Just got my new Prius 3!!!!

It is not an allignment problem. The Prius (my 2005 and new 2011) does not handle a gusty crosswind very well. I think the weight and tall profile (great for getting in and out) is the reason. You have to "drive" it during these times. Otherwise it does a great 70 mph on the highway.:welcome:

 

:welcome:

If you have the 15" rims, gusty strong winds will likely move it sideways - but I have 17" rims and for me it is fine (or like any other car I drove so far in the past 20 years I have a driver's license).

Do check tire pressure (well, now you own a Prius, you should check it at least monthly - otherwise why own a Prius is the first place... you want to save fuel, do you?).

The iPhone can be connected for hands-free operation (telephone) via BT (if it is an option you have on the car!) - I don't have an iPhone but connect trouble free a BB and a Nokia; other PC users do have iPhones and connected it via BT - please do a search for threads on this.
For music operation of the iPhone (iTunes) then BT might not allow music streaming - please try/check. If you don't have the USB connection (check inside the middle arm rest, close to the cigarette lighter 12V socket), then you will have only the AUX input. I have found out that with my iPod, I needed a charger/adapter to boost the signal from the iPod, otherwise it would play "low" (ie. had to boost the stereo volume a lot to hear properly), especially if you connect it via the earphone jack, rather than the dock connector.

If you are looking into one place for more information about the Prius - and then dig further on topics here in PC, you could check my blog (link below). Most posts I have made have been reviewed by PC users before publication.

 

Sounds like you lucked out on that purchase. Way to go.

The iPhone and blue tooth pairing are covered in the owner's manual, if you have BT on your car. That will be listed on the sticker.

I agree on the 15" rims issue. They change direction much more readily than the 17" due to better gyroscopic stabilization in the larger rims. If this is an issue for you, you can take the money you saved on the winterizing and put it into some 17 or 18" rims. There are plenty of posts about that here. But generally my 15" rims are good for 45+ mph winds that we have had around here. (As a side note, if you find there is more debris on the roads there in the winter, you can remove the 15" hubcaps and put on caps instead. That will prevent the hubcaps from getting damaged, like mine were.)

Be sure to post some pics of the new ride. I like the darker interior colors on the 2011 models. Congrats.

 

Hi LiA,

The 2nd Gen Prius can be made very stable in cross wind gusts with the a chassis stiffener (search on BT Tech on here for copious info). Without the BT Tech plate, the rear of the car oscillates with about a 1 second period, for several seconds. This makes it difficult for the driver to control. With the plate, the period of the oscillation is down around .1 second, and damps very quickly. The car then just rolls a little bit in reaction to a cross-wind gust. No lift issues at all. Very good aero design!

For the 3 rd Gen Prius there is not as much info yet. My experience with the 2010 is it has a significant front coefficient of lift. It might be the wheel well openings being larger due to the larger tires (in comparison to the 2nd Gen), or the shallower, more stylish slope of the front of the car. Chasis stiffeness wise, its pretty good, not up to what good modification will result, but certainly in the upper quarter of stock cars. There does not seem to be any steering issues due to body flex. When a side gust hits, the front of the car pitches upward slightly, in reaction to the front coefficient of lift, however. No fix for this yet I know of in the user comunity. Its similar to many cars, however. If you hold the wheel very stiff, and trust traction, you should not move much sideways (10 inches for a 45 mph gust?).

These things said, wheel alignment has fixed to driver satisfaction the cross-wind handling issues for some peoople. I had my 2010 checked, and it was just fine. But damage to alignment can occur during shipping. As your car made the crossing during the winter, you might want to get it checked.

Do check your tire pressures. Higher tire pressures help this on dry pavement, as the tire sidewall wont flex as much in response to the loads. Allot of people on Prius chat run 42/40 (F/R, psi) for the 15 inch tires. This will also result in better tire life, and superior hydroplaning resistance.

 

Hmm, never heard this before, and doubt is accurate, either. The tire diameters are almost the same for both rim sizes, as they have to be to match the transmission gearing. The 17 " rims being heavier, makes more mass towards the outside diameter will have slightly greater moment of inertia. But, its not going to be that much of a difference.

 

Greetings and Welcome Aboard!! :welcome:

I presume that gas is a little higher up there in Alaska---which means that this will be an even better deal for you.
You'll get used to the wind buffeting. It's like riding a motorcycle...after a while you won't even think about it much. +1 on checking the tire pressures. You may want to consider bumping them up a bit to see if this helps you out with the cross winds.
Mine has 15's, and while I'm not a big fan of the "Electro-Lux" steering in this car, I don't find it to be the least bit unstable at speed, provided you drive the car instead of trying to text, fiddle with the GPS, swat at your kids, etc...

Good Luck with the car!!!
During the 2-3 days of summer you have up there---your mileage will go even higher!

 

Congrats--enjoy.

You can pair the phone via BT--instructions in the owners manual. To use it as a music player, you can use the aux input in the center armrest console. BT music streaming and USB/iPod connector are only present on cars with nav.

 

Re: the winds, perhaps you can throw a couple sand bags in the back (about 100 lbs). Sand bags are a bit dirty, so a suitable replacement are 24-packs of bottled water (about 3 of them is 80 lbs), or cinder blocks in an old suitcase, etc. Tie it down for safety to the included anchor points in the rear hatch.

This will more equalize the front/back weight distribution of 62/38.

What's everyone's opinion?

 

Crazy...

Prius goes to great lengths designing out extra weight everywhere on the Gen 3 - and you suggest plugging it/dead weight right back in?:loco:

 

For your question about whether to use the bluetooth for playing your music... I recommend using a USB cord or AUX cord, only because teh bluetooth isn't necessarily the best quality of sound there is. Plus... if you use an USB cord you can control the IPod through the radio itself!
Congrats on the new Prius!!!

 

Well ... yes. If the forecast calls for high winds and the op continues to be displeased with the instability that they perceive.

Otherwise if the forecast is good, no.

Safety >> fuel economy.

 

Congrats on catching a well-equipped new Prius, and welcome to PriusChat.

Regarding your cross-wind Prius trip, you don't say how hard the wind blew. I have hit some 20-30 MPH winds on the interstate and didn't have any control problems, but your circumstances must have been different.

Be sure to read the manuals, surf the threads and have lots of fun discovering the technology, high MPGs and low-emissions.

 

Welcome, although I'm new too I use Bluetooth to stream audio from my iPhone (Pandora, iPod playlists, etc.) and I think the quality is pretty good. Can't tell the difference between that and a CD.

 

Even though you have paired it as a phone, you have to also pair it as an audio device. On my Nav system, you go to: Setup, Audio, Select Portable Player.