One Month with a 2016 Prius 4

TeachingMaroon · Apr 4, 2016

Okay. Thank you for the info. I got one and will see how it goes!

David Beale · Apr 4, 2016

Be aware that the car systems will return to factory settings if the 12V is removed (some service routines request it be disconnected, for example) or if the battery is fully discharged. So you would have to reset the single beep and other things.

Geo13647 · Apr 4, 2016

David Beale said: ↑

Be aware that the car systems will return to factory settings if the 12V is removed (some service routines request it be disconnected, for example) or if the battery is fully discharged. So you would have to reset the single beep and other things.
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Umm, not so sure, my gen 2 Auris hybrid had 4 flat batteries (12v) & 3 replacement ones, eventually fixed by a dashboard ECU reflash, and the single bleep & other changes I made were not affected. Changes were done by an old techstream & cheapo Chinese Elm dongle. Looks like the changeable parameters are held in NVRAM (flash memory). They would probably be lost on the main ECU being reflashed, however even that MAY be survivable. G...

Tideland Prius · Apr 4, 2016

chenderson2 said: ↑

I believe when you see the large BRAKE appear, the car has automatically applied the brakes. You may have hit them at the same time, so did not realize that.
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NOPE! That's not correct. The "BRAKE!" is just a warning and is accompanied by rapid beeps. It's just a warning. (although depending on the situation, the front seatbelts could've been tightened and the brake pads could be brought closer to the discs, ready to be applied but they're not applied when the warning comes on but a few seconds afterwards if the car thinks you're still going to hit the object)

In the video above, it's about 1.5 seconds.

dstahre · May 9, 2016

mshoo1 said: ↑

Tomorrow marks a full month with my 2016 Prius 4. I have a silver Prius (black leather interior) with the advanced technology package and the convenience package. I am new to the Prius family, having previously owned VWs, BMWs, and Audis. I wanted to share a few of my takeaways after only a month of ownership.

Things I Like:

MPG – According to the Prius computer, I am averaging 62.3 mpg after 768 miles of driving. That includes roughly 40% of travel in bumper to bumper commuter traffic (NOVA/DC), 30% highway, and roughly 30% normal city traffic. I also have an Automatic OBD device and the accompanying iPhone app. The Automatic OBD pegs me at 60 mpg – roughly 2 mpg less than the Prius display.

Interior Room – As a first time Prius owner, I continue to be amazed at the functional size of the interior cabin given the small size of the car. It easily accommodates our small family (2 adults and 11 year old child).

Smooth Ride – The road feel is much smoother and less bumpy than my old Audi.

Parking Assist – Saw it as more of gimmick than anything else when purchasing, but it has actually been quite helpful in and around DC for parallel parking. It has worked flawlessly thus far with one caveat, it tends to park the car much closer to the curb than I would be comfortable doing on my own.

Siri Eyes Free – While it’s not CarPlay, it allows me to call up music, send text messages, and make phone calls via voice without touching my iPhone. It helps make up for the terrible voice recognition in the native Entune system.

Wireless Charger – Works seamlessly with my Bezalel iPhone case (relatively inexpensive way to add Qi functionality to an iPhone while maintaining easy access to your iPhone lightning charge port).

Driver’s seat – I find it far more comfortable than my old Audi seat. Lumbar support is excellent.

Collision Avoidance – While I’ve yet to get close enough for the car to actually hit the brakes, I did stop abruptly last week after hearing the alert and seeing a red “Brake” message come across my screen. Unfortunately, at the time I was looking to change lanes while not paying close enough attention to the car in front of me.

Cross Traffic Monitor – Has proven to be an extremely helpful feature when backing out of spaces at my local Wegmans. Two weeks ago, I was parked next to a large SUV and the cross traffic alert sounded long before I could have seen that there was a car coming down the aisle.

Radar cruise – Again, a feature I initially thought was gimmicky, but has proven infinitely useful on the DC area interstates where pockets of intermittent traffic appear and disappear for no apparent reason.

Things That Could Be Improved

Backup Beeping – I seriously question the sanity of the individual(s) responsible for the internal beeping noise that plays when you put the car in reverse. I hate it. I'm driving a Prius, not a UPS delivery truck. My wife refuses to drive the car because of how much she hates the reverse beeping (thankfully, it’s my car not hers). It also creates unnecessary confusion when hearing concurrent beeps from the safety system. While they sound slightly different, it’s unnecessarily confusing- like a cacophony of beeping sounds. Can the backup beep be turned off? Please say the answer is yes.

Proximity sensor – I think this is generally a good thing (see Collision Avoidance comments above), but the current application could be tweaked. For example, once the proximity alert is triggered, it does not turn off until the distance between the two cars increases. Yesterday, I was in the drive thru at McDonalds getting an ice cream cone when it started beeping after pulling close to the car in front of me. I then had to endure that beeping for roughly 2 minutes while the person in front of me waited for their food.

Pedestrian Warning System – Again, generally a good thing, but it can be tweaked. For one, I would prefer that the system not beep if the car is not moving. Here is why that matters. On Friday, I was stopped at a traffic light in DC when a large group of tourists used the crosswalk and several of them walked close to the front of the car, the system instantly started beeping.

Seat Warmers – The button is in an awkward position. Still easy to reach, but not prominent like in other cars.

Lighting of Shifter – Why isn’t the shifter lighted like in previous models? There is a small light that shines on the wireless phone charger for no apparent reason – wonder if that was meant for the shifter. If so, their aim is a bit off.

Entune – Toyota’s decision to avoid CarPlay is short sighted and a competitive disadvantage. The Entune interface isn’t bad, it’s just not nearly as good as CarPlay. That being said, the audio quality of the JBL system is quite good for a factory sound system.

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I've had my 2016 4 Touring for about 6 weeks. I too dislike the reverse beep! I find the radar cruise control to be useful but it needs to allow more "float" between cars. It tends to put the brakes on rather abruptly at times. I've not experienced the collision avoidance (other than the "BRAKE!" alert and I find the proximity sensors persistence to be annoying. I can turn it off but I have to wade through the customizing menu! Entune's voice interface is frustrating despite "training" it several times. I'll ask to go to "Home Depot" and it will ask me where to find the nearest "Burger King!" We've nicknamed the voice (and I guess thereby the car too) "Prissy!" Otherwise we love the car!

PriUncut · May 30, 2016

I know someone asked this question before... but I can't find it in a search anywhere:

Can the warning message "Lane Departure Alert Unavailable Below Approx 32 mph" - be turned off?
It's annoying during city driving to have that message appear every time you go below 32 miles per hour. I can't find any option (other than turning LDW off) - that will get rid of that message from continuing to appear. Other than hitting the "back" button on the steering wheel to clear the msg sooner.

I was kind of hoping that was something I could configure in Carista... but I don't think that's an option. Somewhere on this site it was discussed... I give... what's the answer?

Eva Anna · Jun 7, 2016

bigcwill said: ↑

Made deleting the reverse beep a condition of sale at the dealer this weekend. At first, they put up a fuss because they were ill-informed, thinking it was illegal. I told them it was inside the vehicle, and no other vehicle does such a thing (What would I do, write myself a ticket?) They complied and sold a car.... eco in gray with ash interior. Black cup holders and black surround on the shifter.
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I wish the higher models had black cup holders!

robsnyder20 · Jul 31, 2016

PriUncut said: ↑

I know someone asked this question before... but I can't find it in a search anywhere:

Can the warning message "Lane Departure Alert Unavailable Below Approx 32 mph" - be turned off?
It's annoying during city driving to have that message appear every time you go below 32 miles per hour. I can't find any option (other than turning LDW off) - that will get rid of that message from continuing to appear. Other than hitting the "back" button on the steering wheel to clear the msg sooner.

I was kind of hoping that was something I could configure in Carista... but I don't think that's an option. Somewhere on this site it was discussed... I give... what's the answer?
Click to expand...

PriUncut - Did you ever figure out how to turn off this message, I would like to turn this off as well without turning off lane keep assist.

dstahre · Jul 31, 2016

robsnyder20 said: ↑

PriUncut - Did you ever figure out how to turn off this message, I would like to turn this off as well without turning off lane keep assist.
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I agree, it's stupid and unnecessary!

One Month with a 2016 Prius 4

TeachingMaroon New Member

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One Month with a 2016 Prius 4

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