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NEW Prius Prime Plus member -- start issue and general complaining

Discussion in 'Prime Technical Discussion' started by San Diego Prius Prime, Apr 12, 2019.

  1. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    <ahem>
     
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  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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  3. a_gray_prius

    a_gray_prius Rare Non-Old-Blowhard Priuschat Member

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    To be fair, the Prime (even the Advanced) is actually below the average sales price for a new car in the US.

    When are you going to start criticizing the Tesla Model 3 for the same thing? I'm going to break out the popcorn when you summon the Tesla fanboys around here.
     
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  4. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    Just when I was on the verge of abandoning this cat fight, you go and make it interesting. :LOL::LOL::LOL:
     
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  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i'm out
     
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  6. bruceha_2000

    bruceha_2000 Senior Member

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    First, I don't think I am being flippant.

    Second, I don't understand your argument. If the (more recently) traditional shifters are something you can 'intuitively' feel what gear the car is in, how is "left and up" or "left and down" LESS intuitive? There is less "feel" to memorize. You don't accidentally slide past R into N or past D into a lower gear (as I have in rental cars when I didn't release a button at the right time) when you want to put it in reverse or drive. I see NOTHING intuitive about "traditional" shifters since many require pushing a button with your thumb, fingers, palm to get through the shift pattern. And the "right, down, etc" gated shifters are anything BUT intuitive, you HAVE to look at them until you learn the pattern, there are many variations.

    WHY should I go through N and R to get to P? There is NO mechanical reason to do so. I never did in my manual transmission cars. Oh, wait, they didn't have a Park location on the shifter, bad design I guess. In a Prius you CAN'T 'slide past' Reverse or Drive, there is a single specific motion to get to either. I rarely need to use B but pushing the shifter straight down isn't real complicated.

    AND in a Prius, and other "non traditional" shifters, you don't need to know what "gear" you are in before you do something to change it. The motion is ALWAYS the same. When you want to go to a specific "gear" you first think "I want to go to R, or D". In "traditional" shifters, the next thought HAS to be "where is the shifter currently located", then you decide what you have to do to get to your desired position and what buttons need to be pushed (if any, and WHEN) to get the shifter to go there. In a Prius and cars with similar "non traditional" shifters, you go directly to the desired "gear". Where is the brilliance of having to push the shifter up, right, up, left, up to get to Park? Yes you learn to do this without consciously thinking about it but you do HAVE to learn that procedure. The value add of "non traditional" shifters is simplicity.

    ANY new car you buy, unless it is the same make and possibly the same model that you were driving previously, will require some amount, possibly a LOT, of learning not only of the shifter but many other controls as well. If I get into a rented Ford, about the only thing that is in the same place and works the same way I'm used to is the turn signal. The light switches are different, the climate controls are different, the shifter is different, the radio controls are different. Even Prius to Prius is different. Since I have the larger screen, there are functions on it that are physical buttons below the screen on models with the smaller screen.
     
  7. Zed Ruhlen

    Zed Ruhlen Active Member

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    The title of the thread is complaining about the design. I think it's fair to do so considering the thread. I have gotten used to the shifter but I don't like it. If it was such a great design then you would expect Toyota to use it in their other hybrids: Corolla, Camry, Rav4, Highlander, and Lexus RX. Of course not one of them uses this design. It was done to make the Prius different. The other trait that not a single other toyota hybrid shares? The dash layout.

    Yes, the Tesla 3 has more annoying things but I don't own one so I don't need to deal with it. I do own a Prius Prime Plus though. And I specifically didn't get the higher trims because I didn't want to have everything managed by the touch screen.
     
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  8. john1701a

    john1701a Prius Guru

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    That misconception is unfortunate. Sadly, a number of reviewers help to perpetuate it too. They don't take the time to discover managing pretty much everything is available via the buttons on the steering-wheel for the smaller screen too.
     
  9. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    +1
     
  10. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    Almost, but not everything. While I have the 11.6 inch screen turned off most of the times, I do have to turn it on and use touch screen from time to time for non-Nav related functions.
     
  11. john1701a

    john1701a Prius Guru

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    Do you remember what? Everything from music to creature-comfort is on the small screen. Even charge scheduling is there, though less convient with less visual space.
     
  12. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    AC control on MID does not have the ON/OFF. I can change the temperature in Auto mode, but I can't turn it ON or OFF without the big screen on. Someone suggested using the Voice Control for the "Climate Control On/OFF", but voice control is another feature in PRIME I have totally abandoned. I use AC mostly in AUTO mode, but I think control in MID is also lacking some individual control for the AC setting. USB memory song navigation function is also lacking in MID, IIRC. I have my 11.6 screen turned off most of the time. If I can have it totally disabled without losing vital functionality, I probably would. FWIIW, I have never used a charge schedule on the big screen. MID works perfectly for that function.
     
    #72 Salamander_King, Apr 27, 2019
    Last edited: Apr 27, 2019
  13. bruceha_2000

    bruceha_2000 Senior Member

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    I wonder if @Zed Ruhlen means he prefers buttons that are always available no matter what the other control screens are showing.
     
  14. jb in NE

    jb in NE Senior Member

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    That makes two of us. I'd like to have the engineer that designed that system go for a ride with me for some feedback.
     
  15. Zed Ruhlen

    Zed Ruhlen Active Member

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    Yes. The Plus has dedicated HVAC buttons/levers that are always available. Not perfect (the off button for the fan is a great example) but vastly better than having to go to a touch screen to access those functions. And of course many of the functions are available on the steering wheel once you memorize some complicated series of access controls. I prefer to have things be readily apparent by their design.

    I get that I am complaining here. That was the original thread after all. At the same time I don't think it is out of line to call out Toyota on the complete fail of a UI in this car. I'm not alone in my opinion either, many new cars have been raked over the coals by reviewers (including the prius) for having unintuitive, distracting, cumbersome, and often worthless "features" in the name of being cutting edge. When the average new car costs over 30k it's really not too much to ask for them to be user friendly. And yes, my prime cost less than the average but guess what? A Nissan Versa has a VASTLY better UI and costs 13k in base form.
     
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  16. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    A personal phenomena, I find my self more interested in some base-model econobox cars, due to their rudimentary, manual h/v controls, and a lack of touch screen. In particular ones where simple dials and sliders are used, having detents so you can easily adjust settings without ever needing to take your eyes off the road.

    As a side benefit, they tend to have less electronics, that can brick the dash when they fail.
     
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  17. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    and yet, am i wrong in thinking the buttons knobs and dials are costlier than the touch screen? seems like it's backwards
     
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  18. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    Not sure but the Prime Plus has knobs and switches, so I’m good;).

    Adding a spare tire completes the @Mendel Leisk pre-reqs(y).
     
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  19. Marine Ray

    Marine Ray Senior Member

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    Ditto. Simplicity is why I like driving my '67 Camaro sometimes. Gas mileage notwithstanding.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
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  20. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Yeah I'm thinking that: manufacturers are enamoured with the touch screen because it's easy and cheap to program in a few extra functions, whereas a durable, ergonomic, tactile manual control takes more effort and expense.
     
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