Just bought a 2008 Prius, PLEASEEEE ease my nerves! :(

Hey all!
I just bought my 2008 Toyota Prius today. I drive it off the lot Tuesday morning. It has 27K miles on it, and it's in great condition.

Anyhow, just want any advice that you'd consider helpful because I'm 20-years-old, and this is my first hybrid. Actually, it's my first nice car in general.

Also, I live in Buffalo, NY. So, I really need advice about snow driving. Basically, where I live, (near Lake Ontario, NOT Lake Erie), the snow comes & goes from November - March. It can vary in inches though. My commute to work in 15-minutes, and only involves one hill, and I can either commute city or highway. Please give me advice on snow. I am 5'3", and 97-lbs, and I had an accident in a Dodge Neon when I was 18 that almost killed me because I wasn't paying accurate attention during snow driving... I've been terrified of the snow ever since.

I've heard stories about the car slipping in the rain, but I test-drove it in POURING rain today and it seemed just fine.

Please ease my nerves. I was so excited about my Prius until I heard horror stories about the snow.

Hi MelissaK

The 1st advice would be to stop freaking about roads covered with snow. I know it's hard to do easy to say but you could go in a huge desert parking lot covered of slippery stuff and try your car doing some skidding and stuff, it could give you confidence and help you dedrammatise snow driving conditions.

Second, put some good winter tires on, all weels. My favorites : Nokian winter tires. They're expensive but marvelous. Nokian.com

Third : Say to your self that a Neon is a Neon and that a Prius is realy something else. Your Prius is very stable in slippery conditions and is equip with technological features that help you stay on the road. They're called "driving aids".

Four : Enjoy winter it's a nice season.

Yep, Omni-TaG has it right. The Neon is a different car, fewer airbags. Did it have ABS?

You'll want to practice in snow, so you get used to how the Prius implements the traction control (reduces acceleration so you don't spin out) and ABS (reduces braking so the wheels don't lock up in a hard stop and you can't steer). Some people have reported problems with this particularly with the traction control, but for me it handles as well as any normal FWD car. (I have the original Goodyear Integrity tires, and have deliberately tried accelerating up hills in snowstorms to see what they can do).

Living in Buffalo, you should know how to drive in snowy roads, but I'll repeat - go slower, especially in curves and anywhere you may need to brake. Keep more room between you and other cars, and brake very gently. Keep your momentum if you need to go up a hill or thru a snowbank (you may need to roll thru a stop sign if it's safe to do so).

Personally I like driving in snow. Keeps you awake, gives you a challenge. And if you find an empty parking lot with a few inches on it - put in reverse, crank the steering wheel all the way to one side, and floor it. It's a blast, but it does ruin your MPG for a bit.

About your commute - I'd recommend the route that gets cleaned first. Otherwise, slower is better, unless there's a clear difference in congestion or hilliness.

I second the motion for Nokian Winter Tires. The Nokian WR-G2 is an excellent choice that got me through all the snow last winter, unless it gets over about 5 inches deep, and then the Prius starts bottoming out on the higher drifts and such.

Hey melissaK, don't freak. I grew up down the road in the Rochester area. My cousin is still there and a year ago he bought a used 2007 Prius. He loves his Prius and has not had one problem with it. His wife drives it daily to work - through the snow, slush, ice & rain and she can't say enough good things about the Prius.

Follow the good advice you gotten so far - get 4 snow tires put on for the winter. You might even buy 4 extra wheels (used, from a junkyard) and just swap out the wheels for winter. Take the cleanest roads to work and be mindful of bridges, since they can freeze up quickly and develop a coat of ice. Get a good snow scaper & brush and clean off your windows before you leave on your drive and you should be fine.

Congratulations on buying a great car!

I'll third the Nokian tires...I personally have never driven them but have heard nothing but good things. They will be on my Prius as soon as my stock Integrities wear out. I've heard good things about the Hakka's in the Nokian line.

I lived in Buffalo for 9 years with a 2WD rear-wheel drive Ford Ranger...I know the snow you are talking about. It takes some getting used to but slow, patient driving is always the best course of action in any car. I used to put 1000 lbs. of sand bags in the bed of my truck when I lived there! But, now that I've moved on to economy driving I would not recommend the added weight...was just something that helped me get through the winter in Buffalo.

I second this (or perhaps third it ). Get good all season tires and you should be fine.

Tom

And this is totally unrelated, but if your car needs any
problem diagnosis, take it to "Swede" at OK Truck down on
Grand Island Boulevard and tell 'im Hobbit sent ya.
.
_H*

MelissaK,

I too live in Buffalo just south of the city. As all previous posts have stated about driving cautions are normal cautions to be heeded in our driving climate and all good suggestions. I too, have purchased a 2010 and am going to be looking at getting snow tires this winter season. I am not sure who sells the Nokian Winter Tires in our area but I am sure we can check with Firestone or DUNN to see if they have them or can get them. You will find it just to be a learning curve and as Nerfer mentioned you have to take turns slower and let the car and TRAC handle the driving conditions. SLower is the better rule of thumb no matter what in our Buffalo winters. Most of the accidents we see each year are from excesive speed in a turn or on a off ramp. If you follow those basic rules they should help us all make it safe through the long winters.

As a side note, Thanks Hobbit for the info about OK Truck on Grand Island Blvd. Never heard of them??

Thanks and good luck and if you want PM me and I can help answer any questions once Winter hits as well.

Good Luck!

MelissaK, congrats on your purchase. I've been driving a lot of years. There's something I do in each new vehicle I drive. The first time you get snow or ice on the ground for the year, go find a large vacant parking lot. Make sure it's empty, void of people, and has no obstacles to hit. Get in your vehicle and see what it takes to make it slide. Nothing drastic but it will help you know where the limits are between traction and loosing traction. You'll be better prepared and less surprised when it happens at a time you didn't choose. Also test your brakes. See how far it takes to stop when you jam them on all the way.

Again, be careful and do go nuts doing this, you're just trying to see how your vehicle handles when it's slick.

hi, i had not prob.. with driving in snow or ice...in my 07 prius..my father taught me to drive in bad weather. No hot wheeling ect.

I drove a FWD Dodge Colt (aka Mitsu Mirage) in the years I lived in Buffalo. Slow driving, gradual braking, and slow acceleration make all the difference in addition to good winter tyres.

I was surprised to see how many locals drive poorly in the winter. In particular, many people spin their tyres at intersections when they start going, turning the intersection into a dangerous ice rink. Start your slowing down *way* sooner than usual.

Like everyone else has said, a good set of winter tires will go a long way. That said, if you're truly serious about being proactive about it, you can go to rally driving school where you will explicitly learn car control in the snow.

Team O'Neil Rally School & Car Control Center

* This is not an endorsement of this particular school, however advanced driver training does lead to lower incidence of accidents: International Injury & Fatality Statistics Countries with the strictest driver training standards tend to have lower rates.

:thumb:Hey MelissaK.. I would like to also congratulate you on your purchase. I would like to put my "two cents" into this thread. I bought a 07 Prius in California and drove it there happily for over a year. Then i had to move to upstate new york (capital region). The first (and only) winter here was rough... scary, even. I definitely was not prepared. I grew up in Indiana, so i was familiar with driving in the snow.. unfortunately, last season up here.. was simply RIDICULOUS.

I had about 30-35K on my stock tires.. and she was slippin and sliding EVERYWHERE. I had problems getting any kind of traction and several times she almost bottomed out to the point that i couldn't get her out. Plus i live in a very hilly region, and there were some hills that she just could not ascend. I guess the best advice i can give you is to get at least NEW all season tires. Getting new snow tires and having them changed out twice a year can get costly. I have talked to a number of people about it. If you can afford good snow tires and the changeout.. than i heard it makes a world of a difference.

Other considerations you should keep in mind: your gas bladder WILL shrink in the winter. PLUS you will be getting a HUGE knock down of your gas mileage because of running the heater. In Cali, I was averaging 52 mpg. New York summer about 48-50 mpg, but in the winter i was lucky to get 40 mpg. This isn't an exaggeration. A lot of times i was looking at 38. So in addition to the gas bladder shrinking and the hit on mpgs.. i went from getting well over 500 miles/tank to like 360. Winter is hard for the prius. I'm sure there are many people here who have survived successfully, but my first year was hard.

you might want to consider putting a little bit of weight in your cargo area. I haven't tried this personally, but I will try it this year. I will try anything that i can! I love my car! hopefully this year will be better!

but fear not.. just be cautious. You won't drive a prius the same way as a neon anyway. Just drive her deliberately and you'll be fine. I guess, if you're adventurous, it can be a whole lot of fun once you get a hang of it!

-Hali.

All good advice except the above. Putting more weight in the rear of a front drive vehicle is counter productive.

WR-G2?
I just looked at my local Vianor (Nokia) outlet's web page and the WR-G2 is listed as a year-round (read all-season) tire.
I would never recommend an all-season tire for winter driving, particularly where you are likely to see significant amounts of snow. You need a real snow tire.

Interesting, is the heater purely electric ?

No, but the engine has to run more to keep the coolant warm in the Winter.