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New to the Prius

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by Dan05979, May 24, 2015.

  1. Dan05979

    Dan05979 Member

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    Hello family, new to the forums new to the Prius.
    I just recently purchased a CPO 2010 Prius 3 52K $14K from Prestige Toyota in NJ. I have a long commute everyday from upstate NY to NYC which is around 150 miles a day, usually 6 days a week. I traded in my 1997 Toyota Corolla for the Prius for the gas mileage plus I love the way the Prius looks. My other car is a 2011 BMW 535 Xdrive which I hardly drive because I don't want to rack up the miles on that car. Plus owning a BMW is a headache on it's own between maintenance and tires.

    I noticed while parked with my parking lights on only, i had no lights on in the front of the car but the tail lights were lit. I called the dealer and scheduled an appointment to look into this. It could be the simplest thing but let them take car of this since this was over looked. Also my steering wheel isn't straight when driving on the highway, so i need that looked at as well. But i love the car, just need to adjust to the power difference between my Beamer and Corolla. I commute to work and not looking to win any races.

    About the parking lights, are the turn signals supposed to be lit up also with the parking lights up on the headlights?
     

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    #1 Dan05979, May 24, 2015
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    congrats and welcome! all the best.(y)
     
    #2 bisco, May 24, 2015
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  3. mg555

    mg555 Junior Member

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    Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new car! :)

    I am interested to see what others here have to say about your steering wheel being not straight when you are driving on the highway. I have the same problem with my 2014 Prius. The steering wheel is just slightly off center. Had the dealer adjust the alignment about a week or so after I purchased it, but I am still having the same problem 3 months later. Have not had the chance to bring it back to the dealer yet, but guess I will have to make time.

    Is this just an "abnormality" with the Prius, where the wheel is just off center by a very slight amount?
     
    #3 mg555, May 25, 2015
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  4. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    rotate your tires and see if anything changes
     
    #4 JC91006, May 25, 2015
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  5. CR94

    CR94 Senior Member

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    My "certified" 2011 had the same problem initially, along with excessive toe-in. I corrected both issues myself by adjusting one tie rod, and the tires (new no-name Chinese ones the dealer installed) seem to be wearing evenly, so far.
     
    #5 CR94, May 25, 2015
    Last edited: May 25, 2015
  6. AzWxGuy

    AzWxGuy Weather Guy

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    I believe in the Gen III that only the little white lights on the top of the headlight cluster illuminate when parking lights are selected. They remain on when headlights are selected.

    I'm hip to the long commute. Round trip 140 miles 5 days a week.
     
    #6 AzWxGuy, May 25, 2015
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  7. DoubleDAZ

    DoubleDAZ Senior Member

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    There are other threads here about the steering wheel being just slightly off-center. I didn't even notice it until I read one of those threads, but it doesn't bother me or affect operation. AFAIK, that's just the way it is, though some might be more off than others and can be adjusted a bit.
     
    #7 DoubleDAZ, May 25, 2015
  8. Dan05979

    Dan05979 Member

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    well Tuesday I made an appointment with the dealer to look at this, I'll see what they have to say about it. Previous owner had purchased 4 new tires at a Mavis discount right before turning the car in to the dealer. I found the receipt in the storage bin. They are not name brand tire but they are new. On my certified pre owned list of things that were looked over, wheel alignment was checked off. Probably checked but really never looked at. I've been thru this before with my BMW.

    Thanks for letting me know, I try to look for other prius's at night to see what the situation is.
    I hope for a long happy life with my 2010 prius.
     
    #8 Dan05979, May 25, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: May 25, 2015
  9. HTMLSpinnr

    HTMLSpinnr Super Moderator
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    The lower lights are turn-signal only. The upper lights have white and yellow clearance lights to the sides.

    As for off-center steering, I concur that it is an alignment issue - usually excessive toe on one wheel. If it's not accounted for by the VSC computer, it can throw off stability control as well since the steering angle wouldn't be at a "neutral" or "centered" reference point.

    As part of the alignment, they're supposed to straighten the wheel, then make appropriate toe adjustments on both steering tie-rods so that the individual angles match each other and the specified range, resulting in a straight wheel when driving straight. They then also reset the steering angle to that position with a TechStream computer so that this steering angle is considered neutral for straight-ahead driving.
     
    #9 HTMLSpinnr, May 25, 2015
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  10. Dan05979

    Dan05979 Member

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    Thank you!
     
    #10 Dan05979, May 25, 2015
  11. mg555

    mg555 Junior Member

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    Yes, thank you for the detailed info. Sounds like I need to take this back to the dealer. As a woman, many times the service advisors don't listen to what I say is wrong with my vehicle, which Is very condescending and frustrating. And also time consuming.....
     
    #11 mg555, May 25, 2015
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  12. Dan05979

    Dan05979 Member

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    off to my 0730 appointment, lets see where this goes...
     
    #12 Dan05979, May 26, 2015
  13. Dan05979

    Dan05979 Member

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    So after a visit to the dealer, they did the wheel alignment but the wheel is still a hair off center, so I'm not going to stress about it, and they changed the two bulbs on the headlight assembly for the parking lights and changed the license plate bulb also. So my next step with this car is to change out the JBL stock radio and tint the windows, eventually change the wheels too. The current ones look too goofy in my opinion.
     

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    #13 Dan05979, May 26, 2015
  14. hornedfrog

    hornedfrog Junior Member

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    My 2010 Prius III has the steering wheel alignment dead on. It's one of the things that I love about this car. I need new tires though and I am not sure if I want an alignment? Welcome.
     
    #14 hornedfrog, Jun 2, 2015
  15. qdllc

    qdllc Senior Member

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    Unless your tires show uneven wear, DO NOT let them touch the alignment. It should be spot-on from the time it came off the assembly line.

    You should NEVER need the alignment worked on unless the steering/suspension must be worked on or you have damage from hitting too many potholes or an accident.
     
    #15 qdllc, Jun 3, 2015
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