Newbie from Inland Empire

Hello All: Finally able to log-in after several attempts as my first attempt to creat an account did not go thru during the server transition last week.

I am a proud new owner of a Gen II, 2006 Prius. Eversince the switch I've been kicking myself for not doing it sooner. So far my avg mpg has been hovering btwn 48.9 to 50.3 based on last 3 tanks.

My road of discovery has been an interesting one, as I have been a truck user for the most of my adult life. However, I was suddenly transferred from IE to Torrance after over 10 yrs on my job & consequently MPG becomes a major concern. Luckly a co-worker's husband is a certfied Toyota technician who just happened to spot a trade-in at his work, soon after my transfer.

Needless to say, I jumped on the opportunity. I was very fortunate, the vehicle has been dealer serviced w/ all records & all TSB, SSC etc are all done. Best of all, previous owner just performed a 60k svc & bought a new set of tires few weeks prior to trading it in but an unexpected "check engine" light scared him enough to ditch the car for a Gen III. That check engine light turned out to be a faulty catalytic converter which was covered under the hybrid component's 8 yrs/140k warranty. As a result, I got a very fair deal on a Prius that doesn't need any additional work, which is a major plus when one buys a used car.

I am very impressed with the depth of knowledge & amount of technical information available here. Thus far I've learned to track my 12v battery voltage & learned how to change transaxle fluid, inverter coolant etc. I look forward to keep on learning from you all.

Best regards, Hybridkarpower

 

Yes, and I just found out that GenII are quieter than Gen III Prius. According to my Toyota Tech, there is actually a sound amplier speaker built into the front end of Gen III Prius. Supposedly Toyota got into some sort of legal issue in the past from Gen II being "too quiet " for pedestrians, consequently they intentionally made the car a little louder so it could be heard from certain distance away.

 

I had already learned a new meaning for the word "silentpropulsion", sometimes I get behind bicyclists & noticed that they'll move to the side for everyone else but not for me. To make matter worse it's so aerodynamically efficicent to a point that wind noise from a Prius is practically inaudible if you are on a bicycle.

 

Tell the kids Mom is thinking about "lowering" the Prius & add an Escalade grill to it. That'll be some serious pimping