What's your favorite thing about your Prius that you didn't know about before you bought it?

Tonimr2002,

By "stealth" I think you may be referring to "dead band" when driving the Prius. This occurs usually between 34 mph and 40 mph when you can get up to speed and then slightly tap the gas pedal and then be able to lightly use the pedal for acceleration while not using any fuel (you will know you are in dead band when there are no energy arrows on your energy screen going to the wheels from the battery or from the wheel to the battery). A combination of dead band, pulse and glide in neutral and conservative acceleration should produce better numbers for you.

I also added a grill block on my Prius using foam pipe insulation (make sure you monitor your water temps...especially in the warmer summer months). Also, my tires are 44 psi on the front and 42 psi on the rear. My first tank produced 56.5 mpg and I'm in the 58-59 mpg range with my current tank.

Good luck!

 

my favorite thing about "Eleanor"........geez, I never thought it would be so much fun to drive. After having 4 Mustangs (I'm hooked on cars...)....I couldn't imagine a hybrid being this much fun. All the hidden secret storage areas, the slot for the owner's manual in the glovebox, the below-the-cargo space storage......amazing!!

 

My favorite thing? Nothing! I researched the vehicle so much and rented one to try it out before I bought one. No surprises. As a matter of fact, when I got the renatal home I sat in my dirveway ripping the thing apart to check stuff out (battery, wiring, stuff) that my neighbor came from across the street and said, "Hey Don, you bought a new car and it's broken already?" I just smiled and explained everything to him!

 

Maybe I'll have to check mine again. I know it definitely has separate controls between AUX and AM/FM. That was the key for me, as my MP3 player must be played at much higher volume. I have 2009 package 2 also.

 

Never knew that was there. After reading this I ran outside to check. Very cool! Amazing how much storage this car has.

 

No waste of gas when at a stop sign!!!!!

 

I was surprised to experience how long you can actually keep the car in dead band. The notion of driving a car 40 mph without consuming fuel is baffling to me. While I knew dead band was possible I didn't know the extent until I got some miles under my belt. Coming from a 20 mpg 4runner to a 60 mpg Prius is really an eye opener. I drove my 4runner very conservatively and was able to get good mpg for that vehicle but the Prius is much easier to maximize mpg with the available mods and smooth CD.

 

A few things I've noticed
- The wheels spin backwards on the display
- I'm getting more fuel efficient as the temperature rises. Shame I'll lose it in winter. Oh well

There was something else but I can't remember...

 

We live 2 miles from the bottom of a 6.6% 2 mile long upgrade. Actually some parts are steeper and some less than that. Many cars struggle on this hill and if a truck pulls over and slows you down some have a hard time regaining 65mph after the truck moves out of the way or when they change lanes.

What surprises me is the Prius has absolutely no trouble on this hill and can accelerate quite easily. The combination of the Synergy drive (amazingly simple and elegant) and electric motor torque is more capable than I thought it would be.

- I didn't know the inside lights would come on when I approached the car.
- I didn't know the smart key wouldn't allow me to lock the doors if I left the key inside the car.
- I didn't know the smart key would be soooooo cool! I want the same type of lock on my house door now. Just walk up to the door and touch the handle to unlock. How cool is that.
- I didn't know I would look forward to driving it so much every day.
- I didn't know the car would teach me how to drive more efficiently.
- I didn't know I would really get 48-52mpg on every tank.
- I didn't know it would be so quiet.

 

Thanks! So this may be where the confusion is: maybe there is separate control between AUX and AM/FM but there isn't one between CD and FM. I put mp3s on CDs - works well except the volume control.

 

If I read correctly, I think people are noting the two different volume levels between the radio and the auxiliary auido input, not the CD player. Do you have an aux input to test this on your model?

 

Just wanted to thank you for a great thread.

 

Yes I will check. Thanks!

 

I checked mine again today - the independent volume level was only between the radio and the AUX, not the radio and CD

 

Thanks!

 

Enjoyed this thread...

 

2008 model
1. how much fun it is to change the oil filter.
2. filling up the tank to "true" full can damage the bladder.
3. aux input has no isolation transformer.

my top 3 with a wee bit of sarcasm.

 

I agree. I made a mistake in choosing the III over the II which had a much better sounding stereo. The JBL system has tons of bass but the overall sound just isn't very good. Note to friends: Choose the II unless you absolutely can't live without the cell phone integration feature of the JBL system.

 

I didnt know much about this forum!

 

I didn't know you could pop the trim rings off the alloy wheels for a "sportier" look. I never really cared for the look of the stock wheels before that trick!