Bad decision.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bendial @ Jul 30 2007, 07:46 PM) [snapback]487684[/snapback]</div>

You might want to see what you can get for it - right now they are holding their value insanely well.

In the last two months I found two 2007 cars with similar mileage and both were within 1.5K of the price of the new ones at the respective dealers.

 

I'm really sorry you had a bad experience. I can imagine that, if it were me, I'd be really unhappy. Fortunately, as the poster above stated, you can probably get very very close to what you paid for it right now. So, if you're gonna trade, and you're sure the Prius is not the car for you, you should trade and get the car that you like. Man, life's too short....

Good luck!! No flaming here... we all just want to be pleased with the cars we purchase.

 

Sorry to hear that. I m 5.5 and I feel it is fine for me.

I do have a 2003 Matrix XRS 6sp and drives it regularly. The only thing I can tell is the gas mileage and cargo space on the Prius is better...but i still love my Matrix.

I think maybe you can modify the seat to a lower position...I saw someone talking about this o this forum.

As for the braking, I think it is good. I have couple times where people cut me off for an highway exit and needs to slam on the brake. The car stop pretty fast. I am also driving a 2004 350z convertible and of course it can't compare to this Z but I still have very much of confident of it. Maybe you can try to find an empty parking lot and try out the brake. Maybe you will be find out something about it.

Resell price is still pretty high...sell it to someone who want one...


good luck

 

I'm 5'1" so NO car is too small for me...except maybe that clown car they put 20 clowns in at the circus. Seriously, though, my husband is 6'4" and he's only complained about the seat being hot, not uncomfortable.

It's too bad- I love our prius! It's my hubby's car, but I'm waiting for the day I can drive it to work every now and then.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bendial @ Jul 30 2007, 07:46 PM) [snapback]487684[/snapback]</div>

Indeed. I'd go put on a fire retardant suit if I were you. As all of the [terrible, obnoxious, farking] Oregon drivers around here say "Ah, he's from California, no wonder he can't drive."

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bendial @ Jul 30 2007, 07:46 PM) [snapback]487684[/snapback]</div>

Humm... I'm not sure that's really enough time to get 'comfy' with the car. That's only 6 or 7 tanks of gas!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bendial @ Jul 30 2007, 07:46 PM) [snapback]487684[/snapback]</div>

Same here. However, there are modifications you can make to tilt the seat back - which makes things much nicer. Driving in traffic is generally uncomfortable. However, again, you really haven't had the car long enough to get comfy with it. It took a while for my seats to mold to my posterior. Until then, it was a little discomforting. But I looked at it as a 'new' car - something I have never had. I've always driving in 15+ year old posterior-warn-in cars.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bendial @ Jul 30 2007, 07:46 PM) [snapback]487684[/snapback]</div>

As much as I hate to say it... I'd have to agree with the terrible Oregon drivers...
Keep in mind that there is a bit of play between regen and the actual brakes touching the disks/drums. Perhaps you're just accustomed to having to mash the brakes in traffic... Leave more room so you don't have to use the brakes.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bendial @ Jul 30 2007, 07:46 PM) [snapback]487684[/snapback]</div>

Do you need glasses? why not steer to avoid the crap in the road? And leave more room.


<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bendial @ Jul 30 2007, 07:46 PM) [snapback]487684[/snapback]</div>

Na, you just don't know how to drive it yet! Give it time man! Leave more room and avoid the holes in the road.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(oly_57mpg @ Jul 30 2007, 06:12 PM) [snapback]487743[/snapback]</div>

Hey!! I resemble that remark!!!


:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

No flames for someone being honest with a real problem. My son is 6'2" with really long legs and his knees are always coming in contact the the cruise control knob. As a result I have been down looking at the mounting of the drivers seat. Looking to see if the bolts could be removed, 4 backwards extenders put on and allow the seat to go back two more inches. That would make a huge improvement for him. It's neither simple nor out of the question. A real market exist for such a mod. May be worth a call to a couple of dealers just to double check. (It would be a real bummer if you changed the car and found out afterwards that something like this existed.) I may be asking before too long probably. Anyone out there heard of such a thing.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(lass @ Jul 30 2007, 09:52 PM) [snapback]487759[/snapback]</div>

Well, I'm glad that you can laugh about it! Sorry to take this post OT... I've never had a problem with CA drivers. They drive fast... but they don't seem to be as selfish, crude, and absolutely moronic as the average Oregonian driver. I've never been honked at for driving -2 under the speed limit in CA!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(FL_Prius_Driver @ Jul 30 2007, 10:22 PM) [snapback]487777[/snapback]</div>

Eeeeehhhhh... It's not really a problem with the car - so much as it's the getting used to a new car.


<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(FL_Prius_Driver @ Jul 30 2007, 10:22 PM) [snapback]487777[/snapback]</div>

Out of curiosity... Is the seat back all the way? Is the steering wheel tilted up? Cause... with the steering wheel tilted up there's 25 inches between the cruise control and the gas pedal. And it's a really odd angle if you were sitting in the drivers seat. Perhaps you mean the gear selector?


<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(FL_Prius_Driver @ Jul 30 2007, 10:22 PM) [snapback]487777[/snapback]</div>

There have been a few people that have done this. The biggest problem is getting the HAL (Airbag sensor) to know how far back the seat is so it knows when to deploy the drivers side airbag.

Here's a PDF detailing converting an adjustable Corolla seat to a Prius seat.
http://priuschat.com/index.php?act=Attach&...ost&id=7228
It's a bit over the top... but the results are stunning.

There was someone (+1 years ago) who welded some extensions on the support rails - but I can't seem to find the link now. now...

 

A few have modified the drivers seat. You can do a search and see if it is worth your while to modify the driver's seat and keep the car. Given your problems I'd sure give the Matrix a thorough test drive, rent it for a few days if possible. You may find that after a few months in the Prius you'd rather put money into modifying the driver's seat than driving another car. It's that CVT. It's an insidious and silent spoiler.

 

Leg room was my biggest concern when buying the Prius. I'm 6'4" and am actually quite comfortable. Certainly, if the seat could go back another inch or two, that would be better. I've driven a couple of long (450 mile) trips and felt pretty good at the end. My biggest comfort concern in most cars is lumbar supports in which I feel the Prius is only adequate - I wish is were better.

Good luck.

 

I have to agree with two of the items. I've had my Prius for 2 months and I'm still not comfortable with the brakes. Seems like it just doesn't have a good feel and I find myself having to put heavy pressure on the brake or I'll run into someone. I've also seen where you are slowing down and hit a bump in the road and the car seems to jump forward. I've seen this when coming off a bridge over a highway just past the bridge there is a light. When I come off the bridge there is a bump and when I'm braking for the light and then hit the bump the car seems to accelerate forward.


<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bendial @ Jul 30 2007, 07:46 PM) [snapback]487684[/snapback]</div>

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mindcrime67 @ Jul 30 2007, 11:07 PM) [snapback]487882[/snapback]</div>

I got used to the brakes within a week. I actually like them, I guess because of the fact that I know I'm recapturing much of the energy that would otherwise become useless heat and brake dust. I switch back and forth between my Z and my Prius w/no issues.

As for weirdness w/the traction control kicking in while braking, I concur. It is odd at best. I don't think it really accelerates forward but it at least seems to briefly not brake...

 

This is the stuff I like to read when I am thinking about buying a car. You can't go to a site like this or walk up to a car owner and say "hey, I'm thinking about buying one of those. Do you like it?" almost everyone will say yes. They didn't buy it because they hated it. Granted, there are times when ppl buy a car because they NEED are car and had a budget and ended up not being totaly happy. Almost everyone has done it.
If I hadn't seen this post I may not have come across any other posts that talked about the breaking being different than other cars. Although I kind of assumed it might be different.

 

I'm not happy with my 2007 Prius either. The mileage is nothing like they claim it gets. The interior plastics are cheap. The center console is very wiggly. The passenger seat squeaks and the TSB didn't fix it. I don't understand why I had to purchase a ScanGauge 2 just so I could monitor the engine coolant temperature and rpms. Not to mention the poor dash lighting and non adjustable steering wheel lighting. Toyota dropped the ball on this one and I fell for the hype enough to purchase one.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rest @ Jul 31 2007, 05:26 AM) [snapback]487914[/snapback]</div>

It's good to hear also from owners who are not satisfied with the car.

1. The old mileage claim was unreal for normal driving. The new estimate is adequate and can be achieved.

2. Even the Yaris has better quality plastics and upholstery.

3. My center console wiggles only when you push hard and wiggle it on purpose.

4. My passenger seat does not squeak.

5. Tachometers in most newer cars with rev limiters and automatic transmisions provide very little useful information. Many newer cars, like the Prius, do not include a water temperature gauge, only a warning light.

6. Dash and steering wheel lighting are fine for me.

The Prius has its share of disadvantages (you forgot to mention the $160 12v battery), but then there's the smart entry, cruise control, climate control, shiftless transmission, 48 mpgs, hatchback convenience, programmable rear view mirror...

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rest @ Jul 31 2007, 05:26 AM) [snapback]487914[/snapback]</div>

I'm not sure what TSB is out, curious to look at it, but OUR passenger seat rattled and squeaked very, very annoyingly since day one. That first weekend I went out to locate the source of the squeak and YES, found the area it was emitting from. Down near the bottom right rear of the front seat, if you were in the rear seat, looking forward at the back of the front seat. It turned out to be a stripped thread sheet metal screw (black, philips, about 1/4" long) that held the bottom right molded plastic to a metal tab on the seat frame. I could have done two things at that point, (1) jamb a larger thread screw in place of the partially stripped screw, or (2) what I actually did, remove the partially stripped screw which was plenty long, add two small (#4?) flat washers and re-insert and tighten the screw to let it now grab to a part that was not stripped. THIS WORKED just fine and NO MORE squeaks, rattle, annoyances.............. guess I was "lucky" on this one !!