NEW Prius Prime Plus member -- start issue and general complaining

Works great for me. I avoided the Moonstone interior specifically. In short “I love it”.

 

welcome!
i agree with some of your points, that's why i haven't purchased one. i don't see any way of correcting them if they bother you. maybe you'll just get used to them, but having another car that you love will make it difficult.

all the best!

 

I have a similar problem from time to time.
It is because I try to push the brake and push the button at nearly the same time........and if you are a fraction of a second slow with the brake.......try again.

 

Welcome! You have some valid complaints. Still, I've never had a car that didn't deserve some complaints. I wonder if they seem more glaring because of the contrast of the shortcomings with the amazing technology.

Visor extensions should be an NHTSA requirement for all cars!!! I finally found ones on Amazon that seem to work very well, but it's still a shame to have to scab something on like that.

I like the softex OK. No complaints. Wife says it sometimes makes her back sweat, so we'll probably be shopping for breathable front seat covers. Since we have two grandsons, maybe front & back would be smarter.

Blind spot is much better than either the PiP or Gen 2 I had before. The biggest cause for me is the back seat headrests. I keep them folded down unless I have a passenger back there. It helps a lot.

Starting. I've done that a time or two with each Prius. You get sloppy with familiarity. I've also done the same a lot more times with the old fashioned cars where you have to turn the key and hold it till the puny 12V starter motor finally brings the engine to life.

I completely agree that there's no good reason to not make the displays more customizable.

In my 45+ years of riding and driving, I've had a couple motorcycles that whispered to me from the garage and said, "Let's go out for a spin." This is the first car that did that. I hope you adjust to the idiosyncrasies.

 

I've had my PRIME Premium for almost two years now. There are a few things I don't like but overall the car has been one of the best I have owned. To me, a car is just a tool to transport people and stuff from point A to point B. For that purpose, the car performs very well and extremely efficiently, despite the fact that it takes "less" people and stuff than some other cars.

A few things I don't like:
Softex. Not for the same reason as you. I actually like the material's ability to be wiped clean easily when soiled. I have all black interior. The reason I hate is that it is very uncomfortable. It is cold to touch in winter and hot to touch in summer. Not breathable, do not absorb sweat or snow/rain on a jacket.

11.6-inch display. I hate it so much I don't use it unless I absolutely have to. I have it turned off most of the times. Yet, there are a few functions that must be operated via the touch screen. I wish I could bypass it altogether.

Cargo space. Lack of cargo space due to the placement of larger traction battery was the biggest complaint initially but after over a year using it as the only car to haul everything including but not limited to large bags of trash, 8 feet tall potted plant, lawnmower, 500 lb of bird feed or bails of straws, I have come to a conclusion that this car is far more capable of carrying stuff than any of my previous sedans. Not as good as a minivan we use to own, but for the efficiency of the car, making a few extra trips costed less.

I think your disappointments are somewhat understandable. If I paid $30k+, I would have been too. The thing is that in our region with great rebate and tax incentive, the price of this car was less than $20k for me. At that price point, I can forgive most of those small things.

All that said, it is still a fantastic car. Enjoy yours as much as I do.

 

Don't forget the preposterous lack of a rear wiper or the stupid location of the seat heater switches and the total uselessness of the gear "selector". There's a lot I really like about my Prime but Toyota really screwed the pooch when it comes to basic usability. And why the hell isn't the speedometer (etc) display in front of the driver where it belongs? My last car was a Nissan Leaf and they nailed these items.

 

You may have heard that Toyota, among other vendors targets a global market that is larger than the North American one. For some markets they need the driver controls on the right of the car. Placing the speedometer grouping centrally minimizes the different parts needed to accommodate the differing legal requirements.
At least the speedometer is not right in the center like it is on some cars.

 

I think I've had close to 20 four-wheeled vehicles over the decades. Four had rear wipers and I rarely used them. Hasn't been a problem.

Amen!!! Really stupid. Same with those buttons hidden down low on the left of the steering column. And don't get me started on that sorry excuse for a glove compartment.

I think it's perfectly useful. I puts the car in drive, reverse, neutral, and engine brake mode. And when you reach for it, you don't need to look because it's always in the same place. Is there something else it should do?

In every car except the five Prii I've had, there has always been some bit of information hidden behind the wheel so that I had to duck, crane, or lean to see it. And I'd think, "What idiot hid the instruments behind the steering wheel!?" That never happens with the Prius.

 

Because you live in Florida, the Sunshine State, where it rarely rains and never snows! I expect snow on the rear hatch window to be a bit of a problem next winter. Used the rear wiper plenty in my Gen IIs. I just put Rain-X on the front and rear windows yesterday in preparation for the 600 mile trip to New Brunswick Wednesday. Nothing wrong with water streaming off the windows if it decides to rain on us.

THIS!!!
Looking THROUGH the steering wheel, as it is in most vehicles is stupid, as is having to look down farther from the road to see such things. I don't know what versions of the Gen IV Prius have the HUD but that does put the speedo in front of the driver and is quite visible even on sunny days ... yeah the ones that cause the glare on the big screen.

 

Actually, I lived most of my adult life in Iowa, Colorado, and Ohio.

 

When you're buying 30K of car, excuses like that don't fly.

I put up with it, but not thrilled.

 

I've never missed the rear wiper. As soon as the car starts moving, all the water slides right off the rear window. Not having one means one less thing to break or to maintain.

 

I live in Nebraska where it snows a lot, and the snow was never a problem without a rear wiper. It actually makes it easier to clear the snow from the rear window, and the bit that's left melts quickly once the rear defroster heats up.

 

• Battery: I get it that they didn't want to redesign the platform, but even with the constraint of the Prius platform there are so many ways to improve the fit. It only uses parts of the width depth and length. Instead it significantly raises the trunk base level, looking like a complete afterthought. Some engineer build a square battery box, and then some engineer put that box into the back of a Prius, problem solved. With some more thought they could have brought the trunk level close to neutral. Really shoddy engineering. If you put the back cover in, even grocery bags don't fit.
• Lack of 3rd back seat. I could understand if it would be because of clever battery / electrical component placement, but from what I understand its to save a few kg. Not a good enough reason.
• Exterior design: Yes they like making the Prius line a little quirky, I don't really care as long as it's also functional. But all those curved lines and extra pieces just increase cost of manufacture and of repair if you ever bump into something. It's ok, but why not keep it simple, is anyone buying a Prime because they are so awed by that design? I doubt it.
• Lack of rear wiper. How much drag coefficient did that curved window really save? I had to experience it in heavy snowfall. The snow wasn't coming off but accumulating in the center causing lack of rear-view sight. Safety goes over minuscule drag reduction.
• Interior design: Public toilet porcelain combined with glossy black that shows dust almost immediately after cleaning. Absolutely horrific.
• Other design weaknesses were already mentioned: starting button requires perfect timing with break so often you need to start twice, gear lever has not visual feedback of state, seat heating buttons close to nowhere. Also the compartment in the middle has edges so soft and is so slippery that whatever you have in there will slide out in a curve / when you break.
• Entune, but that's not Prime specific.

It sounds negative but I still love my Prime and given the price it's an excellent car. It's just sad that all of the points above (maybe except better battery design) could have been so easily improved without increase in cost.

 

I guess I have to take issue with these specific comments.

1. I have been driving a Prius exclusively for 14.5 years. Not once have I had a problem starting the car because I pushed the button before the brake. I get in, I put my seatbelt on, I step on the brake, I push the button, I release the parking brake. Then I shift out of Park and drive away.
2. Don't need visual feedback from the lever, the position is clearly shown on the display. Besides, the shift lever isn't real visible now that they put it back where it belongs, on the dash where it is out of the way. Hardly ever need to touch it, this isn't a manual transmission car and it puts itself in Park when you shut down.

 

I've got no complaints about my Prime. Beats this car Wilma and I had before by a Stone Age

 

Just got our 2019 and still getting used to it:


But a great car so far.

 

Let me take a picture out of the rear of my car when it's raining and I have ANYTHING in the back. Yup, can't see a damn thing. My Leaf had a rear wiper, my Sienna's (2) had rear wipers, my Previa had a rear wiper, my Focus hatch had a rear wiper. Hell, a Nissan Versa Note, the cheapest car on the road, has a rear wiper. INEXCUSABLE. Yeah, driving on the freeway cleans off the window. The city? Not so much.

I've never had a problem looking through the steering wheel in the 40 years I've been driving. Looking at the middle of the car, THAT's a problem. And don't start on the stupid "it's a world car" stuff. With the exception of the Sienna and the US Camry, ALL of the current Toyotas are "world cars" and they don't put the driver information in the middle of the car. The older Yaris/Echo had it there as did the Saturn Ion. Saturn is gone and the Yaris moved it back because in the center of the car is STUPID. If they really didn't want you to have to look through the steering wheel they could put it up near the windshield. Furthermore, everything else has to be moved to the other side so that argument is pretty lame.

Being forced to look at the display is UI wrongness. The position of a switch should be self evident. Just like it is on all the other cars you drive. Push buttons are fine but having a button for park and a self centering joysticky thing for everything else is just a mish mash of styles. And move it somewhere it's not in the way while you fix it.

Here's another, the fan switch. To change the speed you use the rocker knob but to turn it off you use a button. Oh yeah, and unlike every other on/off switch you DON'T press it again to turn it back on. What drug were they taking when they came up with that dumb idea?

 

Some of the things being mentioned as a negative are a matter of perspective

Not to pick on yaun, but here is an example of how I see these points differently:

While I would prefer to have more room in the cargo area it's not a big deal to me.

In the last 20 years I can only think of a handful of times I needed to fit a 5th person in a car. I'm ok without it. In fact I see it as a positive, now I'm not trying to squeeze a full sized adult into a space designed for a sardine.

I really, really, dislike exterior on the previous versions of the prius, would not have bought this one if it was the same.

Could go either way on this one, but so far haven't had a need for a rear wiper.

Starting does not require perfect timing, you just have to step on the brake before hitting the start button. Take as long as you like in between the brake and start button. The dash has a visual indicator of the gear selection. Dont think anyone likes the placement of the seat heater switch. Guessing you are talking about the console section with the charger? Yeah, it's not a good place to put stuff.

As I said, this isn't to pick on Yaun's points. If as a owner those are seen as negative, then that's your point of view, no more/less valid than any other owner.