biggest prius disappointments?

1) Upgrading the tires cuts into the MPGs. This should be adjustable, given the programmability of the ICE, but no sign exists of Toyota working on it. May have to Officially Complain to get them interested.

2) Driver's door seems to seal tightly, yet air-leak type noise always there when stereo off.

3) Center console cover material coming loose near release handle. Sure, an aftermarket cover would have helped the wear-and-tear, but this loosening is odd since the console is opened maybe once a month.

4) Acceleration is making more noise now than I recall. Maybe bad pipe, maybe bad memory.

I'm going to wait another 2,000 miles or so until the warranty is closer to over, and see what kind of adjustments I can get done to the door and the exhaust...

 

actually, I like the seats. I like them hard. I can't stand soft seats. But then I am under 110lbs, under 5'5". I do fit the japanese scales, so I feel like the car is just perfect.

 

I agree. The seats ar HARD. Almost as hard as subway seats. Maybe there are some good cushions someone can recommend. And, of course the rear view - or should I say the lack of a rear view. Aside from that I love the car.

 

I think my driver's seat broke my rump. Yesterday Sebastian (2005 model) and I took our first trip, and my right hip is painful to the touch. Though, I am much smaller than 5'5" (so I like the higher seat), the lumbar support leaves a lot to be desired. I find myself forcing my head and shoulders against the top of the seat, which helps the lower back a little, but I think I need to invest in a seat cushion or something.

I think right now, my biggest dissapointments would be the seats, lack of MP3 functionality, chipping paint, and lack of computer features for the MFD. IE, it would be nicer to be able to control various features from the MFD like the alarm system, all those beeps, and what not. I am very pleased though with how fast the car cools in the hot sun and how Sebastian accelerates at excessive highway speeds.
Cheers,
Sara

 

There are so many things I love about the car and so many thoughtful details (especially the compartments everywhere, that I almost hesitate to complain about anything. It would have never occurred to me to ask for an under-hood light or a washer fluid level warning, since I've never had these before anyway. If anything bothers me, it's the split-window view in my rear-view mirror, and the distractingly large front wiper mechanism.

My two major complaints are about Package 6, but since this is an option, I don't blame the car itself.

1) Toyota apparently quit trying in the middle of the Bluetooth interface. The phone lockout is just as ridiculous as the nav lockout, but at least when the car isn't moving everything about the nav works. On the phone side, you still can't enter your own phone numbers without transferring from a phone. My phone (Blackberry 7100g) doesn't do transfers, so I'm stuck calling people at red lights. This is a very, very expensive speakerphone to have so few options.

2) I cannot for the life of me figure out why Toyota/JBL didn't put either a 30-cent front input jack or at least a rear aux input port on the stereo. Instead, they gave us a cassette player! As someone in another post said, they should have recognized that the same nerds who buy Prii also buy mp3 players. Perhaps it's asking too much to have a built-in iPod interface (although I think they should have done that, too), but at the very least give us a generic connection. Their omission might have made sense if they were in cahoots with a third-party, but the baffling thing is that no one makes a device to control the iPod that doesn't disable the in-dash CD changer. I can't remember the last time I actually used a CD player, but at the $150 cost of these adapters, I don't think I should have to compromise anything. Ironically, I'm now using cassettes again since it's the only way I can plug in my iPod.

 

I agree about the aux input, that's my problem with it too

 

That crappy hard stearing wheel. I have something called HNPP and it causes a problem. I am getting it leathered covered.

 

1. The seating position. There is something really wrong here. The steering wheel seems too low and I can't stretch out my legs unless I scoot the seat too far back. I'm not too tall - 5'10".
2. The 1 inch travel on the "tilt" steering wheel.
3. The lack of a third "Info" screen showing interesting things about the engine and motor. It seems like this would have been a relatively minor software addition (or upgrade ).
4. The cruise control losing its' memory every time I slow down.

But otherwise, I LOVE the car

 

There is a SEAT SPECIFIC thread at
http://priuschat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?...p=114890#114890
I'm 6'3" and the steering wheel is too close to the dash(it should be about 1" further away from the dash).
Go sit in a Ford Probe if you want to see how to design a steering wheel for a mid-small car. The spokes on the Prius steering wheel are way too wide. They should have thumb notches on top and angled recesses on the bottom for your index or middle fingers to wrap around the wheel. Anyone brave enough to start cutting on the plastic of the spokes????

 

Vague rolly-polly type freeway steering. Car moves too easily with inputs like grooves, wind etc. It can be very tiring on longer trips. Have Hydroedge tires ($400+) and will be trying that new chasssis brace among other things to solve this. The dealer and multiple alignments have not resolved this for me.

Sqeaky,creaky dashboard. I know not all Prius are like this but my dealer has been unable to fix it after 3-4 tries. The homelink mirror creaked so bad everytime it was touched that the dealer did replace that finally and the new one is whisper quiet.

The 8.5 gallon gas tank. My average is about 8.25 with the max at 9. I don't top off and usually fill-up within 25 miles of seeing the last blinking bar. This is only mildly annoying, mostly when I hear of others complaining of only 600 mile tanks and 11 gallon fill-ups! I've had both of the supposed fixes done without any effect on the capacity.

Lackluster JBL, so called premium stereo. Two sets of Infinity 6010cs speakers have at least brought this to an acceptable level at a cost of $300.

 

Those guys do top off.

I usually am able to add about 1.5 gallons after the auto shut off and I don’t even come close to spilling a drop of fuel.

 

Except the Prius doesn't look like someone gave it a wedgie.

 

As stated, the window edge is hard, making resting your arm there uncomfortable. However I did manage to figure out how to do it in a way that was acceptable.

However, after three months of this, I now discover that the spot where my elbow rests is discolored and rough/pitted. Apparently sweat or sunscreen is eating away the finish. So I've stopped doing that and now have to figure out what to do with my left are that is comfortable.

On a similar note, I hate the fact that the center console armrest is wrapped in that fuzzy microfiber fabric, because that's where my other arm rests. As a result, sweat, dirt, and sunscreen has made it very dirty and a little sticky. I believe that some kind of soft vinyl would have been a far better choice for the center console armrest.

 

I once tried the top off technique but after the pump shut off about 10 times and I had only added about .25 gallons I decided that lifes too short. I think the Calif pumps must be too sensitive. I've had some issues with it shutting off instantly without a fill-up too.

But topping off would only put me at 9.75 gallons if I could consistantly do this. I probably should go run out of gas a few times to find the other 2+ gallons. I just don't have any faith that I'm not going to get stranded somewhere. The dealer fix did make the gage much more linear. It used to go from 3 bars to one blinking in a sec at times...so I am thankful for that. The gas tank thing is probably the least of my disappointments. The dash sqeaks, creaks, and rattles come from so many spots that it will probably never be fixed...that one has me very down about my car.

 

I've found that if you push hard on the dash, kinda squeeze it into the car, you can fix the creaks and rattles. For that trip.

The problem is the cheapness of the plastic. The next day, as soon as the car heats up inside, and cools down again, the plastic has come slightly unseated and will need to be squeezed in again. Driving over anything even slightly rough will make the problem worse by shaking it loose.

I'm in the same boat, I'm really dismayed every time I hear the symphony of creaks and rattles from the car. It certainly wasn't a cheap car, and Toyota could have probably put better material inside it.

 

I've never had a blue tooth (and I'm not quite sure what it is).

No car of mine has ever had a cd player before.

Aluminum rims are much fancier than the plastic ones on my old Accord.

I'm looking forward to using rearview mirror defrosters for the first time this coming winter.

Yeah, there's little things I'd tweak here and there, but it sounds like you bunch are griping about some luxury features on a car that really didn't cost luxury prices.

 

I think you're a little off base here....

For a car that cost 25K (Package #9 Prius) the car is certainly in the "entry level luxury" class. It competes with S40s and Jettas and really should have a much better interior.

For 12K you can get a Kia with a CD player, the rear window defroster (do not know why you consider that a 'luxury', but whatever), and (let's be honest here) much much better seats. And less hard plastic.

That's why people are complaining about the seats and the plastic.

 

My complaint is that the crystal of my watch has now scratched the (in my opinion) too soft vinyl on the interior door panel. It is in the area where I consistantly reach for and drag over the seatbelt/harness strap. In fact, unlike my 1989 GEO Metro, there are several places where the plastic parts seem soft.

And, I still think that some of the HVAC functions would have been better served with conventional dials/switches rather than having to 'drill' down in to the MFD each time I wish to adjust heat/vent and A/C....in fact, I now have a new definition for MFD that is <ahem> rather pornographic.

I noted ALL of these to Toyota's consumer email and got the 'Thanks, but go away now' autoresponse..

OTOH: I suspect that without the HSD cost and some of the electronics, we are basically looking at a baseline Echo in parts bin.

 

My mistake - i meant the sideview mirrors, not the rearview mirror.

I guess I didn't buy a an "entry level luxury car", I bought a replacement for my 1994 Accord.

I figure most of the things I would tweak (yeah, the plastic finish is one, a better bumper for urban living would be another) would also price the car out of my range.