Stupid things about a great car

I was looking for the III trim w/NAV and they don't sell it in my region. I told one dealer I wanted the NAV for the backup camera, he said they could dealer install one for $400. I think you see it in your rearview mirror?

 

Huh?

I thought the two grab handle slots, on the bottom of the inside plastic molding, were perfect. No need to touch any metal or any external surface at all.

The spoiler is too weak to take any manhandling. Please don't use it.

 

A tack is a useless device in the Prius. There are so many inovations in the Prius, and most are a complete departure from what we have all grown comfortable with .... for example, there is no starter in the sense that we have become accustomed.

The variable transmission keeps the ICE in the ideal rpm range for economic driving, regardless of speed. There are instances where the ICE is loafing even though the vehicle is travelling at a higher speed. Or, said another way, how valuable is a tack when it would normally indicate between 1600 and 2000 rpm's? regardless of vehicle speed. You may want to read a bit more about the Atkinson Cycle engine. The power and efficiency deminish severely outside of a very narrow rpm range, and that range is very low.

I have owned my G3 IV less than a month, but every day I discover things I did not know, and I really appreciate the engineering that Toyota has put into this vehicle. Like the small stabilizers in the slip-stream beneath the vehicle.

I really appreciate the low coefficient of drag too .... the Prius slips through the wind without much of a sound.

 

Yes, how much easier can closing the hatch get, now that there are two grab handles? The G2s only had the one on the right hand side, and even that worked great.

Now the G3s have another grab handle on the left, which makes it easy to do with the left hand, also.

Just grab either handle with your palm facing up, pull down slightly and release. The inertia of the hatch movement will then close the hatch without any more effort.

RTM!

 

Canadian cars get auto headlights and backup camera in the mirror.

 

Thinking of trading in my '05 on a 2010 but not seen a great mounting area for my scangauge other than the top of the dash. Interested in where you mounted yours.

Thanks,
Wayne

 

I have two others
1. The holder for the sunglasses is too small to hold a pair of sunglasses.
2. Six screens to cycle through on the MID, including a completely useless one showing which rear seat belts are buckled up if there is no one in the back.

 

Oops, remembered another one: is the door armrest lower than the center arm rest?

 

A have to agree with the low door armrests. I don't see how anyone's arm or elbow could actually make contact with the armrest, unless it's a 3 y-old kid, who should not sit like that anyway.

 

wag, i had the same problem. at first i mounted my scan guage diagonally by the shifter with double sided tape.then i mounted it where another forum peop suggestedn top of the telescoping steering wheel hub.. looks like its on the dash and you can see it. just barely but i like it a lot.

 

How about Toyota left out the tint on the top of the front windshield.

 

I wonder if the navigation system could be swapped with something more advanced (like Pioneer AVICF10BT - Support & Media) whilst maintaining the backup camera functions and IPA... Has anybody tried?

 

I have the toyota navigation system but just bought the tomtom app for $49 for my iPhone and with the voice running through BT and based on very limited use I think it is at least as good as the toyota nav system. Certainly the voice is better and the limited navigation I have done is just as good. The user interface is MUCH better.

 

Why not great things about a stupid car?

 

Because that would mean saying something positive about the car.

 

Which is possible, requires a lot of thinking, but it is doable....

 

Am I the only owner who thinks the "R" and "D" positions on the shifter are the wrong way around? Maybe it's because i am an engineer and prefer everything to be logical.
Also a headphone jack which cuts off the speakers would be nice.

 

Logically they are backward, but that has been the standard arraignment for years and years. Cars, tractors, fork trucks - they all used that same layout. I assume it was an artifact of the physical gear arraignment in a normal manual transmission.

Tom

 

Every automatic car I have ever driven (column or center-mounted shifter) was:

P
R
N
D
L

Isn't the layout of the Prius the same (without the L since there are no gears)?

I don't understand why people keep questioning this layout.

 

The cover for the USB interface faces the wrong way for someone sitting in the drivers seat to hold open and plug in a cable. (the USB doesn't recognize my iPod anyway)
The switches for the heated seats are almost impossible to get at especially at night. The switches are not lit but the lighted symbol is between the two switches and hard to reach.