A Perfect Storm of Doubt

Not sure if you are simply a troll, or a "nut case" (as you say you are)? Or maybe you're just one of those people who needs reassuring? You say you've been 'researching the G3 since before the car was even released, so you should have had more than enough time and data to make an informed choice by now. If not, I'd wait a few more years to see what various reliability studies show - they would be more statistically meaningful than a handful of posts from people that have had issues with rattles in their dash, or "grabby brakes'.

No. No and no. But even if i had expereinced any of these, I guess the question to ask is - to what degree, or how often? Further, one needs to assess whether this represents a minority, or whether a statistically significant number of owners have experienced these problems?? There is not a car made today that I can't find some people that have issues with the car.

Exactly.

 

Then just pull the trigger or kick the idea to the curb and move on with life. Most of the concerns are specious at best..and I still think it's attention grabbing. It's just a damn car. In the greater scheme of things your Yes or No doesn't matter one whit.

 

Your last question (comment) tells me you're a troll. In my mind, there's no doubt about it. Stop the pretext that you are trying to get information, as the information you claim to seek, already exists on this site in multiple threads and posts. Fact.

Please stay with your Honda, troll.

 

"Insecure"? LOL. I'm not the "insecure" one. I'm not the one who needs reassurances, and can't decide after "researching" a car for nearly a year. You're the one who writes: "So Prius Chatters, talk me over this monster wave of doubt. Seriously, this dark winter has me feeling insecure."

How do you even function in life? I'm surprised you can get out of bed in the morning without checking with your mommy to see if it's OK? Yikes!

Further, your apparent pretext of looking for car buying information has been exposed as a troll fishing expedition. Why do I say this? Because the information you (supposedly) seek has already been posted in many, many other threads. Just open your eyes, and the answers you (supposedly) seek are right in front of you.

By the way, one of the characteristics of "the troll", and why they do what they do is - they need attention. This thread of your's smacks, no, shouts, "give me some attention". The best way to defeat the troll is to ignore the troll. In that regard, you will be ignored by this poster.

Enjoy your Honda.

 

Without knowing your criteria, its hard to recommend that you buy a Prius. It is a hybrid which makes it do some bizzare things. Some of these are good and some are bad. From your rant, you will likely grasp upon the bad things and be unhappy with your choice.

On the specific issues, I don't have the cargo net, but assume its fixed from the reactions.

On the gas pedal, this is not the 2010. I bought my prius floor mats online, but the mats didn't get close to the gas pedal. There is no way this is an issue with this car. Toyota IMHO did poke the pooch on handling the situation, so go ahead and lose some warm fuzzies but forget about it (unless you are buying used GenII, which doesn't make much sense if these issues bother you).

On dash rattles, I've heard 2, and am sure others have this problem. 1 time it was caused from things in the console, and I may add fabric to stop this. The other time I think it really was the dash materials, it was a cold morning and it went away later. If it comes back I may follow the gremlins. Its not that big of a deal.

On the brakes momentarily releasing on loss of traction, I have not felt this on my car. I'm sure others have. I did put stickier tires on my car so the odds are lower I'll ever feel it. From the reports it sounds like a combination of the programing of the system, the low rr tires, and partially feel of the regen brakes going to mechanical brakes. I expect that it won't affect me, but depending on your terrain and driving it will affect some, and toyota needs to come up with a fix. If I am going on uneven pavement I brake early and follow further behind, so for me it won't be a safety issue.

So there it is, there is no perfect storm, or even a storm. There are some minor issues, and only one of the issues you mentioned is real on the current car.

I like prius better than I expected, but I came from a higher performance, more luxurious car. The things that bother me about the prius will likely not be a problem for you coming from a 17yo honda. You may be happier with one of the new cars coming out depending on your requirements, but a plug in prius will not be much better than the current car.

 

EM,

My purchase of a 2010 Prius was the first time I broke a certain injunction of my mother's--don't buy a model during its first year of production. We will see if I turn out glad to get the new cool thing or if I regret buying something before all the bugs get worked out.

I bet that we will find out how real the brake problems are over the next few months, and if they are real, they will be fixed by the 2011 model year. So, if you can wait several months to buy a new car, take my mother's advice, and wait for the 2011s.

If you can't wait, judge the uncertainties of the new Prius against whatever uncertainties there are with whatever other cars you're looking at.

 

To the OP,

Have you ever driven a 2010 Prius?

(Please say yes, and that you haven't been relying on the internet alone to learn about the car).

And also answer the question, please.

 

to the OP,

1) The Lithium Ion powered Prius, when it arrives, will be expensive, priced well above even the V model. I recall you said you are not laden with money, so a Li-Ion car is likely not for you.

2) You might do well to wait for at least the 2nd year model Prius, 2011 next Fall, or the 2012. Toyota has said the Prius is very important to them, so I know they will iron out any major problems.

3) My 2009 has a little dash rattle that comes up once in a while. Also, the window rattles when it's cracked open a bit.

4) Sometimes my 2009 brakes get a little grabby when backing out of the garage. It may by operator error. It's a tiny bit annoying at that moment, that's about it.

 

To Bad your in the Northwest!

If you were in the Northeast and closer you could see my car first hand...ride in it, and see that the car is quite solid.

It rides well, handles well, (much better than my 2007 Honda Civic Hybrid).

The MPG are higher especially in Winter thus far. Sure I have taken a hit but compared to the Honda Civic...much less. In fact today on 1/2 tank in 20 degree weather, averaging about 45 MPG. I would only average 32 Tops in the Honda Civic Hybrid...

In the last couple warm months, the Electric A/C was a dream. What an improvement over the Honda which cycled off at a stop and the car warmed....and the Honda took a deent MPG hit as well. But did NOT notice that in the Prius since the Compressor is Electric.

I love the comfort of the seats, some complain, but then we only have words to go by, and each persons physical characteristics play a role in comfort.

I don't have squeaks, never have had the GRABBY brakes when in reverse out of my driveway which is on a incline as well. Some feel this other's don't. I think it's a combination of factors self created personally. I use the "Park" button all the time, others don't. Does this cause something??? Who know's...

I must say the Warranty of the Battery Pack is exceptional. Given it's not Lithium Ion, I don't think it buys much.

Looking at the new Nissan introduction "LEAF", who want's to Lease the Battery pack??? That seems useless to me. Offer a 35-40K car and then lease the Battery Pack??? I don't understand the theory.

But If you could make it through winter with your existing car then by all means do so. I live in a snow/cold/and sometimes wet climate as well. I don't have any worry with the new Prius. It has handled much better than previous small cars including the Gen I that I used to own.

All in all pretty darn satisfied with the car. Could it be better?? Guess we could have turn signals in the mirror and a HUD to make it even more perfect to me. But those are minor in comparison. Auto headlights would be nice to, but there is a slight workaround, leave them on all the time, and they AUTO OFF!

So like I said in a earlier post, your at the captains wheel to decide which way you want to go. If you decide to rent one to try it out, understand that most rentals are beaten harder than the car you would most likely own. If you can get a low mileage rental, then give it a try...good advice without taking the plunge...

Good luck no matter what you decide in the end...

 

I got lucky with renting a Prius V ... it had 3 miles total when I drove off with it.

 

The Electric Me, I've got another (very intelligent) friend that seems to look at things like you.

My suggestion is to wait until the perfect car arrives. That way you'll never be disappointed and we can all be happy.

 

It sounds as though you analyze decisions such as this as much as I do.

Cargo Net
I was irritated by the original attachment design (not smart) but nothing as complex as a car is built without a few dumb details. It was not a big deal to me but if I had not had previous Toyotas, I might have worried about other hidden mistakes. Our Gen III Prius came without a cargo net but I had a call from Toyota in Mid Dec that they had on for me and the attachment design seems fine.

Mats
Mine came with carpet mats which if anything seemed too well fastened and the Canadian All Weather mats also seem to be fine.

Brakes Grab in Reverse
Its happened to me once in 4 1/2 months (unusual conditions on a steep hill). It was a bit of a pain but it was no deal breaker and from Priuschat I now have a better idea of how to deal with it

Squeaks
Squeaks and rattles really bug me and this was one motivation for getting rid of our Honda Accord. I have no concern with what I've heard so far in our Prius. I've noticed squeaks from the center console briefly during warm up on cold mornings.

Brakes and Bumps
Losing braking effect momentarily when hitting a bump has happened to me once. It seems that its not really hazardous but it is certainly disconcerting the first time. The subject was discussed quite thoroughly in Priuschat early in the life of the Gen II. I gather it may be inherent with regenerative braking and I would not want to give that up. Sticking to recommended tire pressures should help as would going to tires optimized for road adhesion. I'm also hoping that a firmware update might reduce it. Bottom line for me is: not new, apparently not dangerous and does not appear to be enough of a problem to cause me any concerns or regrets.

Gen III vrs Fit
I started out expecting to choose a Fit but chose the Gen IIII for better seating, quietness, lower fuel consumption, more relaxed trips, Stability Control (not available in Canadian Fits), a trunk that would hold and conceal 2 folding bikes under a tonneau, fewer squeaks. and a generally higher standard of comfort. More money up front but correspondingly more car and possibly no more costly over time.

Gen III vrs Gen II
I chose Gen III for much better seating for drivers with long legs, much better traction control, more power with slightly lower fuel consumption, a bit more space, better road feel, a body style that will probably still look current in 5 years time, and a whole lot of other improvements . If I had shorter legs and the price differential had been a lot larger, I might have chosen a Gen II.

Gen III vrs 2002 Accord
I far prefer the Gen III except for the shrinking window depth and sloped window line which I see as an issue common to nearly all late model cars.

Renting
I rented a Camry Hybrid for a week long work/holiday trip and a Prius for a day trip. I far preferred the Prius and renting it was critical in my decision to buy it.

 

You must be smoking something.
If you're serious with your perfect excuses why are you still even considering Prius.

 

Why should the readers of this forum be concerned that you might NOT get a Prius? Most of us have ours.

 

comment deleted

 

Sorry, but that is just not true. If it were you would have conceded by now that your first two concerns were false and are non-issues. You have yet to do that even though you were quick to point out my misreading of something of yours, which I then immediately apologized for.

If you are really genuine and attempting to be fair, you would edit your first post and take out the false issues you listed. But you haven't, and up to the post of yours that I quoted you haven't even acknowledged your "error", even after telling me there were multiple posts about both of the false accusations you leveled, which prove that you know, or at least should know, that they were non-issues before you listed them as your first and second "problems" with the car.

At this point it just reads as feigned innocence.