Yikes! Do you all really like your Prius?

Welcome to the cult, Martha.

The Prius really is a good car. It has its quirks, but we can't all be the same. I'm sure whatever problems or questions you may have can be answered by someone here.

 

The Prius is a great form of transportation but I don't think it is a great car. I realized after purchasing mine and driving it around town for the past couple weeks that you get awesome mileage, but you do give up a lot of comfort.

 

The random acceleration is REAL. It's happened to me about 7 times so far since early August. It's not acceleration from a complete stop. For me, it happens as I'm braking. All of a sudden the skid/ABS light comes on and the car just shoots forward for a second. It's very unsettling. I thought it was my tires at first.

 

nooaah, you're experiencing a lack of braking, not a sudden acceleration (though it feels like one when you are braking).

Sounds like you hit a slick spot with one of the wheels and it locked up and ABS kicked in to keep the tire from locking up resulting in a temporary loss in braking power.

This is pretty common on most modern cars with ABS (happens on my Subaru, too).

When it happens, push the brakes harder if you need to stop. If you don't need to stop, you can let off the brakes. The brake pedal will be very firm when the ABS is engaged, so don't be afraid to put some muscle to it if you need to stop.

 

Ahh, so it IS my tires? If this is an issue with dry weather, should I consider changing my tires before it starts up again with the snow and ice here? I live in a very hilly (steep!) area.

 

I did exactly that when I went on my honeymoon for about 2 weeks. The little 12v battery was fine when I returned. No problem whatsoever.

 

To the previous poster that said there was no vent:

There is and not only that, the vent control is on the steering wheel which is really nice. It's the recirc button. To get vent air from the outside, turn the AC off and push the recirc button so that it should recirc is off. You then get vent air from outside. If you want it assisted, then you have to hit the climate button on the MFD, select the fan speed you want and disable the AC.

 

That's pretty much what I meant when I said you have to coax the car into vent mode. I think you also need to adjust the temp button under some circumstances (on a cold day, say, else the car will try to heat the incoming air). No matter how you slice it, if you just want to blow some outside air into the car, it takes more fuss than it would if you just had a "VENT" button.

 

Speaking of venting, does anybody use the Front and Rear defrost buttons on the steering wheel?

 

Yes, buy some good tires. They make a huge difference in all conditions.

 

So I guess I'm back with buying the Michelin X Radials...

 

Yes, those are pretty handy. I just toggle them on and off as needed.

Tires, yes, but not necessarily those ones. But I won't start that again - we already have enough threads about treads.

 

You don't have to take our word for it, Consumer Reports ranks the Prius' customer satisfaction rating at 92%. The highest of any vehicle.

As for the issues you mention, bear in mind that one of the main reason many people come to forums like this is that they have problems or questions about their cars. I think this is exaggerated with the Prius as it is a bit different from the cars people are used to driving. People also like to have a safe semi-private place to complain about things, even if they are minor. Given that, you can easily get the false impression that everyone on the planet is having problems with their cars and really upset about.

FWIW, I gave up my SUV (Land Rover) and sports car (WRX) to drive a Prius thinking I was making a big sacrifice to save the planet and the country. Now I like driving the Prius better than either of the other cars. It cheeses me off that now I can rarely ever get it away from my wife

Rob

 

I've heard enough bad things about the Triple Treads...But, yes, nevermind. (the ones I really want are too expensive)

 

In 2005, when my husband and I were shopping around for a car, I wanted a Prius and my husband (an attorney who tends to like more 'status' cars) wanted a more luxury type of car. I put my foot down and told him that I was going to be paying for it so I was getting the car I wanted. He vowed never to drive it.

3 years and 93,000 miles later, I was involved in a car accident and my car was totaled. I was looking around at other cars but this time, my husband was the one who was adamant about getting another Prius. We just picked up our 2009 Touring, package 6 last week and couldn't be happier (well, except for the loss of the HOV sticker and nav over-ride..grr..)

 

Do what I did: buy your wife one, also!

Kim (happy joint-owner of 2 Prii...)

 

we've had our 2008 Prius less than two months, and -- prior to picking it up -- i ALSO had many concerns; most of which, incidentally, are found in your list. all of your concerns have already been addressed to varying degrees, but here's my "take" on some of them as well ....

our battery -- 12v -- ran down / died less than two weeks into ownership. i wish i had known then what i know now ... please refer to richard schumacher's partial-quote included in this post. we had to jump it and had no problems. just be sure to follow the instructions ... hmmm ... follow the instructions ... my all-time favorite "interesting concept" ....

i don't know about most other Prius owners, but when i fill ours up -- something i've done only three times so far -- i do NOT squeeze the pump-handle all the way ... i just squeeze it enough to get the gas flowing at a "fairly good rate" and then do my best to hold it steady. then, when the auto-shut-off of the pump engages, i'm done ... i don't "top it off" like i do our other car.

i daresay that's true of EVERY make / model / year of EVERY car that's ever been invented! with the Prius and other "true" hybrids, however, there MAY be a wider range of mileage results due to many people working to absolutely MAXIMIZING their FE ... whereas other people simply do not work at doing so. in our specific case, my wife generally gets about 35-40 mpg around town ... she just hasn't gotten the "hang of it" yet when it comes to maximizing the FE. i don't really have the "hang of it" yet, either, and yet i OFTEN manage a bit more than 50 mpg around town.

so far, the "worst" mpg we've gotten out of a single fill-up is 44.9 ....

so far, the best mpg i've gotten on a fairly lengthy / 130 mile hi-way trip is 55.7 ... cruise on most of the way / AC off most of the time / driving somewhat BELOW the posted speed limit ....

i certainly can't speak for "we all" ... but WE really like this car!!!!!!!! indeed ... the first line of the following quote works QUITE WELL for the two of us as well ....

oh ... if only i'd understood / realized the above, battery-related comments sooner. i WAS listening to the audio system for some time and i BELIEVE i had the car in ACC mode; not "Ready" mode.

we haven't had that issue, but that seems like a VERY good suggestion; i'll pass that on to my wife ... just in case ....

it seems to me that your "give up a lot of comfort" remark depends ENTIRELY upon what an individual is accustomed to. i'm EXTREMELY confident the Prius' "comfort level" is somewhat-if-not-MUCH below that of any of the more "luxurious" cars-n-such out there ... ( personally, i'd MUCH rather own an entire Prius ... as compared to 75% of a similarly equipped TCH or one-half or one-third of a "high-end" BMW or Mercedes Benz or Lexus or what-have-you!!! ) ... but the Prius compares MOST FAVORABLY with all the other cars i've ever owned ... and is much MORE comfortable than a few that i've owned.

 

I used to use them more often when I didn't have a garage, but I do still use them on my morning commute because the windows tend to fog up a bit on cold mornings. I like having the convenient buttons because I rarely need to turn them on for more than a few minutes.

 

So far it looks like others have answered this question about the 12V aux battery, but not about the HV battery, where it also applies. Here's the boldface notice from my (2001) repair manual, page IN-14:

NOTICE:
Leaving a vehicle alone for 2 - 3 months may cause electric
discharge from HV battery.
When this happens, replace the HV battery.​

Page number might be different in other years' repair manuals. Or maybe they've even phased out the notice. But it's something I would pay attention to. Replacing the HV battery is not the end of the world either, but it's an amount of money that could be used for many other more enjoyable things.

So, just don't do that. If you'll be away for two months, leave a key with the person who feeds your fish, and have them start up the Prius twice. (Or let them drive the Prius while you're gone, as reward for feeding the fish.)

Still doesn't stop it being the most satisfying car purchase I've ever made....

-Chap

 

More fuss? The Prius is *identical* to ever car I've owned. In order to get air from the outside, you have to turn recirc off. If you don't want it heated or cooled, you have to turn the temp to min (60 or 65 depending on the car) and turn AC off.

Now if you're talking about about really old cars like the Bugs my mom used to own, then those had a seperate outside vent knob right on the cabin vent, but you have to back quite a few years for something like that.