down. Not good for the longevity of the ICE and Batteries. The ICE has a warrannty of only 5 years.
Not sure if you want to put yourself in a stressful situation of looking for gas in the middle of nowhere. Or getting into an accident when your ICE stops in the freeway or somewhere dangerous.(Remembe your EV mode is not very quick.)

Last, I used to run out of gas on my other vehicles and it was not a good feeling to have. I didn't purposely do it but I should have know better.

 

Oh yeah, way back in '05 when I got my Prius, the Dealership(SF Toyota) had a owners night and the owners get to talk to the Mechanics about their cars. They had a Prius in service and some of the Prius owners were shown some helpful info on the car. Like where to jump start the car. So if you really want to know more about your new car.
Just ask the mechanic at the dealership. Maybe they will help you. Hey, you already spent a fortune on them and their product.

 

This has been helpful. I'm sure I'll have more ???s later.

 

Gas has been holding steady and dropping a few cents lately in my area. I too top off at the half-mark when I find the lowest local price. Competition for lowest ppg amongst stations is pretty active here.

 

Politics of the price of gasoline.....

I find it amusing that people don't think twice about grabbing a bag of chips or a twelve pack of soda etc at a grocery store, but to shop for gasoline that may be 5-10 cents less than somewhere else is comical. Ten cents a gallon difference on ten gallons is only $1. I've been watching these posts about fill up quantities and again my own fill ups and have been very consistant with what the trip computer is saying I have left, compared to my own estimates. I usually have atleast 1 gallon left before the pump clicks off. During my daily commutes, The furthest between gas stations is 20 miles. Again, according to my trip computer and my own chicken scratch math after filling up, at a constant 60 MPG, that's only a third of a gallon.

Wildbottom I think you do understand my point about those who use only 50% of their fueling. To those who have the bladder type tank, I think I would find it aggrivating not getting or knowing precisely how much gas you have left.

Also, I would like to know why it is not a good thing to top off a gas tank or fill it to the max. I've been doing that all my driving life and haven't experienced anything abnormal.

 

Hi all new Prius II owner almost 4000 miles on it. Blizzard White in color. I live in the Palmdale area, and drive the 14 Autobaun into The Valley, @ 4:00 am , not many other drivers at that time, so I get to try different ways of getting dif MPG. If you see me flash your lights..

 

I let my tank get down to DTE ( 0 ) and then filled it up with 10 gallons of fuel. No problems here.. I live on the edge most of the time....

 

In general good to fill @ 1/2 tank because that's 1/2 space for the gas to evaporate less wastage. I know I'm not 1/2 way through the 600 page user manual, but do pay attention to: "ensure that the gas pedal is not depressed while changed from park to D / R which will result in sudden acceleration which may cause sever injury or death".

I read an article on The River Front times (partnered with backpage.com) where they talked about the Prius horror stories about sudden stalling and sudden acceleration. I knew there was a reason behind it (for that matter of fact any item you buy)... they didn't read the user manual. I know 600 pages is daunting but aren't you excited you have a new car and wanna know about all it can do?

About estimating the MPG @ 1/2 tank that's not too hard. Just need to keep it as A trip and reset it every refill and note down actual mileage and amount of gas poured and voile! You have MPG's.

Oops forgot to mention earlier I read someone saying about junk / debris getting sucked up... that's why we have a fuel filter.