Negative Consumer Review Trends

- poor rear visibility true
- uncomfortable seats/poor lumbar support true, but what do they expect? It isn't a Lexus.
- excessive wind/road noise only because the car is so silent
- squeaks and rattles true, but again, more pronounced because the car is naturally so quiet
- problems with the regenerative braking system false
- non-responsive steering false
- stiff ride false
- poor headrest design - especially for shorter people false
- cheap interior materials (e.g., plastic) they're eco materials so it feels and looks cheaper but the engineering behind it is actually quite intricate
- inadequate sun visors (extenders required) now its obvious they're just being picky...

 

So far the first two you mention are real problems for me, lumbar is really terrible and worse than I have on my 6 year old entry mazda minivan. However, the other issues I've not noticed in 12-13k.

I think the steering is not bad. I think it's actually more responsive than a 2010 Camry Hybrid some people are visiting with now and I have driven a few times. That thing has tons of slop in the wheel.

 

On autoyahoo.com, 13 of the 20 posted reviews for the 2010 are 3 stars or less (out of 5) mostly due to build quality or perceived value but at least one was an obvious troll/hater.

 

What are you smoking?

The 2010 Prius had an average rating, from 225 users, of 4 out of 5 stars.

2010 Toyota Prius | New Toyota Sedans - Yahoo! Autos

 

Berryman, don't take this the wrong way, but are you a troll? Your title sure has that troll smell to it.

 

No, that's for Pri over all years. Click on the trims drop down tab and you'll find only 20 for the 2010 (at the time of this post). You can select other years to read the remainder of the 225 total.

Not smoking anything. You got?

 

I own a G3 IV. I just completed a 7500 mile trip and I have no complaint with the seats/lumbar support. I drove between 500 and 750 miles per day. I wonder if the IV with lumbar support is better than II's and III's? Also, drivers height and weight may also be a factor.

I have said elsewhere .... Toyota got it all right on my vehicle. I have no rattles or squeaks; I have no complaint with the interior finishes.

With 30,500 miles, I have had only one issue, and it has been resolved. The under-car shroud (the one that is removed to change the oil) came loose while on the trip. I wired it up, and it was refastened mid trip at a Toyota Dealer. Then it came loose again. Again I wired it up. Upon my return home, my dealer said they will replace the entire unit under warranty.

I had decided that I would "fight" the matter if the dealer said it was normal wear and tear. They did not. The dealer that first reinstalled the panel said they see a lot of them fall when struck by deep snow. I suspect it is a design defect, or possibly, was not installed correctly by the dealer when the oil was changed before we left on the trip. At any rate, the problem has been solved ... for now.

 

Couple eye openers for me are the uniquely low door armrests and rather scant steering wheel extension towards driver, but neither are that bad, just need some improvement for 4th Gen.

Bottom line - 3rd Gen Prius is a great car for the money. Very practical and economical.

 

A troll who joined in 2004? Haven't bothered to check his other 33 posts but I highly doubt it. Even if he is a troll I applaud him for remembering his password for 6 years! Lol.

 

My opinion about that:
- poor rear visibility - true, design reason, solved by the rearview camera
- uncomfortable seats/poor lumbar support - false, but I have seat with lumbar support. I drove 7000 km in 14 days with no issue
- excessive wind/road noise - false
- squeaks and rattles - partially true, mostly rattles
- problems with the regenerative braking system = false
- non-responsive steering - false
- stiff ride - false
- poor headrest design - especially for shorter people -false
- cheap interior materials (e.g., plastic) - true, design reason
- inadequate sun visors (extenders required) -comparable to my other cars

 

"Managing user expectations" means supporting due diligence, researching before making a decision. Given the 2010, ZVW30 model is available from Hertz and Enterprise, my first suggestion is to rent one for at least a weekend, better yet, a week. For a hundred dollars or so you can experience the car without the distractions of a salesman.

Another approach is to find critics, those who bought a ZVW30 and sold it with vocal regret ("Indy King"(?) and "nylion.") Having owned the NHW20 for many years, it is unlikely you share their issues but still a point of view from someone with seat time.

Personally, there are things that I think would make the ZVW30 a better car:

• "check engine" light when ICE is finally out of fuel - this allows driving on the remaining traction battery energy to a safe place to park. This unique capability of hybrids is something MotorWeek favorably reported on when their loaner Prius had an engine problem. Last week when I was chatting up a mother with son about the Prius, she was favorably impressed when I mentioned the car continues on traction battery energy if the engine quits.
• [OPTION] accident avoidance, lane following and adaptive cruise control - this needs to be available on all models without being tied to other 'eye candy.'
• steering could be a little smoother - there is a very slight 'stickiness,' that feels like mechanical friction but hard to characterize.

The first problem is something I'm thinking the new safety aware Toyota may take more seriously. The second is enough that I would replace one of our Prius. The third would be 'nice to have' but doesn't set my hair on fire.

Bob Wilson

 

My opinions (owning a 'IV' for 25K+):

- poor rear visibility

- True. True for many if not most new cars.
- uncomfortable seats/poor lumbar support

- True on II and III, not so much on IV and V
- excessive wind/road noise

- Not noticed it.

- squeaks and rattles

-Yup, especiallly in the cold

- problems with the regenerative braking system

Not to me

- non-responsive steering

- well, a little



- stiff ride
- kinda, esp w/ high tire pressure


- poor headrest design - especially for shorter people

- nope
- cheap interior materials (e.g., plastic)

- yep


- inadequate sun visors (extenders required)

- coparable with most cars

 

This is interesting. I had the same thing happen to my 2005 Prius this past February. I had the 7 year extended warranty with 0 deductable. The local Toyota dealer stated it was not covered by warranty, so they wired it up for me and ordered a new one, said they would charge me $100 or so for the repair when it arrived. We traded our 05 Prius in on a 2011 Sienna. The Sienna was nice, but after 8 months, we missed our old Prius so we just traded in the Sienna on a new 2010 Prius IV (at a different dealer).

 

My biggest concern is the use of eco friendly materials... What happens if I leave my windows open in the rain and those bio-degradable materials start to decompose? It'd be a case of the incredible disapearing door panels!

 

Well, actually, under "trim", they only list 17 reviews...so the number seems to have gone down from the number you gave?

But what's confusing to me is - on the tab called "All Trims" the number 225 is put in parens (225). I work in the auto industry, and "trim" does NOT mean model year. If they had meant 225 reviews for all model YEARS, then I think they would have spelled that out. Further, i strongly suspect that there would be many more than just 225 reviews if it was for all model years, and not simply the 2010 G3. There's about 1 million Prii...and to only have 225 for all those years, would be very surprising.

PS I read most of the 17 reviews. Some are clearly trolls, with a hatred for anything hybrid.

No.

 

I'd like to point out that all of these things can be experienced first hand if you test drive or rent the vehicle. If something does or doesn't jive with a particular Internet user, it doesn't mean it will have the same result with you.

Now, the REAL questions that need to be asked are also the ones that cannot be answered yet. The 2010 model has only been out for a year and it is also the first of a new generation, which means long term problems have yet to arise and be documented.

 

As I said, his title smacks of troll, so by inference, I asked the question. "is he a troll"?

That siad, 33 posts in what, 6-7 years...no "thanks", no nothing? Odd. But whatever.

 

Agree that the sun visors should have extenders

Our Sienna and 4Runner have them, why not the Prius?