New Prius Owner Checks In

Hi All -

My wife just got a new 2008 Prius, Silver Pine Mica, with the #6 option package. We said no to the Touring model, as she is not into handling and did not want the stiffer ride, and the larger spoiler seems a bit much in a Prius.

The interesting thing is that she is moving into the Prius from a Lexus LS430, as the lease expired on that car and she was tired of $75 fill ups. Quite a step in a different direction (I won't say a step down, because we don't think it is.)

I am the car guy, and I love the Prius, especially the hi-tech features. I drive it every chance I get, choosing it over my own Lexus ES300. To date my only (mild) disappointment is that there are no auto headlights, although the auto off is a good thing. The build-quality of the car is fabulous. We are getting 43 mpg in the first 300 miles of ownership.

Cheers,

Bob N.

Yes, I read the manual, but apparently not thoroughly enough to find the part about chicken blood -- I'll go back and look for it.

I'm wondering if anyone really uses the voice commands for making phone calls via Bluetooth. Seems like it's not worth the hassle, as it only takes one second to touch the Speed Dial screen, and would take much longer to go through all the commands necessary for Mary Frances (that's the name my wife gave to the woman hiding inside the dash who places phone calls and navigates the car via the GPS) to place the call.

Bob N.

I have got to say, you chose the best color. I am not sure, but I think the Chicken Blood instructions are unique to the Salsa Red Prius manual.

I totally love my Prius, and have also missed having auto headlights. I partially overcame this by modifying my Fog Lights to operate as Daylight Running Lights, but I still have to turn on the regular headlights manually at night because I don't want the HIDs on all day long. I leave the parking lights on all the time. Not entirely legal I don't think.

I have completely given up on using the VMS (Voice Missrecognition System). I get so sick of asking it to "Cease Guidance" and having it tell me "That command it not available in this screen." Why do I have to be in a particular screen to cease guidance?

Hi robnich, welcome to PriusChat! The best use of the laborious voice dialing is if you're following a big truck driven by a jerk that has a How's My Driving? phone number on the back...

Happy driving in beautiful LJ.

Off Topic:
Larry, the Oregon Driver Manual on page 62 (Sec2:62) says:

Do not drive a vehicle with only the parking lights on when driving at night or in bad weather. The small size of parking lights may cause other drivers to think your vehicle is farther away than it is. Using parking lights alone when there is limited visibility is not only unsafe, it is against the law. The law requires a vehicle stopped or parked on a road or shoulder to have parking lights on when limited visibility conditions exist.

It also is illegal to have auxiliary lights or fog lights on by themselves or on at times when you are required to dim your headlights. These very bright lights make it difficult for oncoming drivers to see.

Now we know the fogs aren't that bright, but it's still illegal in Oregon. A search of the Washington Driver Guide only mentions using headlights but doesn't prohibit fog lights only.

Yes, Go Home is handy, but that's not Bluetooth phone dialing. Try saying I'm Hungry... You can also say things like ATM or Hotel. When your screen is too cluttered, :doh: say Hide P O I.

There's a whole list of phrases in the Knowledge Base.

Yes, I have already printed out all the voice commands. I do find that I can "dial by number" without much difficulty - of course you have to remember the number that you want to dial. The easiest way to call while driving would seem to be speed dialing.

Bob N.