2010 Center console design: no-lie-made me decide not to buy a new one

My knees don't hit the floating bridge console, except if putting cruise control on and I scootch feet away from the pedals, then knees hit it a little bit, but not bad.

It they can pull off a more classic sport style center console in the 4th Gen, I think that would be a plus. Just not too wide or confining though.

 

Wishing the 2011's did not have the flying bridge. It is wasted space.

 

I guess its a matter of what you want in that space..... not having the bridge can be viewed as wasted space too... instead you have to go looking for things that are right at your fingertips.... plus the bridge allows storage places that don't exist without it.

I guess its a matter of whether you want your dog in your lap while driving... or maybe your girlfriend.

Hopefully, she's not a dog.

 

I keep my presciription sun glassed under the bridge and a cloth for cleaning glasses. They don't fit in the compartment.

Although my wife has no driven the Prius very much yet, her purse fits under there.

 

I liked the '10 design so much I sold my 2008 to buy one!

Much cooler interior, except for the super hard plastics!

 

go figure... I bought one when I already had two 2006's ... but I wanted to help my son get a car and I couldn't see loosing money on the sale, the losing it again in taxes on a new purchase, so I just kept them both.

 

Eyegore, is that you?

Great movie. One of my favorites!

 

I've velcro'd the door opener inside the glasses comparment because my shades don't fit there.

I often keep my purse under the center console if I have a front passenger.

I hate the FM radio reception.

I have 3 distinctly different vibrations from the passenger seat/door area, but only one at a time, that seem to be very dependent on speed, road surface, and possibly temperature.

I don't like the heads-up-display--it should be centered on the driver, not the center line of the car. The bottle holders save one I use with the cup holder removed in partly opened center console compartment are to small for 1 liter bottles.

I'm sure I'm going to prove (to myself at least) that buying a new model year remains a poor decision.

I should be able to get rid of the distinct vibrations and get the FM reception fixed (Does it need a longer antennae?) which will greatly improve my disposition since I no longer focus on any of the other problems.

 

What's FM?

Seriously, if you spend any time in the car, opt for XM radio service (receiver already built in). Well worth the $10/month (or whatever it is now). Basically - listen to what you want, when you want it...wherever.

 

What's XM?

Seriously, if you don't drive that much, don't listen to a lot of radio, and don't like being charged $10 here...a $100 there on all your adventures in life why subscribe to XM? I pick up audio books from the library too when I do go on a trip. I once asked XM if I could subscribe for a month during a trip and then discontinue--one month at a time here and there as needed. They were not interested and would have to charge the "set-up fee?" each time. So I said goodbye and haven't really looked back or regretted it since. I suppose Toyota put in the cheapest FM tuner they could to draw everyone to XM--not nice.

 

If it hasn't been said yet, this whole thread reminds me of the saying "Swallow a camel and choke on a gnat".

If the console kept the OP form buying a Gen III then it's their loss.

We went from a 2008 Civic Hybrid, which was a very good car, to a 2010 Prius which is a great car. Everything has compromises of some sort but, IMHO, the Prius Gen III is superior to the HCH in every way. Drove 72,000 in the HCH and now have about 6,000 on the Prius. That should be enough to make a sound comparison.

 

Ditto!... I never expect new to have everything I had with the old, otherwise it wouldn't be new!

The good has to far outweigh the bad....

So was my 30K worth it?
1. I bought a car with zero miles
2. I bought a car with better gas mileage
3. I bought a car with more power and getup and go.
4. More features and headroom etc etc etc.
5. Much better steering and handling.
6. Heated seats, much better stereo system "by far" and many other extras already listed in many other threads.

I suppose anything we do or buy we can focus only on the negative.

Those people must be terrible to buy for at Christmas..... even though the gift is free and they don't have to pay for it, they still can't enjoy it.

Some call that being spoiled!

I guess if you spend 30K you should expect perfection.. but thats not reality... better try spending 130K and you'll get a little closer!

 

I want to start the following thread, but I'm sure the moderators would move it:

The title of the thread would be: Tell us what you think is the perfect car under $40K?

As with the Prius, people could then take pot shots at those cars. The bottom line - there is no perfect car. Every car (in this price range) makes compromises, and has things people don't like. Name a car, and if I look hard enough, I can find faults.

 

And you have proof of this conspiracy? Of course you don't! I wasn't aware Toyota, BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, etc, all get kick backs from XM to put poor FM's in their cars? Sure they do?

If you don't spend much time listening, etc then maybe XM is not for you? That's fine.

As per your audio book example....you're not gonna find that on FM. But you will on XM. ...and a lot, lot more.

Finally, on the rare occasions i do listen to local FM stations, i've had no issues with the reception. In fact, i get clear receptions from stations that i know are at least 35 miles away from where I'm driving. Maybe your problem is not with the receiver, but with your location.

Prior to going XM, most of my listening came from MP3 and CD's...but it grew old having to periodically update my CD's and MP3 music selections....oh, and I can easily spend more than $100/year on new music....so after a while, the price of XM looks cheap.

 

There are exhaustive threads about the FM reception.... it seems sporatic from absolutely terrible to just fine... I'm in the just fine group.
As with anything.. there are bad lots and poor QA rather than deliberate engineering to screw the client.

I really think thats what happened with the GenII HID bulbs... ballasts are not created equal. Especially if QA drops and only the ones with the lowest bid get the deal rather than the ones with the best QA.

During our last economic crisis, companies are always trying to find another way to save just a few bucks X a few million automobiles.. really adds up!

But back to the subject at hand, the console was a fresh introduction.
I grow weary of new cars being the same old car, over and over again....at best, they put a new body on the same frame with a few added accessories and call it the new model.

At least the GenIII is truly new in almost every way.
I went to the introduction of the GenIII in detroit and there are major differences both internally and externally to the GenIII... the console is only a minor issue of change that gets noticed more since its "in your face" every time you drive.

Like I said... if customers are dissatisfied.... buy the GenII and save some money and you won't have a console..... the end result is nearly the same in gas mileage... but don't be mistaken.. its not the same car by any means!

And I hope when the GenIV comes out, its different all over again!
If its not... why should I buy it?... I"ll keep what I have!

 

I sincerely doubt that's the reason, although possible.

As an amateur HAM, I know a few things about radios, reception, and the like.

IMO, the reasons have to do with physics/engineering, such as the distance between the receive antenna on the car, and the station doing the transmission. The FM station's transmission power, The gain of it's transmitting antenna. The location of the antenna, and is it directional? Possible co-channel inteferers and obstructions can all reduce signal strength.

One of the things I don't like about digital receivers today is, they have a threshold, and below which, you get nothing. Today's receivers are, for all intensive purposes, digital in their function - you either get a signal, or you don't. Back in the good old days of analog, and as you drove further away from a station, you could slowly hear the signal get worse...but even when it became noisy, you could still pick out the music. It wasn't all or nothing.

It is possible, however, that whomever made the receivers for Toyota, has set this "threshold" at a higher level...and therefore some weaker stations that you use to get, you make not get any longer? Don't know. But I'm pretty confident it has nothing to do with getting a bad batch, or as a previous conspirator suggested...Toyota giving us poor FM's in the hopes we will all switch over to XM. Utter baloney.

 

I understand your speculation for a conspiracy... but I still think its either bad lots and/or clumsy installation whereas one tiny strand of ground wire touching the positive etc.

I too and well acquainted with Ham and alternative frequencies.
I talked for years on them about 20 years ago and my only form of communication was a 6 mile telephone link via remote/base setup in the 460Mhz range.... but none of that was digital... but signal is signal.... certain frequencies propagate, bounce, and degrade based on energy and resistance.

All digital means is that either the computer code is recieved fast enough to be decoded and made into sound or its not and you get nothing but intermittent sound at best. Whereas analog would get scratchy and weak buy those who had a tuned ear could still make intelligence out of it.

Digital is the now.. its on everything. All about computers and encoders/decoders etc.

If they had a protocol to set the threshold high everyone would have the same problem and they would in essence be aggravating the need for a recall and shooting themselves in the foot.

While I"m very frustrated lately with Toyota.. what you suggest just isn't good business sense.

Merely cutting the coax different lengths could be a problem.
I don't know if the kits come pre-made and cut already attached at both ends or if they use a generic one that fits several different cars and the technicians have to cut to fit.. if so that could be the problem.. both in not cutting proper harmonic lengths as well as shabby work connecting the ends.

Who knows.

I would say just simply take it to the dealer if there is an issue....
A test that they will accept is to take another prius dialed into a certain station and if its gets reception and yours doesn't, thats a definite red flag for them to have an excuse to work on it.

Second, take a second generation prius and do the same.

If you can't find that scenario, its hard for them to warrant tearing into something because the customer "says" the reception is bad base on varying radio stations and different locations of reception etc.

If you can recreate the problem that doesn't exist in another car parked side by side, they will have to deal with it.

 

I cannot believe this stupid thread has attracted 238 responses. I have not read but a few, and found nothing of value.

Does anyone really care why a person did not but a car? possibly the manufacturer, but there is absolutely nothing we, PC readers, can do about the matter.

Personally, I like the center console .... so I have off-set the negative.

 

You and me both.

The thread has morphed into something entirely different...

 

Are you sure that other cars/manufactures don't have similar complaints, with the same frequency as the Prius? I would start with - what other manufacturers use the identical FM tuner, from the identical manufacturer?

I'm not suggesting that Toyota dictated to the radio manufacturer (I'm sure not Toyota), that the threshold be set arbitrarily high, or higher than what most radios are set at these days. So no clue what you mean by "isn't good business sense"?

I have no problem at all. But agree that if someone thinks they should be getting a particular FM station, but are not...take it to the dealer to compare, or have them do measurments. Most likely they are not equiped to do singal strength measurments (athough one can buy a spectrum analyzer fairly cheap these days)....so will probably have to do simple comparisons to what's on the lot. Simple enough to do.

But as I already said, I'm 99% confident it has nothing to do with getting a bad batch/lot of radios.