Wierd reading about all the problems.....

[Robotribe]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(seasalsa @ Aug 17 2006, 03:54 PM) [snapback]304930[/snapback]</div>

You have to remember that for every problem that is reported here there are thousands of us that are driving trouble free Prius.
[/b]

Yup. Same thing on the Vespa boards or Audi boards I used to frequent. A lot of owners seek out online communities for questions regarding problems, so it sometimes gives a false impression that they are the majority. If you've generally got nothing going wrong to complain about or seek answers for, my bet is you're probably off driving your Prius or whatever else.

[tochatihu]

The Yahoo toyota-prius group started in May 2000. Many times there peoples' first posts begin with "Hi I have been lurking/reading for a long time but now I have a question/problem/dealer gripe".

PS: I had no problems with my Prius today.

[rufaro]

Hi. I'm Rufaro and I'm an addict...

[Dave]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rufaro @ Aug 17 2006, 07:06 PM) [snapback]305027[/snapback]</div>

The other answer involves statistical anomalies. PriusChat seems to have a just a tad of a "cult" following. The sample you see here is NOT statistically valid! As noted above, we are, as a group, anal, obsessive, what-have-you. This is NOT a car junkie forum....LOTS more geeks here than gearheads!

Send a properly created questionnaire out to the entire universe of Prius owners, not just the ones who hang out here, and the picture, I suspect, would be entirely different.

I mean, c'mon...how many threads are there here about TRIM RINGS???

WE ARE NOT NORMAL (and I mean that in the NICEST possible way...)!
[/b]

Well put. I think as a group, Prius drivers, and particularly those who come here, are hyper-vigilant. The technology involved makes this car enough different than other cars that we pay more attention to the driving experience overall.
I've got over 70,000 on mine, and the only complaint I have so far is that the back-up lights are pretty close to worthless. Other than that, I love this car.

[subarutoo]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(seasalsa @ Aug 17 2006, 03:54 PM) [snapback]304930[/snapback]</div>

You have to remember that for every problem that is reported here there are thousands of us that are driving trouble free Prius.
[/b]

0ver 15,000 miles since January. ZERO problems. Not at the gas pump, not while driving, It's all been good. Even as good as our two Subarus which are good at everything except passing gas stations. I've never had such a quiet, smooth and relaxing car to drive, but the power is there when you need it. Complaints? ...what complaints? Its also my first 4 door automatic. I was prepared to hate it. I was wrong!

[eagle33199]

I think you also need to look at the nature of the complaints... While some of them are the "my car stopped working" type of posts, i think a majority of them are either not real problems - "i ran out of gas at only 400 miles with 48MPG" or "my battery is never full, should i take it to the dealer?" - or small problems that most people would just ignore - "the center speaker muddles the sound" or "When i turn the bass all the way up i get some rattles" or (my favorite) "i'm only getting 45 MPG! this car sucks"

Yes, owning a prius is like joining a cult. Yes, those who frequent the boards are completely and totally obcessed (myself included). Yes, people come here to solve problems that normal techs are too inept to properly solve. and finally, yes, this is an unfair sampling of the worlwide prius community.