Rear visability problems

I'm with you on that one. I mean, although I wholeheartedly agree that rear visibility is far from the best, that A-pillar took far more "getting used to" than the view out the rear (so to speak).

I only rarely find myself in situations where I have to parallel park and avoid backing up as much as possible so that might account for rear visibility being sort of a non-issue for me. OTOH, I have found the A-pillar to be more than wide enough to conceal a small child, as well as larger objects.

Regardless, I haven't had any problem adapting to both issues.

 

i guess if you need all that vision, you need a AMC Pacer!!!

jk...sorry...couldnt resist...

yep its not perfect. but its no where near the worst ive had. my truck with the canopy was just as bad. my work van from 10 years ago was 10 times worse.

my Datsun 280ZX turbo was very similiar but didnt have the advantage of the split window which would have been very nice.

if the obstructed view forces one to be extra careful when backing out, then that is just another thing Toyota did right. its been my observation (try xmas shopping all day without having to avoid at least one car backing out somewheres!!) that many need to practice.

 

The A pillar can block more than a small child. It is effective at blocking adults too. The biggest issue is making sure you stop BEFORE a crosswalk. It is required by law, but there aren't a lot of pedestrians here. Most people stop first at the point they can see cross traffic which frequently puts the front of their vehicles a few feet past the crosswalk. The point in time where you look for pedestrians on a sidewalk approaching or ready to cross MUST be earlier in the Prius than in cars with more vertical A pillars.

I agree, the term "get used to it" is a misnomer. I think "learn to compensate" is probably a better description. You need to do this any time you get a new car. Some require more compensation than others depending on how similar it is to your prior car.

I don't think anyone ever suggested the rear spoiler was designed to be a headlight blocker. It is just a side effect and I suspect the driver's height and the height of the headlights make a difference as to whether you get this 'benefit'.

 

Whew. I'm not alone. I'm kind of use to poor rear view, so perhaps it bothers me less. And yeah, learn to compensate is a better term.
The "gotten use to" for me is driving position. The steering wheel needs to be a little further out to be perfect, but I've been in few cars that I got it just right.

 

I agree that the overall view out the back is slightly "shut in". Sometimes I get the nagging feeling I'm missing something when I lane change. Although you learn to compensate, the subconscious still hates those blind spots.

Does anyone else notice poor visibility to the front/right?? I find the combo of the mirror and the windshield pillar make it hard to see well off the starboard bow.

 

yes i have and its irritating in some circumstances. i live on a street that is 2 blocks long and the street light on the corner has been out (works intermittantly) most of the time. it makes it a very scary and dark turn in bad weather some times.

 

I have had several close calls when the front right pillar blocked a car approaching on a cross street. I have to lean this way and that to see around it. Defensive driving has saved me so far.

As I commented before, for all its brilliance, the Prius does not shine when it comes to seeing the road.

 

I actually like that the spoiler blocks headlights. It also serves as a good "tailgate detector"...if your lights are below the spoiler...you're too #$%( close. As far as defogging....In our last bout of cr*ppy weather, the lower portion got covered with road stuff and you really couldn't see clearly out of it, even if the defogger was running.

 

Prius is a hatchback. So don't expect the visibility of some other vehicles, period. That's just the way it is. Like the full-size van my parents have, it simply cannot compete for that type of viewing either. However, you can still see everything just fine. Simply use the mirrors.

You'd be amazed what you can get away with when you use them. Backing into tight spots is quite realistic. In fact, you can sometimes see more than you could by twisting your head around.

No vehicle is perfect. Think about how absurd the front of a SUV is. You cannot see anything but the hood. Parking in tight spots requires guessing. There are no mirrors to compensate for that shortcoming.

Also, the fact that the Prius window in back comes down farther than seat level is a plus that is often overlooked. That additional vertical range helps with backing up. You can see actually more than you could with a sedan.

 

the lower window grid isn't hooked up as it's probably just an attenuator antenna for the SKS

 

Are you sure Frank? I hate to even minimally suggest I disagree with you as you are WAY more knowledgable than I regarding Prii. However, that is a lot of surface area for the SKS which only needs to read a small area behind the car.

I haven't noticed the vertical window fogging, but it does suck up the road gunk and requires cleaning off. The back of the Odyssey did the same thing. My fogging problem is with the big rear window. The rear defroster does clear it though. I imagine that if the vertical window was fogging, I wouldn't notice it as fast as the big one so I might be catching it before it fogs at all.

The bigger issue is all the warm moist air in the car likes to zip to that rear window overnight and attach itself. A cold weather thing only of course. I've taken to opening the hatch when I get home. I'm hoping to quickly cool the air a bit before I shut it up for the night. Now I'll see if this works.

 

huh?
I've had hatchbacks all my life. Yeah, some better than others. I'm just uncomfortable with the top cutoff in the Prius.
As for SUVs, I'd argue you have it backwards. The front end on any long flat hood car is far easier (for me) to deal with. You can see where the car ends. New cars with sloping front ends have taken me a bit of time to get use to. Ultimately I like them better, but I do find them more awkward.

 

:idea: I improved the "top cutoff".....

I, too, was not pleased with the "top cutoff" view to the rear. Noting that the rear view mirror arm had a ball joint at the windshield, I simply moved the mirror position down as far as possible which improved the "top cutoff" somewhat. Another thing I do (on all cars) is carefully position the exterior rear view mirrors so that I see a little of the car body on the inside edge of the mirror which helps judge distance of objects behind me.

For reducing the "top cutoff," try angling the mirror arm down as far as you can.... maybe it will help.

My 2¢ worth....

 

I'll take a look. Thanks!

 

Charles

thanks for the info re: that ball joint on the rear view mirror. I wasn't aware that you could adjust the height of the mirror.

I've moved my mirror up so that I have a bet view out the front/right...

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bwalkhouse\";p=\"58143)</div>

Same here.


As for A-style and close calls with cars from cross streets, have the same experience. Saw something move in the corner of my eye (after having checked traffic from the right) and braked hard. Just in time to avoid crashing into a Suzuki Alto and squashing the people inside that vehicle. Phew.

 

Rear Lower Window does NOT defrost!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Frank Hudon\";p=\"57208)</div>

I hope that we are talking about the same thing. I just found out today that the rear lower window isn't supposed to defrost (And WHY not?! It fogged up my view quite bad!!), my Toyota guy told me that it's some sort of antenna so I think that you are right - if we are talking about the lack of defrosting feature of the rear lower window.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius\";p=\"58307)</div>

My real life experience & my local Toyota guy told me NO, those are not defogger wires. Have you even seen them defogging your rear lower window?

I am quite disappointed as that lower pane needs to be defogged as much as the upper pane.