2010 model III and IV - pet peeves?

All OEM NAV systems are garbage.

 

Congrats on your pending purchases! Here's a few of mine.

It's been pretty well documented, but the lower glove box door will sometimes rattle, especially when it's cold out. Don't know if there is a fix but I'm putting it on the list of things for the dealer to take care of at my first 5k service.

I had to get used to the drivers seat lack of thigh support but have become accustomed to it. Oddly enough, the lower I set the seat height, the more support I have but I like to set the seat higher for visibility purposes. I suspect that as you raise the seat, the seat tilts forward slightly. I do plan on installing a couple of shims under the front bolt attachment points to rectify it.

There are some nice alloys under the plastic wheel covers. You just need to install some center wheel caps and you're set.

Finally, until just this week, my auto-dim mirror did not dim at all - not in the slightest. But for some reason it started to work quite well.

 

All OEM NAV systems are based on 5-6 year old technology. The maps are updated but the software is very out dated.

A modern GPS will show satellite views of your route. It will have 3D wireframes of buildings in a major city. The maps will update real time, DVD updates are a thing of the past. It will be 5-6 years before you will see that in a OEM GPS. You can get it today on a 3rd party GPS.

Many people will get the GPS just to get all the other features the LCD panel brings to the car. It just seems like a 2,500 waste of money if your goal is a GPS.

 

Eliminating one pet peeve could lead to another pet peeve. Don't skip the NAV if you feel you would benefit from a back up camera. Rear visibility is one of the biggest peeves of the Prius.

Make sure you can live with the non-leather wrapped steering wheel if you decide to spring for the III. Some people hate the rough feeling of it.

 

Take a look here.

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii-2010-prius-main-forum/66896-what-one-thing-you-would-change.html

There is some insightful information.

Congrats on your choice! Most definitely, the good will outweigh the bad.

 

Despite the negative comments about the Nav system, ignore them. You can see posts here where people agree that it is far better to not have to have clunky add-on GPs units and their cords hanging around the cabin, being theft bait. The NAV system works pretty well, especially if you read the manual. And you can actually read it because the screen is large enough.

You asked about pet peeves: be sure to get the dealer to change the back-up beep from continuous to a single beep. And my car came with &%^$*^%* locking wheel nuts, which I had the dealer replace with regular nuts. I also negotiated a free version of the next DVD release for the Nav system.

 

I second the comment on the steering wheel. I'm a tactile person and I really didn't like the "sandpaper" feel of the non leather wrapped steering wheel (and this is the one part of the car I'll be in contact with everyday for the next 10+ years).

I was concerned about the durability of the cloth covering on the arm rest. I later was looking in the window of a Gen II Prius and saw a hole in the spot where one's elbow would rest.....which basically was what I feared would happen if I got the cloth interior. Finally, my wife's van has a certain "dog" smell that I think has penetrated the cloth seats and impregnated the foam underneath. I wanted a leather barrier in case our dog was in my car. Plus, cleaning with a leather cleaner is a "snap" and gives the car a "new" car smell.

Oh, and the IV comes with heated seats and lumbar support. The III will not have those features. Also the Smart Key System (SKS) which is nice to open the passenger front door and have all the doors unlock.

 

Just to add some positives to others pet peeves. I like the Nav on my III, it does a good job once configured correctly for your driving habits.

I also like the feel of the steering wheel on my III. No problem here.

These are two of the "personal preference" type items IMO.