Nearly wrecked my Prius on the highway

I had mine in a very, very strong crosswind while driving south from Oakland to LA last summer. It certainly required keeping both hands on the wheel and paying attention, but it's definately not hazerdous or dangerous.

As you mentioned, in adverse driving conditions (which I'd say "high winds" falls under"), you're wise to just drop your speed slightly - the same as you'd do in any poor weather condition.

Dave

 

How wet was it?

Add rain and that is what I encountered serveral months ago. Even though they only had 5000 miles on them, I got rid of the Integrities and bought Michelin Hydroedge.

 

Extreme crosswind sensitivity and lack of stability of my 05 Prius is certainly of substantial concern to me. It's an obvious safety issue, but it also makes long distance driving very stressful, when driving under such conditions.
I agree, it's a real problem of the Prius, and maybe even it's greatest weakness. I am continuing to evaluate this, and will probably first get an alignment, and then try different tires before I would consider this an issue for which I would file a complaint.

 

Our Prius has been back and forth across S. Dakota on 1-90 several times...always windy...always seems to be from the side or a headwind. No issues whatsoever. We don't drive the max 75 MPH, usually around 65-70. GY Integrity Tires are 42/40. Well broken-in car (23,000 miles). One trip it rained the entire 380 mile trip. Not alot of wind that time, but very wet. No issues. Could it be some dealer adjustment/alignment? Maybe I just don't know what a 'stable' car should feel like? I'm coming from a Nissan SUV (and a CJ Jeep before that), so my idea of stable is different. Meaning, if it doesn't feel tippy, then it's good!

 

I've yet to experience wind problems in my new Prius (1 week old), but I definitely had them in my little pickup truck. If the wind got above twenty-five or so sometimes I'd suddenly get moved over a foot or two. The solution was to slow down and/or make sure there were no vehicles on either side. When I'd drive my mother's Accord, wind was never a problem.

Maybe it just depends on what you're used to. If the Prius is no worse than my old Tacoma, it won't bother me.

 

I haven't experienced any "white knuckle" experiences, despite driving in some VERY windy conditions. Yes, I can feel it get moved a bit, but I also could feel my Chrysler 300M blown about some on windy days. I think the effect is exaggerated by "overcorrecting" when you feel the first hit of a breeze.

 

Let's remember that the C[sub:ecd9c0b4b5]d[/sub:ecd9c0b4b5] is measured for forward motion. In minimizing drag for the typical driving experience, Toyota can't take everything into account. Crosswinds hit a different profile on the car, and the lightness engineered into the vehicle further helps to make it easy prey.

 

I agree that the Prius is very sensitive to cross winds at any speed. However, I have been in 25-30 mph cross winds and found that by slowing down 10 mph makes the handling so much easier. I would bet that you had much higher gusts than that to move you off the road. Good luck with your complaint.

 

I drive to NOLA often (born & raised there, family& friends there, wedding will be there, etc) & get knocked around a lot! It's my only real complaint about the Prius. Perhaps I should eat more to combat the problem. :wink:

Thanks for the link, I'll definitely add my name to the list.

 

I'm running 40/38 in my GY Integritys and also have felt the absolute need to hold the wheel with two hands while getting blown about at 70mph.

It reminds me of driving my Corvairs back in the Seventies. With all the weight biased in the rear of the car and the characteristically loose worm and gear steering, the handling while in windy situations could turn into a white knuckler!

 

I haven't experienced any handling problems in my Prius yet, but I've only had it for a few weeks and we haven't really had that sort of storm blow through lately.

Could some of this "sensitivity" to wind be attributed to the tight steering on the Prius? i.e. you're feeling it more in the steering wheel because there is less play than most other cars?

Around here, we get one or maybe two significant snow storms a year. But people drive around on their studded tires all winter. Turns our freeways into slot-racing tracks in no time flat. Get out of the "channel" and things get wild.

 

I doubt it. First off, VSC would IMPROVE stability, not make it worse. Second, if it was kicking in, you would hear chiming accompanied by the picture of a squiggly car on the dash.

However, being that the power steering is electric, triggered by a torque sensor, you may feel less of the road in your hands. I've often suggested that the PS could be made much less sensitive at speeds greater than 30MPH.

 

I have to agree that this was my biggest disappointment with the car, so far. We drove it out from Houston to Los Angeles and once we left El Centro, CA to drive to San Diego, this poor car got tossed around pretty bad. So bad, my wife pulled over and made me drive. It got really bad when we were going through the mountains outside San Diego and to make matters worse, it started to rain! I guess it wasn't catastrophic, I just drove around 65 and paid very close attention and tried not to oversteer at all. We just realized that we won't be taking this car on any long dirivng trips through possibley windy areas....

 

Unless there is a significant problem with your Prius, I think this comes down to what we are used to driving. I admit the highway handling in the Prius in windy conditions is marginal, but so are many other vehicles. My mom's old 93 4Runner was awful in crosswinds and downright dangerous to drive; we worried about rollovers during windy highway driving. The Prius is far better and I don't worry about rollovers or loss of control, but I admit I must hold the wheel with two hands... but is this a bad thing? Many of us probably drive with our knees and one hand occasionally, but I think just because we need two hands doesn't constitute a problem. When I drive my mom's Audi A4 with the sport package (17 in wheels) on the highway in the wind, it's as if there is no wind at all; that's the luxury in it. In comparison to the Audi, the Toyota is annoying, but I don't think it's a safety issue.

For reference, my windy drives were in New Mexico on the highway, my speeds were between 75-85 mph, tires inflated to 42/40, dry pavement, and 10000 miles on the tires.

 

On our trip from Austin to Big Bend, we were buffeted about by some very strong winds--it was almost impossible to put up the tent when we got there. However, I found it similar to driving my Grand Voyager in a super-windy conditions, and my husband said that his Tacoma with camper would have been affected at least as much as the Prius. Neither of us found it a terrible strain to drive in that wind, but of course this was West Texas with NO traffic to speak of.

On the second day at Big Bend it was relatively calm. With the 45 MPH speed limit and calm conditions, I almost felt as if I were just sitting there watching scenery go by when we were driving on the straight stretches.
That was even true at higher speeds from Presidio to Fort Stockton on the way home, but after Fort Stockton we ran into more high winds and even a thunderstorm near Junction. Hubby had no complaints about handling when he drove, and I'm happy.

 

Check all alignment specs, especially toe-in. If it's toe'd out (allowed by the spec), it will be unstable on bumps and crosswinds. A slight toe-in is required.

Other than that, you just have to slow down. It's a light, tall, square-topped car, all of which hurt in crosswinds.