1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

2004 Prius Safety

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by seanwachob, Apr 27, 2004.

  1. seanwachob

    seanwachob New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2004
    28
    0
    0
    Location:
    San Jose, CA
    I was looking at the 2004 Prius NHTSA safety ratings (http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/NCAP/Cars/2971.html) and while it got 5 stars in the front impact tests, it only got 4 stars in the side impact tests. Does anyone know if this is with the standard package or is it for the prius equipped with side curtain airbags?
     
    #1 seanwachob, Apr 27, 2004
  2. HTMLSpinnr

    HTMLSpinnr Super Moderator
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Dec 8, 2003
    5,339
    917
    251
    Location:
    Surprise, AZ (Phoenix)
    Vehicle:
    2018 Tesla Model 3
    Model:
    N/A
    We've speculated in the past (and I want to say someone got a response from the NHTSA too) that this was w/o side airbags. They also responded that in all cars with side airbags, the rating generally went up 1 star. I think they also stated that they test 1-2 cars with the basic equipment that all cars come with - probably bought off a lot to ensure that the results are realistic. If the manufacturer wants additioanl testing, they'd have to provide additional vehicles with extra equipment.

    I, of course, would like to see a car with side airbags tested - however Toyota would have to provide the vehicle for testing (per the response).
     
    #2 HTMLSpinnr, Apr 27, 2004
  3. cybele

    cybele New Member

    Joined:
    Dec 5, 2003
    406
    1
    0
    Location:
    Los Angeles
    You might want to check out this thread. Ken Cooper actually emailed the test folks.

    The testing was done on the standard equipped model, which is without the side and curtain airbags, so we all expect that those with airbags do better on side impact collisions.
     
    #3 cybele, Apr 27, 2004
  4. egs

    egs Junior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 2004
    25
    0
    0
    Location:
    Cary, NC
    Yes, I got the same exact email response from the NHTSA - it must be a common question...
     
    #4 egs, Apr 28, 2004
  5. bigbaldcuban

    bigbaldcuban New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 16, 2004
    599
    1
    0
    Location:
    Mansfield, TX
    It pains me to hear that they demolished a perfectly good Prius (It better have not been a Salsa). I suppose it's one of those "necessary evil sort of things.
     
    #5 bigbaldcuban, Apr 28, 2004
  6. mikepaul

    mikepaul Senior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 2, 2003
    1,763
    6
    0
    Location:
    Columbia, SC
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    I want some of the spare parts, darn it....
     
    #6 mikepaul, Apr 28, 2004
  7. bigbaldcuban

    bigbaldcuban New Member

    Joined:
    Feb 16, 2004
    599
    1
    0
    Location:
    Mansfield, TX
    On the black market, you could probably pay for your Prius with the money you'd make. :guns:
     
    #7 bigbaldcuban, Apr 28, 2004
  8. oxnardprof

    oxnardprof Member

    Joined:
    Feb 27, 2004
    249
    17
    0
    Location:
    Oxnard, CA
    Vehicle:
    2004 Prius
    This link has probably been posted elsewhere, but

    http://www.highwaysafety.org/news_releases...04/pr041804.htm

    a recent report demonstrates that side airbags can improve protection. I could not find data on the 2004 Prius, but the web site is interesting, with a lot of safety-related information. There have been advances in passenger and driver safety. The next push might be pedestrian vs car safety (designing cars to reduce the chances of injuring pedestrians in a collision.)
     
    #8 oxnardprof, Apr 28, 2004
  9. cybele

    cybele New Member

    Joined:
    Dec 5, 2003
    406
    1
    0
    Location:
    Los Angeles
    They demolished at least two Prius if you look at the pictures. A Seaside and a Silver.

    They still have to run the "rollover rating" but I'm confident the Prius will do well on that test.
     
    #9 cybele, Apr 28, 2004
  10. jchu

    jchu New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 2, 2004
    1,063
    0
    0
    Location:
    Nampa, ID

    The European Version of NHTSA already does this. Found out when my wife went looking for crash data on the Prius last November.
     
    #10 jchu, Apr 28, 2004
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)