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Finally a hybrid owner

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by pricarl, Aug 24, 2010.

  1. pricarl

    pricarl Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 23, 2010
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    Location:
    NJ
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    congrats to me me :clap2:

    I landed a prius II blizzard pearl this past weekend. I was shopping for a new car and could not decide between the 2011 sonata and prius. I know 2 different cars but, hyundai is starting to put out some nice wheels. Finally I said I just have to try a hybrid. Test drove the insight but just didn't feel right. HCH and it was better was was equal in price so I chose the prius.
    A couple of questions for the veterans of prius here.

    1. when opening driver door I hear like a hydraulic noise I assume normal.
    2. When car is off after 5 minutes or so I hear a whole bunch of whines and clicks from the front. I assume normal.

    3. From stop going in reverse engine always kick in, but the power flow says battery supplying only energy and see no engine flow. yet engine is on. Normal?

    4. 6 bars is what you get, that is by design correct. no 7 or 8 bar on the charge, even though the manual has full 8 bars.

    by the way I used to avoid main streets with lights and traffic. Now I don't.

    So far so good. However one major flaw I think is the shifter level D and R should be reversed. That way it coinsides with orientation of movement. I already got caught a couple of times where parked I shifted back thinking I will go back. I know in normal shifting cars R is before D. However in this case it made more sense to do the opposite.
     
  2. spiderman

    spiderman wretched

    Joined:
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    :welcome:,
    Noises are all normal. You will reach all bars when braking down a long hill, just not in normal driving.

    p.s. great choice in model and color! :)
     
  3. DanMode

    DanMode Brooklyn Prius Guy

    Joined:
    May 31, 2009
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    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    Hello and :welcome:! Glad to hear you're enjoying your new ride! As for your questions, these are all normal operations.

    1 - The noise you are hearing is the brake pump activating so it will work properly once you turn on the car and start moving.

    2 - All perfectly normal noises. You may even hear something 4-6 hours after you last drove the car, but it's all perfectly fine. This is mentioned in the car manual.

    3 - I'm assuming you mean when you first start up the car and then go in reverse? Depending on weather conditions, and the last moment you drove your car, the ICE will have to kick in for about 50 seconds to warm up. There are some detailed posts on the forum that go into further detail that will provide more info.

    4 - Depending on road conditions, the way you drive, etc will either fill the battery up completely or keep it around the 6-7 bar level. Again, nothing to worry about. Those of us that have commutes with steep downhill grades can easily get to the full 8 bars. But again, it's not something that you are missing out on. Just drive the car as you would any other car, and it will take care of the rest!

    Welcome to the forum, and enjoy catching up all the great info and people you have here at your disposal! Happy driving! :cool:
     
  4. Colonel Ronson

    Colonel Ronson New Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Tucson, AZ
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Welcome! i got a 2010 Prius II Blizzard Pearl as well in july. I was also considering a 2011 Sonata and a 2010 Altima and a 2010 G37 as well. But my parents convinced me that i should just get the prius for the gas mileage.

    The noise is normal when opening your door. Your car is preparing to start and drive. It's anticipating you.

    The battery is designed not to fully charge. It doesn't fill up completely because it leaves space just in case you go down a steep decline and the battery needs room to take up all the energy you'll regenerate. And just a note, the bars you see don't represent 0-100%, they are more like representing 30%-70%.

    And that's why the car beeps when you go into R, so you know you shift into the same gear.

    Since you got a II like me, id recommend the following upgrades: The auto-dimming mirror and the replacement of a head unit. The autodimming mirror has homelink, which i seriously need because i have multiple houses i stay at and a gated community with a remote gate control. The aftermarket head unit will make the stock speakers sound premium.
     
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
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    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
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    Plug-in Base
    well done! great to have you.:rockon:
     
  6. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
    Staff Member

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    Congrats and welcome to PriusChat!

    1. Normal. Usually the brake pump

    2. Normal.

    3. Usually teh engine stays off but if it does come on, it only runs in series (i.e. it charges the battery to power the wheels). The Prius has no reverse gear so the engine can't power the wheels directly. Reverse is strictly battery power

    4. Yes. At 6 bars, the battery's true SoC is 60%. That's where Toyota engineers deemed the best as a balance btwn power and longevity. 8 bars is ~80% and 0 bars is ~40% (you'll never see 0 bars... the car will usually start charging at 2 bars). The extra two bars (7 & 8) are usually empty unless you drive on hilly terrain often. It's used as a buffer for regenerative braking.
     
  7. pricarl

    pricarl Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 23, 2010
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    Location:
    NJ
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Thanks for the quick answers. So far I'm loving it, and Im sure I made the best choice. Great to join the club, and having a wonderful resource as I explore all the ins and outs and tricks to maximize my fuel economy.
    colonel, what auto dimming mirror, and head units are we talking about. Any links on the info.

    thanks.
     
  8. sdetweil

    sdetweil New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 22, 2010
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    Location:
    texas
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    I am a new Blizzard owner too.. and have been looking at head units.. Pioneer, Kenwood, Sony, and Chinese off shore.. (a couple threads in the audio section on this last)..

    also the auto dim mirrors can be had off Ebay for $30 with a little pigtail of wire.. need 3 connections.. (and u get compass heading too).. ground, hot and switched power.. outside temp we already have.

    auto headlights, fog lights, good Weathertech floor mats, backup camera, ipod, nav are all on my list. all the Nav units seem to have some quirk or flaw.. poor startup, slow tracking, lack of voice recognition control.. poor bluetooth.. etc..

    I am leaning to the Pioneer, 910 or 920.. flat face, direct CD insertion, touch screen, bluetooth contacts, rear cam, ipod, don't know about the voice nav.. for the 910 its about $600 new, $460 refurb. plus ipod, steering control, harness adapters and rear cam setup materials. for the 920 about $760 new plus the rest.

    Double din package. so the instructions here would work for the dash part at least.

    kenwood seems to be the highest volume seller here, but the reviews seem lower, mostly on unit freeze up and slow tracking..
    pioneer gets dinged for slow startup, poor nav ui, but the best onscreen IPOD interface.

    I have to do 2 unit installs. one in the prius for my wife and one in the ford superduty we use to haul our show vehicles to shows.
    I am tired of the cables all over, and worried about lack of backup cam, when the truck is 22ft long, and 30ft of trailer behind that..

    Sam
     
  9. pricarl

    pricarl Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 23, 2010
    14
    1
    1
    Location:
    NJ
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    53.6mpg and climbing:rockon: