What you don't like about your Prius?

ound:

 

After a year of ownership - having other drivers treat the car like last generations VW - regardless of the speed driven, and the world treating you like you are a "greenie"….

 

The stigma.

 

Personally, I haven't really noticed any sluggishness in the steering nor do I have issue with the rear window. I kind of like it as I feel a bit more "private" and it makes it easier to ignore folks behind me that are a bit anxious. One thing I have issue with is the rear view mirror. I have the garage door opener and auto dim mirror and it is difficult to keep adjusted and continues to need adjusting to keep its proper position. The heating system is a bit "different" from my experience and took some getting used to also. Other than those minor issues I love it.

 

and another thing . . .

Does anyone know how to get the climate control to just vent outside air without either heat or AC? If I do not press the Auto button or the AC button and turn the fan on will that accomplish this? If it is 50 degrees outside, I want fresh air, not necessarily heated air.

My last car was a 2007 Hyundai Sonata. I think that I set it on an automatic temperature when I first bought it and didnt touch it again for four years. I find the Prius climate control very frustrating, needing constant adjustment.

 

That's what I've been doing, along with adjusting the temp to around what it is outside.

 

Set the temp. Unselect AUTO. Unselect AC. Toggle recirculating to fresh air.
However, you probably do not want outside air unless you're in the country. Otherwise you are breathing nasty exhaust of the car ahead. (CO2, CO, NO, etc) The particulates are blocked by the filter but CO2, CO etc come right in. Not to mention many older cars do not have their emissions controlled and likely are producing enormous quantities of CO.
Which is why NASCAR has a air cleaner on their cars.
It's best to drive in air re-circulation mode.

 

This tends to increase the humidity in the car and fog up the windows, especially during colder weather. I've found my car tends to fog up as the temps get colder even when running in auto, AC on, and ECO. I'm experimenting with running in normal (non-ECO) mode and other adjustments rather than defog all the time.

 

Have a bunch of copies of a typical gas receipt showing about 50 MPG at the pump (your miles/refill = MPG). Hand one out to each naysayer and tell them to compare your numbers to their next refill.

 

Air recirculation mode? Not for full time operation. Any time it's raining and I see a car with the windows fogged, I want to tell them to switch off recirc.

But being able to vent fresh air into the cabin without heating or cooling it—or having the A/C compressor come on—is a very nice option, including when the air is being directed to the defroster vents. Lots of new cars automatically start the compressor when some percentage of air is directed to the defroster vents. I know what they're trying to do, dehumidify the air, but being able to run without the compressor on saves gas.

 

Tideland,
When you say "set the temperature", Do you mean to set it to equal the outside temp? If I leave it at say 72 degrees will the heat come on even if Auto is off?

 

Yeah I've wondered the same thing too, the manual isn't exactly clear. I just want everything "off" (no heat/no cooling) and the fan to blow, LOL

I don't like that if you've got cruise on (ie, 80 km/h limit road) and come up to a stoplight that turns from green to amber, touching the brakes lightly to enter regen doesn't work... if you deactivate cruise by applying the brakes (even gently), it goes instantly to friction and you can't get regen back until you're at a full stop. You have to manually deactivate cruise (pull the stalk) and then apply the brakes.

-Iain

 

I prefer the plastic covers/15's vs. the ugly touring rims. I think they look awful!

-Iain

 

Like I said earlier, adjust the temp to as close to the outside air as possible. If you don't, the ICE will come on to get the interior temp up to what you set. When you turn the fan on, the system is on in manual mode.

 

I am floored that people don't like the 17" rims. The most important thing is looks. I wouldn't have even bought a Prius without them. Secondly, the handling is a step up from other cars. I had an Accord before and this feels more surefooted. I also rented a Civic and a Ford Edge recently and felt that they were floaty. My V ain't a sports sedan but I like the balance between having comfort and enough road feel. Maybe one day I should test drive the 15" version and see if it's any different.

My main beef: No USB in the Touring trim. Grrrrrrrrr.

 

^ We went with the Canadian model that has the 17" rims, but it was not so much the low profile 17"'s as the plastic wheel covers on the 15" that swayed us.

I've just put on 195/65R15 Winter tires (on steel Corolla rims), and there's no noticeable difference in feel. Well, maybe just that the suspension feels a bit more flexible.

 

Am I doing something wrong??? My presets on the radio never seem to stay? Especially with XM Radio? I find a station, hold the preset button til it beeps, then for some reason after a few days of toggling back and forth from XM and FM it seems to disappear?

 

???
Regen will work if you press the brakes lightly independent on whether you have the cruise control or not - regen or not depends on how you hard you brake, not on how you were driving up to that point.
Where did you read that with CC on, regen does not work and that you have to come to a full stop before regen will work again? and BTW, braking is equivalent to pulling the stalk. Or have you read somewhere that there is a difference between deactivating CC (not turning it off, I mean) with the stalk and by depressing the brake?