This Prius can't even sell itself...

[pje65]

Well, I feel like I need to chime in here. I had an '06 Prius for about 6 years. I probably never should have bought it. In fact, I was driving home last night, and the thought "What the hell was I thinking, buying an automatic car?" popped into my head. I enjoy driving my Focus. I never enjoyed driving my Prius. But that wasn't the Prius's fault. For the most part, it does what it's supposed to do very well. If you're not a fan of what it's supposed to do, then you shouldn't buy it. However, there were a couple of glaring problems I had with it.

First, THE GOOD:
-Terrific mileage. I think the worst average mileage I ever got was about 48 mpg for a whole tank. I was usually in the 49-50 range.

-Outstanding storage. Lots of places to store things, and the hatch was enormous. I wish my Focus had more places to store things. I loved the two tiered glove compartment.

-Smart Key: Loved it!

Generally speaking, it was a very reliable car.

The NOT SO GOOD:
Annoying things not related to it driving like a Prius:

-The bladder. I don't like a gas tank that expands or contracts with the ambient temperature. It was impossible to gauge how many more miles you could go based on prior experience, as the car took a different amount of gas every time you filled it up. So, I filled it up whenever I got down to 1 pip. Generally, that meant getting 7 or 8 gallons of gas unless it was July. Too small.

-The alarm sounds: My Focus boops gently when I turn it on and don't have my seat belt on. With the Prius, the sound was shrill and loud. With the Smart Key, it would do that 3 times every time you left the car or opened a door/the hatch while it was running. A major nuisance in the winter.

THE TERRIFYING:
-Before, but reasonably close to the last traffic light on my commute, there's a bump. If the light turned yellow right before that bump, I'd hit it while braking at 30 - 40 mph. At that point, the car would lurch forward, and it would feel like the brakes had failed for the half second or so it would take for me to hit flat ground and brake again. It was scary, esp. if there were cars in front of me at the light. My dealer told me that this was simply the Godawful traction control kicking in. They thought it was functioning properly. When Toyota had that issue with acceleration a few years ago, there was an article in the NY Times that discussed people who were complaining about similar problems. The article said that these people had also been told by their dealers that it was the traction control. This only happened to me a half dozen times in 6 years, but I remember them all.

-My Prius drove fine in the snow. It drove fine in the rain too. However, it was terrible after a drizzle. It wasn't a problem while you were driving along, but God help you at a Stop sign. There's one place on my way to work where I have to stop at the top of a hill at a pretty busy intersection. I live in NJ, so if there's a hole, you need to hit it with authority or wait a couple of minutes for the next hole. Because it was at the top of a hill, I had to accelerate a little more energetically to get over the top, then get through the intersection. If I tried this on a slightly slippery road, it would, as often as not, start lurching and sputtering as I helplessly tried to get across this intersection while cars were bearing down on me at 50 mph. So, here was my dilemma. Do I want to take my foot off the gas, let the car regroup, and try again, or do I try to limp along through the intersection and hope I make it to the other side? Which option will minimize the probability that I'll get broadsided before I reach the other side? It was ridiculous. I looked around at various Prius related sites, and the consensus seemed to be that the Gen II Prius had the worst traction control in the history of the world. It was designed to protect the engine/motor from damage resulting from excessive tire spinning. It seemed to be a lot less concerned about protecting the driver and passengers in the car. For the record, my sister-in-law in San Francisco has a Gen II Prius. A good friend in Colorado has one too. Neither has ever had the problems I experienced. However, neither one of those cars has traction control. So, I suspect that's what the problem was. I never had that issue at the same Stop sign with my Civic (the car I had before the Prius), my Focus, or even the clunky Corolla that I had to rent for a week last spring. At any rate, I decided in the spring that I wasn't going through another winter with that car. Perhaps my car simply had unusually bad traction control. However, Toyota didn't seem very concerned about the issues I was having when I brought them up. I didn't appreciate that.

[Focus YBTC]

Originally Posted by pje65

Perhaps my car simply had unusually bad traction control. However, Toyota didn't seem very concerned about the issues I was having when I brought them up. I didn't appreciate that.

The OEM tires on my Prius were incredibly horrible in snow and ice but I never noticed any really bad issues on damp or wet roads. When the originals wore out I put Continental Pro Contact EcoPlus tires on and those were advertised as being outstanding in the rain and I tested them in downpours in empty parking lots and they were indeed awesome in resisting hydroplaning. Early on I bought some winter only tires, Yokohama Ice Guards, after that the car ROCKED in the ice and snow. My FoFo is sporting some new Blizzak Ws-70s and I can't wait for the snow to fly.

[Focus YBTC]

Originally Posted by suss6052

Actually that was false they did not get anywhere near the same mileage unless you consider a margin of 11.76% to be within tolerance. When the Prius was driven flat out it did 17.x mpg uk (20.4 mpg us) where as the M3 did 19.x mpg (22.8 mpg us) when it was driven just hard enough to keep up for 10 laps around the airfield.

I believe that scientifically run "test" coming from Clarkson who despises the Prius.

[revhigh]

To PJE,

First ... the Gen 3's don't have a fuel bladder.

Second ..... the alarms and bells are configurable .... both Gen 2 and Gen 3.

Third..... the traction control deficiencies you mentioned were braking characteristic related .... sometimes Prii exhibit that characteristic when it transitions from electronic to friction braking. It seems that the car lurches, but it doesn't really. That would be impossible.

Fourth .... all Gen 2 and 3 Prii have traction control and electronic brakeforce distribution no matter where they reside or are sold.

REV

[revhigh]

Originally Posted by Focus YBTC

The OEM tires on my Prius were incredibly horrible in snow and ice but I never noticed any really bad issues on damp or wet roads. When the originals wore out I put Continental Pro Contact EcoPlus tires on and those were advertised as being outstanding in the rain and I tested them in downpours in empty parking lots and they were indeed awesome in resisting hydroplaning. Early on I bought some winter only tires, Yokohama Ice Guards, after that the car ROCKED in the ice and snow. My FoFo is sporting some new Blizzak Ws-70s and I can't wait for the snow to fly.

Same tires I replaced the OEMs with as well. Great for handling and traction, but I lost 3 MPG by going to the EcoPlus's from the Yoko S33D's.

REV

[pje65]

Originally Posted by Focus YBTC

The OEM tires on my Prius were incredibly horrible in snow and ice but I never noticed any really bad issues on damp or wet roads. When the originals wore out I put Continental Pro Contact EcoPlus tires on and those were advertised as being outstanding in the rain and I tested them in downpours in empty parking lots and they were indeed awesome in resisting hydroplaning. Early on I bought some winter only tires, Yokohama Ice Guards, after that the car ROCKED in the ice and snow. My FoFo is sporting some new Blizzak Ws-70s and I can't wait for the snow to fly.

You make a good point. I always had the OEM tires. I'm sure that didn't help.

[pje65]

Originally Posted by revhigh

To PJE,

First ... the Gen 3's don't have a fuel bladder.

Second ..... the alarms and bells are configurable .... both Gen 2 and Gen 3.

Third..... the traction control deficiencies you mentioned were braking characteristic related .... sometimes Prii exhibit that characteristic when it transitions from electronic to friction braking. It seems that the car lurches, but it doesn't really. That would be impossible.

Fourth .... all Prii have traction control no matter where they reside or are sold.

REV

I heard they got rid of the bladder for the Gen 3's. How big is the gas tank?

You can configure the alarms?! I wish I'd known that. I have headache issues, and those sounds drove me NUTS.

Not sure about the traffic light and the bump, as I was definitely braking there. However, I never got near the brake at the Stop sign. Something else was definitely going on there.

[ThatFocusAgain]

i really really find this funny....i am a toyota tech....the prius is built pretty well...they all smell funny tho. every single one its the"prius" smell. and yes they are ugly...Other than a few recalls on them i havent seen any major problems with them. And as for it freeking out at highway speeds??????? got me i work on them all the time...????? would have to be a limp mode of some sort it would have to be an issue with the hybrid ecu if it over heats i would think it can do some wierd things. they had problems with electric water pump witch cools that computer.

[revhigh]

11.9 .... good for about 550 miles with a gallon left and an 11 gallon fillup.

Alarms and chimes have always been configurable in Gen 2 & 3.

Trust me ... when braking over a bump when coming to a stop ... that was a braking transition issue.

Disconcerting the first time you experience it, but not dangerous at all.

I've experienced it a few times in 40K miles myself .... your dealer should have explained that to you.

Your traction control issues were mostly tire related.

REV

[pozi240]

Originally Posted by Focus YBTC

You're wrong about 99.9 % of that. The generation Prius (2007) in my family has a much more spacious and comfortable rear seat than my Focus and it is a great car on highway trips. That year Prius is designed to run on BOTH the electric motor and gas engine combined most of the time. It only runs on electric alone up to 15 MPH. There is a new Prius C (C for city) that is designed as a commuter car where your statements about highway driving may apply. Don't get me started on the green factor and the lies that have been perpetrated about hybrids on that front. One favorite was the whopper that a Hummer was more "green" cradle to grave than a Prius and that's been proven wrong so many times it will make your head spin. I'm really tired of the pseudo-macho anti-hybrid posing that goes on by people ignorant about the Prius.

Having said all that I'm willing to bet I'd like the Ford C-Max hybrid much better though I haven't driven one yet. The company I work for had a load of Ford Escape hybrids and that was a really nice driving economical car. The C-Max is a much improved car and gets a rated 47 MPG combined.

Please elighten me on how I can be "wrong", it's an opinion, and mine, not yours.. We're you there with me on that 1000km trip?? I never trashed the Prius once, I merely stated facts about mileage and economy, all based on facts. For my needs, the TDI was much more economical (I commute about 90% highway everyday ) and more powerful to boot. The previous gen Prius was a great car for a certain niche of the motoring public, but it wasn't the best , nor the be all, end all many would have us believe, and it certainly isn't the "answer" to high mpgs. The Hummer example for the "cradle to grave" argument is equally ridiculous and no one brought that up but yourself. I mentioned that other vehicles, like the TDI (especially the BlueTec) are greener in that argument, and that has been proven. Again, that really doesn't matter to most (or even myself, I race motorcycles and am in the military, using green arguments would make me a hypocrite, lol). I just stated it since a lot of Prius owners like to throw that in your face. Toyota makes reliable cars, the Prius is no different (although I wouldn't want to pay for new batteries out of warranty, but, that is more of a concern for used buyers), but this is a FoFo forum, the OP started this thread to poke fun at a funny situation, nothing more.
You and Revhigh seem to have a love affair with your Toyota, that's great, but continuing to defend them on a Ford forum and put down naysayers is just dumb really. I'm sure there is some great forums out there for that.