Some Expert Opinions, Please

Hello-

This might seem like a stupid question but I have not used these forums befoe purchasing a car. I think this is something that is sooo useful and a great product o the internet-age.

My questions is-Is it wise to purchase a new 2009 Prius? I have had 3 cars in the past 4 years and each one was a mistake. I know, it must be me, but even i it is, I still would like to get some Prius Experts opinions about this car.

I have looked at them and I like them. I had a Honda Civic Hybrid and that was a lemon o something was wrong that they never fixed. The last time I brought it in to the service where I purchased it the same service guy I have used for the 3 years said; "you are not going to beleive this, but remember ho much of a hard time we gave you everytime you bought your Honda 06 in? We have had 3 others just recently with the sam complaint you had."

The whole 3 years, they told me I was crazy, and they could not dupicate the draining o the hybrid battery during hot months and using the a/c while going up Utah hills/mountains.

Now I have a Honda Fit Sport, which is so uncomfortable. No leg room, which is not bad for a 5 minute trip but afer a couple hours and you can't straighten out you legs, you ind out how bad that is when you stand up. i can see this being my mistake but I know the Prius has enough room for me.

Another questions I had is how is the Toyota navigation system in these ars? I had my first one in the Honda fit and I loved it. it was so cool being able to plug in an address and having the navi Voice tell me how to get there.

anyway, thanks for any feedback and recommendations.

I do not want to replace the tires like my friend just had to after 17,000 miles! that is for sure.

I would recommend seeing if you can rent a Prius for a couple of days or a week. This will give you a chance to throughly test drive and determine if you like it. The Prius is not the vehicle for everyone and if you want a performance car, you'll need to look at the Lexus or possibly the Nissan hybrid.

As for "my friend" replacing tires "after 17,000 miles," if a new Prius, he should have had the dealer correct the alignment. Of course "my friend" might have had a non-repairable puncture and decided to get another tire. Also, "my friend" might have decided to change the vehicle handling. So let me suggest "my friend" be invited to visit us and share their reasons and the facts and data. Ok, "my friend?"

As for alignment, the Prius user community now knows how to achieve 4-wheel, alignment. We also know how to use the 3 yr, 36,000 mile warranty to ensure the dealer does a better job. We also have a lot of 'lay reports' on tires and tire performance for replacement tires. But there is no helping side-wall punctures or blow-out.

Bob Wilson

My guess is that you are picky about cars, so any car you own is likely to be more of a problem for you than for a more casual owner. That's not a criticism, but simply an observation and something to keep in mind. The Prius is a great car, and I highly recommend it. That said, with your approach to car ownership, I am sure there are things you won't like. The suggestion about renting is a good one.

As for tires, I replaced mine at 8,000 miles. The tires were still usable, but the OEM tires are not good winter tires, or all that great in general. Some owners have had good luck, but most find the OEM tires a bit on the cheap side. If a new set of tires is a deal breaker for you, you shouldn't consider a new automobile. Save the money and buy something used and inexpensive. If you are going to be unhappy anyway, why not do it on less money.

Tom

We had to also, but my wife uses the car for rural mail delivery. About 350 stops in 32 miles. The good news is the brakes are wearing great. I used to change pads every 6 mo. with a conventional car, so far (1 yr.) they still look good.

We had and alignment done when we put new tires on and the RR rear was off, Hopefully that contributed to the excessive tire wear.

Renting is a very good idea, rent for day, or better yet a week, to see if it's for you..

No vehicle is perfect, if it was, you could not afford it.

Is there a way to de-activate the anti-slip?
I have 169,000 on my '06 in northwest Ohio, no problems other than in the winter the anti-slip can really get you in trouble. I use Dunlop Grips in the winter. Michlin hydro edge for everything but frozen H2O, they're no good in the snow or on ice. I use the car for a courier business. I won't have anything else anymore. Overall average is 51.2 mpg, I rarely go 65 and I draft trucks as often as possible, some of them don't like it too much, mpg goes to over 70.
Thanks for any replys.

Regarding the OP's original question, I concur with the idea of renting for an extended period any vehicle that the OP is interested in purchasing.

Regarding Prius tires, I replaced the original equipment Goodyear Integrity tires at 15K miles due to severe shoulder wear. When buying a new Prius it is a good idea to budget $400-$500 for a new set of decent tires after a year. You may be pleasantly surprised by good tire wear, but this depends upon the individual driver's habits and driving conditions.

Regarding Mike's question above, there's no safe way to deactivate the traction control or VSC. I'm wondering what air pressure you use for your winter tires, and if you have tried using relatively low tire pressure (25 or 30 psi) to improve traction.

Lowering tire pressure is not recommended for snow or ice. Higher pressure (but not too high) works best. On snow the tread needs to clear properly (eject snow it picks up). For that to work you need proper tire pressure. The current design ice tires are designed to remove water from the tire/ice interface. For that to work properly you need good tire pressure to keep the channels open.

While it's true a nice soft tread will "flow" onto the surface best, it's the -tread compound- that makes that happen, not the tire pressure.

Lower tire pressure -does- work on deep soft surfaces, helping the tire "float" on top. Until the nut behind the wheel floors it in excitement.

Keep the pedal depressed a bit, and don't let off when it slips. That seems to work best with a Prius. The system needs to keep trying to get traction. It will go, it may just take a second or two.

My 04 has the hyper-sensitive "traction control" and it once came to a complete stop, right in the middle of the intersection at Waverly and Bishop Grandin. The car just refused to move in 4 inches of snow with ice underneath, other cars were moving with minor wheelspin. Damn near got creamed by a big truck once the light turned red on me

With aggressive studded Goodyear Nordic winter tires from Canadian Tire (Same as the Goodyear Ultra Grip 500 sold in the EU), my Prius has better glare ice traction than my FJ Cruiser with studless Toyo Open Country G-02 Plus winter tires on

However, once in deep snow and the car is bogged down, forget about it

As already stated, there is no safe way to deactivate the "traction control."

Keep in mind, "traction control" can mean different things to Toyota, as does "limited slip differential." For example, my FJ has 4 wheel electronic traction control. With the transfer case in 2wd, if a rear wheel happens to slip, the brake is applied to that wheel, causing torque transfer to the other wheel

Say I'm at an intersection. It's common in the right lane, to have the curbside icy, but the center portion dry. Light turns green, step on gas, there is a buzzing from the electric brake booster, brake is applied to the right rear tire, and away I go with no drama whatsoever.

With my Prius, if I had the Michelin Harmony tires in that situation, the car would remain motionless and cars behind would start honking at me. With the studded tires, it stumbles a bit on takeoff, but will get moving

It's pretty clear that Toyota learned a lot from the Prius. My FJ has electric brake boost and traction control, but it actually works very well. Shifting into 4H detunes the system, making the traction control much less aggressive. Shift into 4L and it's disabled: you then have the option of using "A-TRAC" to force a low-speed electronic traction control, or engaging the rear diff lock to mechanically lock the diff

I test drove an early build 2008 back in April when we still had a bit of snow on the ground, and some icy spots. It was quite clear to me that Toyota has dramatically changed the "traction control" behaviour compared to the early 2004-2005 Prius. It was much easier to get along with

What is important to you? What would you like the next car to do?

As far as the Navigation system is concerned, if you do a search, you will find a LOT of complaints about the NAV: price of getting updates ( ~ $200 - 250); not being able to change settings (destinations, etc) while moving unless you are lucky enough to have Voice Command be able to understand you; NAV map and routing sometimes does not include some locations (this is a function of the NAV Database supplier and not Prius NAV).

You may be happier spending A LOT less and buying a stand-alone GPS receiver.