Blind Spot??

I went to a dealership a couple weeks ago to check out the blizzard pearl color... when I was sitting in the drivers seat, it appeared that there was going to be a large blind spot in the back of the car and it was hard to see out of. I haven't driven the car yet-- but hope to test drive one this weekend ( Jabber) For those who already own the 2010-- Is this something you get used to?? would investing in the backup cameras be a wise decision??

Thanks so much!

I didn't notice a blind spot. I have the back-up camera but usually don't even look at it. I grew up using rear view mirrors and actually turning my head and it's a hard habit to break. It may be something that you notice versus the car you drive now. I drove over 1700 miles in the last 6 days including several days of heavy city traffic and it was not a problem.

Just in case you had never driven a Prius before...compared to other vehicles (excluding most hatchbacks) the entire rear of the car "IS" a blind spot! This was something that took some getting used to for me as the rear view of the vehicle is not only split in two with the double windows design but is also at a steep angle to accommodate the slippery design of the car.

Yes, the rear view does take some getting used to but so does the 60+ mpg I'm getting right now! I got used to both very quickly!

Hello Daisy:

Yes, due to the body design there is a sizable rear blind spot, but probably not more than a minivan or SUV.

I have a 2009 Prius with the backup camera, and I really like it. It takes some practice for me to remember to actually look at the camera view, as I primarily use my side and rear view mirrors when backing up. But as I grow accustomed to it, I see just how valuable the backup camera option really is on this type of body design.

Best wishes,

Frank

My fear is of cutting someone off when changing lanes. I was a little nervous about this when I test-drove a 2010 model, but didn't have any mishaps. In any case, I always make judicious use of all available rear-view mirrors.

The 2010 is a lot like the Gen II Prius in terms of rear visibility.

It has 2 big blind spots, 1 unusual "distraction of the eye", and 1 relatively small blind spot.

Rear Corners: The "2 big blind spots" are those huge triangles in the rear corners of the Prius created by the styling of the "C" pillars and the slope of the rear hatch. You can't really see it from the outside. But inside, e.g., when you quickly look back toward the passenger side rear corner before changing to the right lane, these rear corner blind spots are huge.

Horizontal Bar: The "unusual distraction of the eye" consists of that horizontal bar that holds the rear window wiper and splits the rear hatch windows. It really is not a blind spot, but it does distract the eye. BTW, the horizontal bar on the 2010 is thinner (and less distracting) than the Gen II's.

Below Rear Window: The "relatively small blind spot" is the blind spot that all vehicles with rear windows have -- that area below the rear window that you can't see from the driver's seat and that causes at least half of the deaths and injuries resulting from people running over children when they're backing up. I say it's relatively small because it is -- compared to the same large blind spot on other cars like a SUV or minivan. To me, the biggest benefit of the rear view camera is that it allows you to see what's in that blind spot.

You could always get some blind spot mirrors to help out too. You know, those little round mirror that stick on the regular side view mirrors. they help out a lot.

The backup camera is very helpful. I still look around, but glance at the camera view often when backing. It's great when backing into a space also.

I have for my last five vehicles used blind spot removers for my mirrors, and I love them. I especially like the rectangle elevated ones. They have a much wider view than the round ones and less headlight glare.

I have prevented dozens of accidents with these little $5.00 wonders. Just remember to place them in the right spot first as you can break your mirror trying to pull them off. I did that one so don't do it. Be in your car when you find the sweet spot and use 75% alcohol to clean it nothing less or it won't be clean enough to stay the life of your car.

Now Canada made a mirror called the Lane Changer which if its still around was a killer. I had one on my Toyota Pickup for years. However, I don't know if its still around and if it would work with the Prius.. It was the big daddy of mirrors. It would not work on my SUV the sun visors were in the way.

Hey guys, from what I read hear the 2010 is similar to the GII as far as view out the back is concerned. With properly adjusted side view mirrors, the GII does not have any blind spot. On the other hand, if you adjust your side view mirrors so that they basically see what you see from the rear view mirror (windshield mount) you will have a huge blind spot on each side of the car.

Try this: while seated in your normal driving position, lean your head far to the left and adjust your left side mirror so that you can just barely see the left door handle. Now do the same to the right side.

You will find that just before a vehicle disappears from the rear view mirror it becomes visible in the side view mirror and remains visible there until it is along side and visible with a slight sideways glance. You can monitor all traffic approaching from the rear easily with no blind spots all just by moving your eyes from mirror to mirror.

You already did (you ordered the Solar Roof which includes Navigation/Backup Camera).

As I said above and elsewhere, I'm a big fan of the backup camera mainly because it covers the blind spot below the rear window. No amount of mirror adjusting will cover that blind spot.

The other big benefit of the backup camera is when you're parallel parking. There's nothing better for seeing how close your rear bumper is to the car behind you.

I like the camera, but it's going to take some experience to get used to the wide angle lens for purpose of backing up close to something. I keep parking too far away because it looks like I'm getting too close.

Put something on the ground behind the car and practice backing up. See how close it looks on the camera just prior to contacting it.

I back two of our cars into our garage and look forward to backing the Prius into our garage with the backup camera. Right now I use the side mirrors to guide me into the garage. I did use a backup camera on a test drive and liked it very much but like you say, how far back is to far? Practice is what I need. To start, I will go slow and use my mirrors too.

Dan

Between the backup camera and this protective accessory:

[IMGLINK]http://priuschat.com/forums/attachments/newbie-forum/10528d1216394477-someone-hit-my-prius-017.jpg[/IMGLINK]

... I'm pretty fearless when parallel parking and playing bumper cars with the car behind me.

I just did a google search for lane changer mirror. Is this what you had?

Lanechanger Mirrors - Specialty replacement, custom mirrors to eliminate blind spots for trucks and cars

thanks for all the advice/help! I think its going to take some getting used to seeing as thou this will be my first prius- I look forward to taking a test drive hopefully this weekend!

This approach doesn't work as well with motorcyles that are behind you and in certain other situations.

The stick on blind spot mirrors still are the best solution. And it only costs a few dollars for one of these mirrors. As Cycledrum and ScienceExpert both mentioned, they work well. And they provide a view of the blind spot for two lanes over on the driver's side, which allows you to see when someone is merging into your driver's side blindspot from the third lane (assuming you are in the right hand lane on a three lane road).

Also, as Boo mentioned, there is a blind spot when backing up that no amount of mirror adjustment can cure. This is where the backup camera is invaluable.

I first saw one in Hong Kong on a minivan that I was riding in back around 1994. It really helped with city parking. So they've been around for a long time, but are only starting to get popular over here. It will be something that I always look for now on a new car.

What Chuck said - almost. His description of setting the side mirrors is correct. How many times have you been behind someone and could see their face in their side mirror? They are using the side mirror as rear-views and have HUGE blind spots to the side. Be very careful passing them.

BUT - you STILL need to look to your left or right when changing lanes for two reasons:

1. If you are on the Interstate (3 or more lanes) someone 2 lanes over could be merging into the same spot you are going for. No side mirror will save you from that.
2. As yardman said, smaller vehicles and motorcycles can still not be easily seen. Make sure no one is there. You don't need to twist 180 degrees, but DO look over your shoulder.

The rear view camera helps with the 'directly behind the car' spot. Without it, a 6' driver can see the top of an 18" cone about 14 feet behind the car. This is, by the way, quite good compared to most cars BECAUSE we have the vertical rear window. Then compare to about 40' in a full size SUV. With the camera, the distance is 0".

If they have not changed it from the '06, the horizontal distance between the rear bumper and the ground when looking at the camera view is 18". Thus, if you are backing up to a curb, when the top of the bumper looks like it is just at the road/curb juncture, you are 18" away. It IS a very wide angle mirror so be careful when backing up to 'non road level' objects. You might find that while you can still see a gap between the bumper and the object in the camera display, you are VERY close. Because of this, you STILL need to use your side mirrors when backing up.