Where are all the Prius Haters?

Well..let's see:

The stall issue is long dead and solved. 14 cases out of 80,000 plus models. The problem was a software issue, and resolved, and limited only to a certain numbers of 2004 models.

The batteries: Toyota warranties them for I believe is 8 yrs and/or 100,000 miles, I have read that some have gotten 170,000 miles out of them. Just now you have turn over from the 1st generation starting. Toyota does re-cycle the batteries, current cost is still on the high side $7,000 but prices coming down fast as demand comes on, batteries are made by Panasonic, and it is just a matter of time before some company will find it profitable to make batteries for all these Hybrids, hence competition hence lower prices.

Brakes - usually related to driver habit, I do not think or have heard that the specific Toyota Brakes or materials are of lesser quality then any other car's brakes. There is also no indication of design error, ie premature failures due to mistake in design anywhere on these boards.

The Echo is a totally different car, and very small and you can certainly feel it. The wheel base is similar, not the same, the interior room is very small in the echo, and the car is lighter.

Toyota does not charge to dispose the battery, and is very good with warranty coverage. There has been no battery issues, as these become more mainstream, the perceived problems will only get BETTER, not worse.

Yes I believe a hatchet job occured in that article. It is universally understood already by all emergency personel NOT TO CUT orange wrapped wires. That is easy enough, and most emergency functions other than this are no different then other vehicles. FEW very FEW emergency personel would refuse to help or remove a victim, simply because after looking they determined he or she was in a Hybrid type vehicle. All of these folks are trained and very safety conscious, and so is the car in relations to its Hybrid side. All cars automatically SHUT OFF (even the gas cars have collision sensors, that deploy airbags and fuel shut offs) the hybrid car is no different, upon any airbag deployment and/or severe crash or a roll over the car's computer and safety system shut off the electric motors, fuel to the engine, and starting controls. All an emergency crew has to remember is to not cut orange wrapped wires, and these are clearly marked and ROUTED away from dangerous areas and passengers.

 

Sorry about the multiple posts, the system kept saying the web site was busy, and returned a no load, I was trying to salvage the long typing.

 

I can see both sides of the issue. Being a "gearhead", I understand the fear of having all cars on the road become hybrids. We went through the same thing going from carburators to fuel injection: "Well, that's it! Nobody will ever be able to figure all that crap out & tune a car now." Now re-working your injectors is common, and it's getting harder to find people who can work on a carb.

I like my Prius so far. It's an awesome piece of engineering, and I have deep respect for the Toyota team that built it. It does what it was meant to do very well, and without MAJOR compromises. I even find it more comfortable than our '04 explorer on long trips. It rides more softly and has far less wind & tire noise.

I say "like" and not "love" because to some of us, it has no "soul", for lack of a better word. When you sit in a 400+ h.p. Chevelle and feel the car shake with each cylinder firing, that's a car that's alive and talking to you.

So, I doubt you'll find prius-haters here ( as has been said) but there are a decent number of us non-fanatics.

dave.

 

Well said and posted. None of what you just quoted/relayed was common knowledge to me (or to the 6-7 people that interested in Prius purchase in my office).

Understand, the brake rotor issue on the HCH was not due to my use/overuse of the brakes; I know how to drive within normal limits. Rather, it appears that Honda did not adequately upgrade the rotors to accomodate the extra weight of the hybrid system and battery.

I am well aware of the emergency crews training vis-a-vis the high voltage cables etc.; the comment was still worth noting for us who live in the hinterlands where volunteer fire departments still rule...That Toyota and Honda train emergency personnel is laudable, but does that data get to Podunk as well?

As I stated, whether Prius ownership is a blessing or a blunder is time and experience dependent for me. I like the car

 

Oh, and as far as complaints go, I think so far my complaint is that it's lightly built. If I put a lot of weight on the door armrest when I'm climbing out, I can feel it flex. That doesn't inspire confidence that it'll still be solid 80K miles from now, but we'll see. Some of the other interior parts look like you'll have to be carefull with them our they'll break. Things like the glovebox latches, etc.

This may be something common to japanese cars or smaller cars -- this is the first car I've owned that fits in either category. And not the end of the world. But, the prius does have it's faults. Just not the doom-n-gloom that the anti-prius people like to put out there.

 

I have been a gearhead for a long time and am also a computer technician and I disagree with the Prius not having a soul. It does have one, but it manifests itself in an entirely different way than it does on the 400 hp Chevelle in your example. It speaks to me more in the way that my network of computer servers speak to me, rather than the way my Integras used to speak to me, and the soul of this new machine is a lot more subtle than that in the brute of a classic American muscle car.

 

I couldn't have said this part better myself. Yes, my Prius is far from perfect either. When I first picked it up I was dismayed by the plasticy look 'n' feel of the door panels and the dash, but I'm also surprised at how quickly I got used to it and how it doesn't bother me anymore. The twitchy handling at highway speeds is a problem, as well as the recurring squeak in the rear hatch area. Headroom in the rear and comfort of the drivers seat could be better for those taller than 6 ft., and there are some really funky blind spots around the A pillar and out back. None of these complaints are specific to the hybrid drive, and in spite of these complaints the Prius to me was and still is the best car I could have bought for my money this year.

 

Exactly! On PriusChat, I think you'll find a wider range of opinions, attitudes, and backgrounds than on many of the other make-specific chat boards. That's a Good Thing. A lot less flaming, too.

 

I haven't noticed the twitchy handling yet. I was quite comfortable up to 80 mph this weekend. But the road ( Pa turnpike) was crap, so maybe that's why I didn't notice. And those of us who are 5'8" don't have much sympathy for the 6'+ people

OT: If you want some fun, point out to your V8 buddies that the Prius makes 295 ft-lbs of torque and just watch thier faces. You don't have to tell them it's only up to 1200 rpm Oh, if only Toyota would give me a clutch to pop or at least let me do a neutral-drop, she'd be a tire-fryer!

 

The grass is always greener on the other side. For example, I don't fit in an old Volkswagen. On most airlines I dread flying in coach, since I can feel a ribcage in my kneecaps and I can feel somebody's knees in my ribs. Older theatres and movie theatres can be very uncomfortable. At lunch today I sat in a booth in a Mexican restaurant that was not designed for people taller than maybe 5'8" and I felt very cramped and uncomfortable. I cannot stand up straight in a Canadair Regional Jet. In most cars the seat does not go back far enough - if ONLY it went back another half an inch to an inch. My feet hang off the end of most beds. I get a crick in my neck from kissing my girlfriend too long, unless she is standing on something. ... Should I go on?

 

Brock Yates was critical of hybrids afew months ago too. I looked down and noticed he drives a Hummer. I think that speaks for its self.

 

I cannot stand rattles inside the car. One thing I've found out about all the Toyota's I've owned, they are almost always silent inside even as I pass 200,000 miles.

As far as I'm concerned, this rattle is a defect that the dealer needs to find and fix. (Unless of course, it's something you've got in the back.)

As for the reverse visability, I agree. There are more blind spots in the car than in most. I've learned to make more use of my mirrors, and I've bought a small parabolic mirror thingy to improve my visability. It takes getting used to.

But I love this car. 15,000 and the last 3 tanks were all around 54 mpg.

 

Bill, get that squeak checked out. Mine doesn't do that. It's probably an easy fix once they find it.

 

For my 2 cents worth

First the Prius is a midsize and classified as one, compare the dimensions of the Prius to this popular car pretty close? Then again to our Car and Driver writer Hummer driver, anything you can fit more than 2 of in a time zone is probably considered small. By the way, while you are checking out the Malibu, click the build it link for fun and games, our package 4 sold for 23,700, by the time I got the Chev as closely equipped as I could, I had it up to 25,400 and then it still didn't have HID's, SKS, or MFD. Someone may say "ya but that has a V6...", well, I know that's not an even comparison but GM doesn't" have HSD so I have to do the best I can with ICE and step shift technology

I'll second what Galaxee said about the squeak, chances are it's probably a simple tightening of the latch. You did check the the cover latches for the cubby under the hatch are locked or that it's not something in the bin below, right?

I haven't noticed the "twitchy" handling either and have been in some pretty good crosswinds, and passing semis (and vica versa) in a crosswind with no ill effects. I wonder if the small diameter steering wheel in the Prius maybe gives a feeling of this nature, especially if say you are switching from a full size car, pickup, or SUV. Our previous car (98 Subaru Impreza) handled in a very similar manner and if I get into someones SUV, I always seem to notice a general sloppiness in the handling, so I wonder if this isn't just a case of what you're used to.

As far as emergency response, I live in a rural community (Belle Plaine less than 5000), and know most of the fire dept. members. I asked them if they had any received any info regarding this, they already had multiple training sessions involving hybrids, knew all about the orange cables etc. even pointed out a few things I wasn't aware of like disarming undeployed airbags. Our fire chief however was a little more reserved, he thought it best if he were to test drive it for the first 100K miles or so to make sure it was safe :mrgreen:

 

I think you hit the nail on the head with this one. My previous car before the Prius was a '95 Acura Integra GS-R, and the night before I picked up the Prius I sold the Integra and rented a '2004(?) Chevy Cavalier. The Integra did handle **very** well, even at extra-legal speeds, and the Cavalier felt extremely twitchy and dodgy at 65 mph on the highway. The day I picked up my Prius I drove it home from out of state, which was a trip of about 300 miles of Interstate, and the highway handling of the Prius was somewhere inbetween the Integra and the Cavalier.

Thanks for the nagging; I will get that squeak looked at during the next scheduled service, due in about 1100 miles