Top 10 Prius myths and misconceptions

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Sep 7 2006, 11:50 AM) [snapback]315776[/snapback]</div>

Since the earliest days of hybrids various misconceptions and preconceptions about them have pervaded the media and the general populace. Perhaps in part due to the first US hybrid being the little 2-seater Honda Insight that is, indeed, little more than a commuter vehicle in the form a very compact car. Perhaps in part due to the short life of the Electric Vehicle era with their limited capacity and abrupt withdraw from availability by their manufacturers. And perhaps it's just because the press likes to have something that sounds dramatic to draw customers.



In any case, I've now been a Prius owner for almost 3 years and have been extremely active on a number of online Prius forums including Priuschat.com. I was one of the very first people in my part of the country to have one of the second generation Prius (2004+) and thus have fielded a number of questions from friends, family, co-workers and strangers alike. Many of the same questions arise again and again. In no small part I blame the press. Perhaps due to deadlines or lack of background knowledge to really understand something so different many of the same errors and myths seem to be repeated over and over by these writers. More than once I've seen articles quoting misinformation where they use another source that just weeks before we, in the online forums, had been complaining how badly they'd misrepresented the car. And thus the cycle lives on. Recently a writer in the Northwest published an article in her column supposedly to discuss how computers have become so ubiquitous in our society. However she framed the article around her Prius, allegedly the second one she's owned. Yet she managed to convey at least 6 blatant factual errors that would give serious pause to those considering buying a Prius.



This little list hopes to directly address some of the most common questions I've heard and myths and misconceptions that seem to continue to circulate despite a plethora of information available showing it to be false.



1) Prius owners have been duped into thinking they'd save money—On the contrary, most Prius owners/buyers never considered that saving money was a priority. Like those who pay extra to get a luxury car or others that pay extra to get a V8 instead of a 6-cylinder engine in their SUV Prius buyers paid extra for the added features. Those features happen to be saving gas, reduced emissions, quiet ride, amazing technology inside and out and HOV access (where available). Although a small fraction of Prius owners could actually save money with the Prius over a comparable vehicle based upon the distance of their commute and gas prices, that isn't the point. If saving money is of key import then one should never buy ANY new vehicle, you should buy a reliable used car that gets reasonable base mileage (i.e. Used Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, etc.)



2)The Prius is a compact/small car—Probably the most common thing I hear the first time someone sits down in my car is "Wow, there's a lot of room in here". The Prius has nearly the passenger space of a Toyota Camry and more than the Corolla. The hatch-back design provides an amazing amount of cargo capacity. On several occasions I've taken my family of 5 and all of our luggage for up to 10 days away from home (including a baby's Pack-and-Play and stroller) in our Prius with no problem at all. Although the exterior design gives one the illusion that the car is small the inside meets criteria to classify it as a mid-size sedan.



3) Don't you have to replace the battery after 100,000 miles?—Toyota says the battery will last the life of the car. Experiences from fleet taxi services have shown the first generation Prius lasting upwards of 250,000 miles without need for battery replacement. Few second generation Prius are that high of mileage, but many reports of those over 100,000 suggest that it will perform even better due to the improved battery maintenance regime of the newer generation and superior battery technology.



4) If the battery dies it'll cost $5000 to replace—This is a little bit of an unknown, however the few batteries that have died have been under warranty (8 years/100k miles everywhere and longer (10yr/150k miles) in California emissions states) and covered at no expense to the owner. I've heard of a handful of cases where batteries had to be replaced due to damage from an accident and salvage batteries were found with minimal miles on them for less than $500. Considering there is not a traditional transmission (a common source of breakdown and expense in conventional vehicles), that the brakes will likely never need replacement (due to regenerative braking), and that the ICE (gas engine) will be used approximately half of the time it would on a conventional vehicle (since it shuts down a low speeds and at stops) for the same distance traveled those potential replacement/repair expenses are essentially eliminated.



5)When the batteries die they'll just contribute more pollution and waste—Toyota has a system set up to recycle the batteries and will actually pay for the used batteries if/when they need to be replaced. They will not contribute to further pollution.



6) The Prius is slow and under-powered—While certainly not a performance vehicle the Prius performs quite well under real-world driving conditions. Zero to 60mph in about 10 seconds with a top speed of 105mph. The electric motor provides a significant amount of instantaneous torque to allow for brisk starts and hill climbing ability. It will merge into fast-moving traffic with ease. If you want a race car this isn't it, but there's no need for more power than the Prius has for the normal commuter.



7) You have to plug it in—Despite the number of Prius on the road today and a big campaign by Toyota this myth still persists. In fact there is no way to plug in the Prius without expensive modification. The high voltage battery acts more as a buffer for excess power from the engine that would otherwise have been wasted and for a reservoir for the energy recaptured by the regenerative braking that would have otherwise been lost as heat. It then parcels out that energy as need to assist the very efficient but low horse-power Atkinson cycle engine to give good acceleration and additional horsepower when it's needed. Many Prius owners are campaigning to have a plug in option available for the next generation Prius. If a larger capacity lithium battery were available with higher 'all electric' speeds one could virtually have a perfect 'cross-over' vehicle with the benefits of a full Electric Vehicle (EV) and of a conventional gas vehicle. The ability to use cleaner energy like electricity for normal short range commutes balanced with the ability to take long trips without worrying about recharging the car seems to be a great way to go for many. Presumably fuel economy would exceed 100mpg for local commuting thanks to the Plug-in ability of this new plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). Regardless, it would not be necessary to plug it in, but to get maximal benefit of the larger battery and extended EV range one would probably prefer to plug in whenever possible.



8) In a crash rescue workers could be shocked and killed—The hybrid battery is completely disconnected from the car in the case of an accident. If, somehow, that system failed and the car remained 'running' and connected the only way an injury could occur is if the rescue workers intentionally cut into some of the clearly marked cables wrapped in bright orange covers. Normal rescue techniques (cutting off the roof, using jaws of life, etc) pose no additional risk…all high voltage cables are under the hood, under the car, or in the battery area only.



9)They don't really get as good of mileage as Toyota claims—First of all, the mileage numbers are determined (in the US) by the EPA. Toyota cannot claim higher numbers in their advertising and would be foolish to use lower ones. Also, those numbers are quite legitimate given the conditions under which they were determined. The EPA testing is quite out dated and not consistent with current driving conditions. Indeed they tend to artificially inflate mileage numbers for all vehicles though few people pay close enough attention to their driving to see by how much their vehicle is off until they get a Prius. A look at a web site like Greenhybrid.com's database shows the wide range of fuel economy numbers for the Prius and other vehicles. The hybrids do tend to be a bit more sensitive, on a percentage basis, than conventional vehicles to specific driving situations and driving styles. Those with near ideal commutes and good hybrid driving habits can significantly exceed the EPA numbers. Those who accelerate hard, follow close, brake late and have short commutes achieve significantly lower than EPA numbers. The majority of people, however, once their vehicle is broken in tend to get within 5-10% of the EPA rated mileage.



10)Prius owners are all just trying to make a statement about Global Warming—While there are a number of people who are very involved in the conservation movement and might be considered "greenies" one will find the profile of the average owner to be quite different. Many Prius drivers are older adults, many are professionals and large percentages are not active in any conservation movement. There are republicans and democrats as owners. The common threads tend to be 1)support of improved technology, 2)desire to save fossil fuels by burning less gas (not necessarily to save money), 3)generally interested in making a smaller negative impact on pollution. A few admit to HOV lane access as being the main reason for getting a Prius. I think the bottom line is that we can 'have it all' with a Prius. We can help save our environment, we can reduce dependence on foreign oil, we can send a message to auto-makers that we want and will pay for better vehicles that help us do those things if they'll put the effort into getting better technology.



List created by Evan E. Fusco, MD

9/7/06
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<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Sep 7 2006, 11:50 AM) [snapback]315776[/snapback]</div>

Snip

I am one of the fraction. If I am not saving money, I am at least breaking even over most other cars I could have picked.

As much as I thought there really wasn't anything wrong with hybrids, just a year ago I was saying that I couldn't see a good case for me owning one. The higher initial cost, even with the subsidies, wouldn't pencil out for the amount of driving I did at the time. I figured I would be looking at good ULEV, conventional powered cars that got good mileage.

But now I drive a lot. And I am one that will admit that HOV lane access was a significant selling point. as it gives me back 1 to 3 hours a week. That is worth something right there. Combine that with twice the fuel efficiency of my previous commute car (and driving 300, sometimes 700 miles a week, fuel efficiency makes a difference even if gas drops to $2) and the $3,150 tax credit on the purchase price, it works out. Even at break even, it makes good ecomonic sense to have my driving be as green as I can practically make it.

 

Great summary!!

As I read the 10 points, I could remember hearing each one of them spoken by someone and I've only had my car for two months...

One of my local auto mechanics said..."Well, you may like it now, but in a couple of years, when THAT 'Battery' dies, we'll see who's happy....I'll stick with my old reliable car."

I knew a long time ago that the car didn't get plugged in...yet, it surprises me how many people ask me that FIRST....people that I thought would be more knowledgable...but that's ok...gives me another
opportunity to do a little more

PRIUS PR...

terri

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Curtis SAC @ Sep 7 2006, 05:45 PM) [snapback]315978[/snapback]</div>

My old car was totalled so I was in a hurry to get a car. I couldn't find a hybrid Civic to test drive while I was hunting for a car - only one dealership responded to my email queries, and he had one coming in 'next month'. My son who lives 250 miles further north test-drove a Civic hybrid and didn't like the pick-up and felt it was somewhat cramped, and I'd already test-driven a used Prius, so I didn't pursue hunting the hybrid Civic for a test drive. I happily drove my Super White pkg 5 Prius home 8 days after I totalled my old car, and if I'd waited one more day, I could have had a Driftwood Pearl #3 or a Barcelona Red #6.


<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(terri @ Sep 7 2006, 06:54 PM) [snapback]316013[/snapback]</div>

LOL! And I'll stick with my new reliable Prius!

 

Thanks Evan! That's a great list!



I'm going to keep a soft copy on my laptop and print some hard copies to show all the people who ask me silly questions about how I plug it in and how much more I must have paid than a non-hybrid car.



I drove our usual gang at the office to lunch yesterday, and got several questions about how the car works. By the time we got back, everyone was thoroughly impressed with the comfort (5 men), the mileage, the MFD, the performance, and even the price. One of the guys even asked me for the dealer's business card because he wants to trade in his gas guzzling van.



It shows that once skeptics see the facts, they stop laughing at hybrids (well, at least the Prius anyway ).



Thanks again.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Fibb222 @ Sep 7 2006, 02:06 PM) [snapback]315943[/snapback]</div>

An EXCELLENT point. With the media it is all about "is it worth the money?" Talk about getting old! Sigh.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Sep 7 2006, 12:48 PM) [snapback]315874[/snapback]</div>

Evan -

You are correct, of course. You covered it very well. My little bone of contention (and really, this must be taken with a grain of salt coming from me!) is that the first two sentences still make it sound like we should be happy that we don't have to "plug it in." In fact, Toyota's big add campaign that you metion is all about vilifying that nasty plug in favor of the obviously much cleaner (!) gasoline.

If I were writing that paragraph (and let's all be glad I'm not) my first line would be something like:
"While you certainly can (and must) plug in the gasoline nozzle every few hundred miles, there is no way of plugging the Prius into an electrical outlet to displace the gasoline that normally charges the battery. We don't *get* to plug it in. The benefits would be.... blah, blah....

But again, that's just my little agenda as we all know.

(say, did I mention that I'm now commuting 24 miles on my bicycle? First day today, and I'm still lively enough to talk about it. )

 

Interesting stuff, another angle in the "understanding" education.

Lots of material that can be added/updated in this document.

Thank you for taking the time & effort to provide a summary.

 

Great job, Doctor. That sound you hear is my applause!

 

Job well done on the list ! I'll steal the 10 points as well for distribution.

One more might be, that as a pre-Prius large SUV owner I thought the Prius would ride like a tin can and be noisy. The large car feel and quiet inside the Prius was surprising and sold me. I test drove the Honda Civic Hybrid, it seemed like it had much more road noise much like I had originally expected.

 

Regenerative brake selector

I have an 2007 touring model and the other day, with 5 people aboard, I had occasion to select "B" on a steep downhill run and I got a loud popping noise. Was this an old fashioned "backfire" from the muffler getting an overly rich load, or something else. Never heard this in the Prius.

Opinions please.