No wiper fluid indicator?

Seriously?
Was driving home yesterday- heading directly into the sun- got 'dusted' by some roadside construction project. Decided to clean the windshield- got half a squirt of fluid then nothing. Wipers stayed on for full three swipes making a muddy streaky mess of the windshield.
This car monitors everything from bumper to bumper and they couldn't add a low wiper fluid level indicator?
Cheap ass Toyota

I just noticed that too! I was out and it said nothing to me. Smart car?

i've never had a vehicle with one of those, are they common? i check mine regularly for that reason.

The car should come with one -- modern cars require so little maintenance that the fluid level is often overlooked .... Could be a real problem in the winter.

makes you go 'old school' and check under the hood

Yep, the windshield washer fluid has a plastic dipstick inside the reservoir for checking the level. My wife's Honda Accord is the same way.

LOL, blaming Toyota for being "cheap", what a laugh. Whatever happened to checking your oil once a month, and checking the other fluids while you're under the hood? If it's that much of a problem, carry a jug of WW fluid in the back....

It would be nice to have one. About half of the Gm i owned would warn me if the oil, washer, collant was low.

I'm missing the humor there, but I don't think I'm the first (nor will be the last) person to ever call Toyota "cheap"...

With oil change intervals at 10K mi, and most Prius's seem to burn no oil- that's pretty much a non maintenance issue nowadays. The other fluids are also long-life and don't deplete often. No points, condensers, distributor cap or rotor and spark plugs are rated at 100K miles- so that's not a "go under the hood" issue any longer. No belts in the Gen III Prius- no need to check that. The engine air filter is probably a one time per year item for most drivers. And even the tires let you know if they need air. All these thing make the Prius a car that needs very little 'looking under the hood' for everyday driving.

So in reality there's not much reason to regularly open the hood on the Gen III Prius (other than to admire the engineering). The only semi regular maintenance item is refilling the wiper fluid when it gets low. Having to open the hood to eyeball the wiper fluid level when you 'think maybe it's low' is just shortsighted. Some of us have multiple user cars- we have no idea if the other driver just used half a gallon of fluid on the previous outing and we're one ounce away from empty. A simple low fluid level light would be a great addition to a high tech car like the Prius.

I don't see any oil level sensor. It is well known that idiot lights for low oil pressure are for sudden catastrophic oil loss, not gradual oil consumption.

Oil consumption is not a warranty issue until it exceeds 1.1 quart every 600 miles, essentially the same guideline as my past cars of other brands. So it is still a driver / owner responsibility to regularly check fluid levels and other vehicle conditions.

Maybe I have too much driving experience to identify with this complaint. Or am getting too old to remember the laziness of youth.

We went to a "New Toyota Owners Open House" at our dealership, just for kicks. In the service bay watching an oil demonstration the service manager said something like "you should never need to look under the hood".

Well I'd felt like a wolf in sheep's clothing up to then, and that totally tipped me.

Our last car, a Civic Hybrid, had a low washer fluid warning light on the dash, maybe a few Hondas before that, not sure. Actually, I was not aware of it until we passed the car over to another family member. Low washer fluid never happened when it was in my care.

I know several people that the only time they open their hood, is to check and refill the wiper fluid. For these people, it is good that they have to open the hood at least for that purpose so they have the opportunity to notice a small problem, i.e. leak, loose part, and have it repaired before it causes a major part failure.

I'm not sure it's a cheap thing and I'll bet they make less profit of Prii compared to other models. It is probably to save weight. The tire pressure monitoring systems are government mandated for all cars 2008 and newer.

Before we call Toyota cheap, let's not forget who bought a Prius as opposed to a CT200h.

My Citroën C5 has an electronic score board to display all manner of informational messages. "Top up washer fluid" appears with a beep when the level is low. As someone who likes a clean screen, knowing when to fill is important. Silly as it sounds I really missed it when my Prius ran dry. The Prius can display a huge range of messages, so why not this one.

Messages now displaying when I start my C5 include "Anti-pollution fault", "Catalytic converter fault" and "Brake fault". Fortunately it is incapable of displaying "Engine mounts worn" and "Replace lower control arm bushes and the ball joints while you're down there".

I miss tachometer and coolant temperature ;(

My prior 1996 Jeep GC reported low washer fluid. Nice feature, but since I check my oil and fluid levels on a regular basis it is no big deal to me.

wow, overflowing with condescension! well done sir, well done!

I Just discovered this the other day. I was actually very surprised by the omission of a very important safety feature in many markets. Not to generalize, but as an example my wife who drives an 8th generation honda civic (2010) relies on the low washer fluid warning to identify when she needs to add fluid as well as the maintenance minder feature (To identify oil change time) which her 17k Honda civic includes from the factory. For some reason, my 26K (Canada) Toyota prius which on the surface looks like a technological marvel with all the glowing lights and sensors can't tell me when I need to change the oil nor does it tell me when the washer fluid is low. The lack of the maintenance reminder for oil changes I can excuse (This is apparently only in the Canadian prius), however, it is almost inexcusable to omit something as fundamental as the low washer fluid warning, particularly in a market where road salt is used heavily. I unfortunately discovered this while I was driving the vehicle with my 11 month old son on the highway only to find out there was absolutely no wind shield wiper fluid remaining. I had to put my hazards on to get the vehicle off the road to safety with almost no remaining visibility. The last 5 cars I owned (2010 Golf TDI, 2008 Civic, 2006 RSX, 2005 civic, 2003 Maxima) included a washer fluid warning light and an oil change reminder system. I am disappointed with Toyota on this decision and I will be much more careful should I ever decide to purchase a Toyota again. Don't be misled by the cover, look at the contents it could surprise you. These types of decisions cost driven or otherwise (one poster said they did this to save weight) are partially what gave toyota the bad press they received in the media concerning safety.

This should be a safety issue. The Prius should have a low washer fluid light.

Safety should come first on any car!

A glass belly button for drivers would cure a lot of problems.