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New to Gen III but not to prius! impressions questions

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by GasSaver1, Sep 15, 2012.

  1. GasSaver1

    GasSaver1 Member

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    Yesterday I finally traded in my 2008 package 5 and came away with a 2012 IV + solar package.
    The solar panel does not really do it for me but the larger screen and HUD were the selling points. My girlfriend just bought a prius c and I was less than impressed with the 6.1 screen. it seems smaller than the gen II but I guess it is because they abstracted out everything but navigation. My biggest adjustment issue is that I keep looking at the screen when I press the buttons on the steering wheel instead of looking at the dash! This all being said, I cannot believe that the larger screen would cost the ability to have a cd player and that there would be a useless disc button on the console but I guess cds are slowly dying out.... The only other thing that I seem not to like are the headlights. coming from HIDs to halogens, the headlights seem to dull that I actually had to get out of the car and see if I didnt accidentally switch to just parking lights or something.

    Besides the few draw backs I am happy with everything else. I only put 60k miles on my 2008 and 26 on this car so far so time will tell how it all works out.

    The one thing I am missing but I am sure I just dont know where to look: The magic number!!!!
    Where do you find the average gas mileage number for the tank of gas?

    Let me explain... with the gen 2, on the info screen, right under the 5min interval chart was a single number that shows your over all gas milage. If oyu just filled up and drove real easily this number would be in the 60s or 70s. If you are rough on the engine it was in the 30s. The more you drive the harder it was to bring this number up or down because the car was considering all the time driven and averaging it all together and the big "game" was trying to get this number up for me. If you pressed the "reset" button on the screen it would clear how many miles you have driven and this number would go back to 0.0mpg.

    This number is missing under the interval screen now even if I display it on the touch screen and not look at the dash.

    If I knew where to find the two numbers (miles that can be reset/average MPG) I would totally love this car! Here is a picture of what I am talking about (53.1mpg 359miles)

    [​IMG]
     

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  2. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Hit the display button on the stealing wheel until you see one of the trip meters (A or B). The average mpg for that tank is displayed there. It does not reset itself automatically like it does on the GenII. The button below display on the steering wheel cycles you through the trip, savings, and odometer display.

    The main benefit of the solar roof is keeping the interior at a comfortable temp after the car has been sitting in the sun all day. It work really well for me on 105F days. That and it makes the car look much nicer with the glossy black roof.
     
  3. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    When you turn off the car you will see a trip summary screen appear. This is the mpg you achieved since you turned on the car last.
    [​IMG]

    This is the trip screen that shows your average mpg for this tank or since you last reset the trip.
    [​IMG]
     
  4. GasSaver1

    GasSaver1 Member

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    awesome ...so 37mpg would be like the 53.1mpg in my pic and the 702.5 is like the 359?
    If that is the case I will just need to learn how to rest and hope both numbers drop to 0 when I do.
    I am not sure what the cons number is though o_O

    What sucks is that with the HUD it shows the indicator bar and mph but not the magic number :(

    Thank you for replying so quickly!
     
  5. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    I assume 37mpg was a typo but yes. My picture (second one) that shows 702.5miles 71.7mpg and 37mph is like your screen on the GenII. The main diference is location of the screen and that the GenIII also shows average speed for that tank (or since you reset the trip meter).

    Ah, I figured it out. You didn't typo but you mistook the mph for mpg. The Cons = consumption I.e. mpg.
     
  6. GasSaver1

    GasSaver1 Member

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    excellent! thank you so much!
     
  7. GasSaver1

    GasSaver1 Member

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    So two more things came up...
    The sales guy said that if I dont select a mode when I start the car it will be in "limbo" and that I should always actively select ev, eco or power. Is there any truth to that?

    Also I noticed that the battery fan comes on a lot. I was driving at dusk with it being about 75-80 outside and the fan was coming on anytime I was accelerating from stop. I was not flooring it or anything. Is the battery fan a normal event with these?

    I think in the 5 years I owned my 2008 the battery fan came on like 3 times total!
     
  8. Jonny Zero

    Jonny Zero Giggidy

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    On the CD thing, my HDD head unit has an OPEN button upper left hand corner. When you press it, the screen flips open and reveal a disk slot that would take CDs, DVDs, etc. I think it is a changer too.
     
  9. GasSaver1

    GasSaver1 Member

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    The CD (dvd) player is there! :)
     
  10. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    You do not need to actively select a driving mode. The default mode if you don't choose Eco or Power is called Normal Mode and no light indicates it is on. The salesman was wrong to tell you that.
     
  11. Jonny Zero

    Jonny Zero Giggidy

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    When you use no mode, it is in NORMAL, somewhat in between POWER and ECO. The sales guy is full of it.
    My fan comes on a lot. I am betting it's normal.
     
  12. Andrax

    Andrax Junior Member

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    Is that just on the 2012? My 2010 package IV doesn't give me anything like that report when I power off...
     
  13. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    That started in 2012.
     
  14. Starkie

    Starkie Junior Member

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    I there a way to set the Power mode as the default?
    To avoid having to set Power mode every morning.
     
  15. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Yes but you would have to build the circuit yourself. Check the GenIII Modifications section for the thread on the subject. I think it is a sticky.