05 Prius seems slow lately

chrism07924 · 12-24-2005, 12:11 AM

Seems like the engine is working harder for normal acceleration.

Merging on highway traffic or passing at speed seems noticeably tougher than before. I'm tempted to say that it started happening roughly around the same time of the last oil change. It has 22K miles on it.

I thought it might be a sticky emergency brake, and tried pushing the brake all the way to the floor and releasing a few times, but the performance still seems degraded. The gas mileage doesn't seem any different. Could it be the gas? I'll take it in eventually, but I'm curious if anyone has had this issue. I only get it serviced by toyota, including all oil changes.

tomdeimos · 12-24-2005, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by chrism07924@Dec 24 2005, 12:11 AM
Seems like the engine is working harder for normal acceleration.

Merging on highway traffic or passing at speed seems noticeably tougher than before. I'm tempted to say that it started happening roughly around the same time of the last oil change. It has 22K miles on it.

I thought it might be a sticky emergency brake, and tried pushing the brake all the way to the floor and releasing a few times, but the performance still seems degraded. The gas mileage doesn't seem any different. Could it be the gas? I'll take it in eventually, but I'm curious if anyone has had this issue. I only get it serviced by toyota, including all oil changes.

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You sure it isn't just the cold weather. You get less power from winter fuel. And you get less acceleration power from the battery till it warms up, which can take about half an hour.

chrism07924 · 12-24-2005, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by tomdeimos@Dec 24 2005, 10:21 AM
You sure it isn't just the cold weather. You get less power from winter fuel. And you get less acceleration power from the battery till it warms up, which can take about half an hour.

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I hope that's all it is. Sounds logical. The only thing is that it seemed to start becomming this way back when it wasn't so cold, like October, but maybe I am just not remembering. I drove it today, just now, and didn't notice the effect. It could be that the temp outside here in NJ is relatively mild today (low-mid 40s).

djasonw · 12-24-2005, 01:44 PM

It definitely is the cold weather. I have the same issues. Once it is warmed up its fine. It can take upwards of a half hour for the battery to perform as it does in the summer. Last week when it was 17 degrees here, I decided to warm it up before I left for work. It was much better. Just look forward to spring!

richard schumacher · 12-26-2005, 12:02 PM

Check the oil to see whether it's overfilled. If so have the dealer fix his error.

Check your tires. Part of cold weather MPG loss is tires getting softer. That's easy to fix. (N.B.: tires should be checked "cold", which means the car has not been driven more than one mile in the last hour.)

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12-24-2005, 12:11 AM	#1
chrism07924 Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Bernardsville NJ Posts: 79 My Car: Package: Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	Seems like the engine is working harder for normal acceleration. Merging on highway traffic or passing at speed seems noticeably tougher than before. I'm tempted to say that it started happening roughly around the same time of the last oil change. It has 22K miles on it. I thought it might be a sticky emergency brake, and tried pushing the brake all the way to the floor and releasing a few times, but the performance still seems degraded. The gas mileage doesn't seem any different. Could it be the gas? I'll take it in eventually, but I'm curious if anyone has had this issue. I only get it serviced by toyota, including all oil changes.

12-24-2005, 01:44 PM	#4
djasonw Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 340 My Car: Package: Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	It definitely is the cold weather. I have the same issues. Once it is warmed up its fine. It can take upwards of a half hour for the battery to perform as it does in the summer. Last week when it was 17 degrees here, I decided to warm it up before I left for work. It was much better. Just look forward to spring!

12-26-2005, 12:02 PM	#5
richard schumacher nacreous lacquer Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: United States Posts: 4,096 My Car: 2004 Prius Package: #6 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	Check the oil to see whether it's overfilled. If so have the dealer fix his error. Check your tires. Part of cold weather MPG loss is tires getting softer. That's easy to fix. (N.B.: tires should be checked "cold", which means the car has not been driven more than one mile in the last hour.)