1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Land shark site for systemic problems?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Technical Discussion' started by bwilson4web, Apr 4, 2008.

  1. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

    Joined:
    Nov 25, 2005
    27,665
    15,664
    0
    Location:
    Huntsville AL
    Vehicle:
    2018 Tesla Model 3
    Model:
    Prime Plus


    I'm not sure if there is any 'right' forum for this but I recently came across a web site by "Consumer Affairs," a bunch of lawyers looking for someone to sue. They published a web report of all the Prius complaints titled "Should You Buy a Second-Hand Prius?"

    Now I take all of these complaints with a big grain of salt but it does represent a group of owners who think they had a problem caused by the car itself. I plan to go through the complaints and see if there are any statistical trends but one thing is fairly consistent . . . complaints about handling on snow and ice.

    I live in North Alabama and drive the earlier NHW11 so I don't have any direct experience. My question is there some aspects of snow and ICE handling that needs to be shared with new owners?

    I maintain a Prius FAQ over at GreenHybrid and want to keep it current so any suggestions here about snow and ice handling would be appreciated.

    Thanks,
    Bob Wilson
     
    #1 bwilson4web, Apr 4, 2008
  2. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

    Joined:
    Oct 21, 2004
    13,439
    641
    0
    Location:
    Winnipeg Manitoba
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    Hi Bob

    I think I've done more than my fair share of pissing and moaning about my Prius driving in winter - on "all season" tires. Equipped with very aggressive studded snow tires, it's great until it actually bogs down

    Once my Prius bogs down in deeper snow, it's impossible to "rock" it out. Not to say another car wouldn't have issues in snow that deep, but in the past I have always been able to gently "rock" out a stuck car.

    I recently test drove a 2008 Prius, and its behavior on snow/ice was very different than my 2004. Not sure if it will "rock" if stuck, I figured the dealership wouldn't appreciate me trying to bury their new car headfirst into a snowbank

    But on snow/ice, the Trac behavior was completely different than my 2004. With my 2004, once the Trac engages it will cut power, wait 2-3 secs, then try to apply limited power. I have *never* had wheelspin in my Prius, can't even chirp a tire

    With the 2008, it appeared to regulate torque at least 2-3 times a second. In a lot of wintery situations, combined with snow tires, the 2008 I test drove would be an ideal winter car

    Comparing either Prius to my FJ, there is also a difference in Trac behavior. The FJ will apply the brake to the spinning rear wheel, then regulate engine output. It does this very quickly, the brakes are pulsed 10-15 times a second

    It's clear to me that Toyota learned a lot from the Prius, in terms of hardware and software. My FJ is an obvious example of this. If it were possible to cheaply upgrade my Prius Trac, I would.

    More than likely, the cost of new processors and software it would be easier and cheaper to just sell it and get a new Prius. I have thought of privately selling my Prius

    I did check out that link, seems to be lawyers looking for an agenda

    jay
     
    #2 jayman, Apr 4, 2008
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)