I love my 2004 Prius and we are upgrading to the 2006 with all the bells and whistles. Leather was the deciding factor. (I hate clothe seats) My only complain is the wide Windshield Support Posts. My wife and I have had several close calls mostly with pedestrians where the driver is at fault in 90% of accidents. It is just too easy to miss seeing pedestrians when turning. I have no solution. I'll leave that to the geniuses at Toyota. Thanks for the Website! I check it daily.
I have the same problem in my Honda Element. The only solution I've come up with is to get used to looking around them. Andy
It's not tha the pillars are wide (although they might be slightly wider for rigidity purposes) but it's the angle at which they're positioned. In a Camry, the pillars are more upright so you can see around it more easily.
I thought they were a little wide at first, but I don't have any complaints, and have no near misses (at least, that I know of ). However, after seeing several pictures of Prii that have had a more than nominally-enthusiastic meeting with 18-wheelers, from which the drivers and passengers have walked away, I have no complaints about extremely sound structural engineering of the car's frame.
I've only had my car for 5 days, so no near-misses, but I do find the pillars annoyingly wide and those little triangular windows virtually useless.
i didnt vote in the poll because there was no options that fit me. i think its a visual problem too. it is tough to see on certain turns especially at night turning left etc... but as one put it, ive seen a few pix of Priuses in severe accidents, have yet to hear about a fatality (im sure they are around, but apparently not very common) so its a trade off i gladly accept and welcome. there was a Prius and a Ford in an accident, both hit the same thing (an RV trailer on its side sliding towards them at 60 mph) the 3 in the Prius walked away with minor injuries (the worst apparently from the air bag deployment with some burns... nothing broken) the 3 in the ford all died when the roof of their car was ripped off leaving them no chance of survival. both cars rolled. i contend that pillar saved their lives
Yep.. they are for strength for crashes and rollovers... but they could still make the bars smaller and more solid to do the same job... but it may be so to remain light but maintain strength.. I'm just guessing.
well i have to agree with one post that mentions the angle of the support beam. having it match the angle of the windshield effectively makes the beam thicker because its angled so sharply. a beam at 90 degrees would be much easier to see around.
It is also somewhat annoying when travelling on twisty roads. Sometimes I find myself looking out the side window to see what's ahead.
I think the width of the posts present some problem but are not the real cause of the blind spot to the right side view. The Prius has a relatively flat windshield, thus no curve to open the view to the side. The addition of the little "opera" windows by the side mirrors just makes the pillars look thicker. (anyone figure out how to wash these little devils?) I suppose we should notice these blind spots before we buy a car and decide if we can live with them or not. I know that the drivers view outside varies from one individual to another (different seat positions and driver height in the saddle), so there is really nothing for Toyota to fix. I also don't think accidents are a result of some perceived blind spot, there is just no excuse for not paying attention. The first time I noticed my particular blind spot, I just learned to adjust my view to look around it.
Thanks to everyone who responded to my question. I can easily live with the posts as they are on the car and I do commend Toyota for a structurally superior car. Still I trust Toyota to take in any flaw reports and review a design solution. Thanks again to everyone who responded. I enjoy being in such an enthusiastic group of owners of a socially responsible product. Think BEFORE you buy!
I've only had my Prius for about 3 weeks, but I'm still learning to look around it. It would be easier of course if we didn't have to look around this blind spot. Even a conscientious driver can overlook something they wouldn't otherwise. I think the thickness is due in large part to side-curtain airbags. Some kind of airbags are inside, at least there's wording to that effect. I'm happier now that I read that post recommending taller drivers to flip their rear-view mirror upside-down. That helps me. nerfer
I also don't think accidents are a result of some perceived blind spot, there is just no excuse for not paying attention. The first time I noticed my particular blind spot, I just learned to adjust my view to look around it. LOL It's called being aware of your suroundings.. I have never expirienced this problem..
On my '06, the side curtain airbags are stashed in the posts ready to help protect me in the event of a side impact. The relatively bulkiness of the post is a trade-off I'm happy to live with.
Me neither..... true the back posts are bigger than many cars but so what? True the split window blocks a little, but the good is that it perfectly blocks out tailgaitors headlights. I just adjust my mirrors out just far enough that I can't see the sides of my car... then as an extra, I added the blindspot rectangular mirrors to the lower inner corners of the factory mirrors. I have no problems at all in seeing. I never trust just the mirrors as I always look back before changing lanes, and in doing so, I have never found a car that I didn't see in my mirrors first... to my knowledge, I have no blind spot.
I'm the only person to say accident with another car.. If you saw my post "first accident"... yeah.. well. I would have been able to see her headlights on the ground under the SUV is that thing wasn't soo huge. On the other hand... you do sit higher in that car than other cars... maybe i'm just bitter that my poor car is hurt *sniffles*
Well, I am still waiting on my prius to be delivered (Hurry up April 10th!) However, I have been driving a 2002 VW New Beetle for the lst 3 1/2 years... that car has some serious support colums in the round roof that limit visibility (especially rear visibility when I try to look over my right shoulder while backing out of a parking space... all I see is support column... So I have learned to just drive slowly and carefully in these suituations... So perhaps the Beetle was preparation for driving a Prius?
