Wanting to become a new 2010 Prius owner but now I'm terrified to buy because of horror stories

I think you can't rely too much on information on the internet. There's a lot of misinformation. Most people have had good experiences with the Prius car.

If you had to rely on the internet for research before purchasing anything, you probably won't buy anything.

 

Don't be sorry to ask questions. If you are going to buy a new Prius, there shouldn't be any fear in it breaking down prematurely. The horror stories you are reading are probably from used cars, with owners that didn't care for the car properly. You can reasonably expect troublefree driving for at least 100k miles on a Brand New Prius. Most are experiencing minimal problems even after the 100k miles mark. Just make sure you maintain your car properly and it should be worry free driving for many years.

I bought my 2010 used with 56,000 miles on it. It was maintained at the dealer and all parts were still original on the car. I didn't buy a car that's been in an accident, fearing the repair work would have been done incorrectly.

The car although is all original and is problem free, it does use oil between oil changes. Not sure why, but it does. I have to add a quart every 3500 - 4500 miles. But so far it has been completely trouble free and working as it should.

 

welcome to priuschat! no truth to the rumors. spend some time here, and you'll learn the ins and outs of prius. all the best!

 

Well, I've done all the oil changes on ours, every 6 months, under 8000 km each time. Was t-boned once: all new rear suspension components used, excellent paint work.

Doesn't consume a drop of oil, 48000 kms coming up. Garage kept.

The only time it goes to dealership so far is for recalls, all done.

Now this car would NOT meet your criteria, but food for thought.

 

Welcome to Prius Chat. I bought my 2010 new and it currently has 83,000 miles. The only time it has been to the dealer is for three recalls.

Take your time to read some of the threads on here by the people that own these cars. I would put a lot more faith in the opinion of the owners than I would reports from Consumer Reports.

 

On the Gen 3 Prius, Toyota DID do a brake recall, which was primarily a software update which adjusted the "feel" of the brakes to give the brakes a more "standard" feeling.

There are threads within Prius Chat, and reports from some owners about the brakes giving a slipping or odd feel, if you happen to brake on an uneven or slick surface, such as a wet manhole cover.

I'm FINE with The Prius brakes.

They do not fail to brake. They will not "shut off" while driving.

The unintended acceleration issue? Is something I have never experienced. Personally? I think it is bogus.

The only thing "negative" I would say, is that in my experience The Prius does have a very aggressive traction control system, which is not easily turned off.

I have experienced it kicking in...and suddenly reducing or taking over brake control.

But just like any vehicle with anti-lock brakes, you simply have to be aware of what surface you are driving on, driving conditions, and realize it could affect your braking.

As an owner, I would say concerns about unintended acceleration and "brakes" are not issues that would preclude me from owning and operating a Prius.

When the Gen 3 was first released, a lot of first time owners complained about the braking feel. This is what I think motivated Toyota to change the brake software with the update.

Since then threads and complaints about The Prius brakes have significantly reduced. I haven't really read one in years.

Regenerative Brakes are a different animal. I would say there is a slight adjustment period and learning curve. But even with the Prius regenerative brakes...they become standard friction brakes when the pedal is depressed hard enough.

Only YOU can answer for yourself how concerned you want to be about any reports or reviews. If you are going to be continually concerned? Then just pass on The Prius.

It's not a concern to me...although I would say I don't particularly like the traction control system, and I do make decisions to NOT use the Prius on snowy or icy days. If you MUST...I think The Prius is a vehicle that really demands snow tires. Where I live the climate is such that the few days it is an issue...I just park the Prius.

 

You shouldn't be sorry for asking.
You got a blunt and truthful answer. Is that NOT what you wanted ??

There are probably a few thousand users registered here and scant few, if any reports like that at all.

Are you sure the reports you say were about the Prius models.......or other Toyotas ??

P.S. If you are a "first time buyer", how did you get the Lexus ??

 

What website was that? A product liability lawyer with scary stories on every car model?

 

Also curious about where you saw that info. Please provide a link. Not knocking you, just curious. I am a LONG time Consumer Reports subscriber and they LOVE the Prius. It's reliability ratings in CR are typical Toyota ratings, "much better than average", their top rating.

My sister has owned 2 Pri over the years and her son owned one. I know others that have them also. Other than some software updates, they have all been trouble free, within reason. One has almost 300K and has had to replace the traction battery and a few other things, but he is not big on maintenance.

 

Let's assume they are all true.
Toyota has sold over one million Prius in the US, if one hundred owners are unhappy, that is one in ten thousand.

GM should wish only one owner in ten thousand was unhappy.

 

Reminds me about looking up a particular operative procedure prior to my scheduled surgery. All I found were horror stories.

After my operation, I experienced a great recovery, and my outcome was excellent. In the end I realized that you have to take the information you find with a grain of salt.

 

To the tune of "bottles of beer on the wall"

600 braking stories, 600 horrors there are
500 misplaced feet, 100 horrors there are
100 slips on potholes, 0 horrors there are

 

Great point. Often the only one's that go to a forum/opinion sites are the ones with problems. It's only when they have a problem that they sign up, and then disappear after it's resolved.

 

Hello! I'm pretty new here too and am likewise car shopping. Prius is on my top picks. I've been searching info all over, I've heard a few horror stories, but the same is true of all the cars I'm researching There's always a few. But from what I can tell, and from my friends who actually own a Prius it sounds super. I'm still debating because one 'unknown territory', and mostly because Prius costs a little more than the other cars I'm looking at. (Corolla, Civic, Yaris) I'm curious to know where some of these odd stories come from and what the reality really is. Like my mother mentioned something about the key fobs and stuff being maybe hackable (she saw some story online or something) but as I've been looking that may be something that is kind of tricky to actually do in the real world.

Most of the reviews from both 'car sites' and from owners about Prius have looked pretty good. I'm just debating if the extra cost of the car to start off with will be offset by not having to smog it, and as I'm hearing possibly less repairs to be had than even other highly reliable standard cars such as the Corolla or Civic, plus a bit of savings on gas probably too.

 

It is definitely 'hackable' if you have an OBDII progamer plugged into the port under the dash. But if you have folks inside your car, every car is hackable. (And stealable). Where the FUD comes from is pretending they can do wirelessly, which is fantasy.

 

Elizabeth you have asked good valid questions. Don't be put off from asking by some of the responses on here, keep asking any questions you may have. I was in the some situation when I wanted to update my 1999 Lexus IS200. PriusChat is a great place for info. Now I am very happy with the 2011 Prius after a month of ownership.
One of the scary stories is when the car accelerated with no input from the driver. This was due to the accelerator pedal getting stuck on when the car mat moved forward, something that the driver should've been aware of anyway. Toyota are really good at addressing these issues with recalls, which they did for this issue by putting a hook in to keep the mats in place.

Happy car hunting.

 

Reading the 'stickies' in the general forum and the model specific forum will leave very few unanswered questions. Use the forum search tool to your advantage. Forum experts are more likely to to answer somewhat novel questions rather than those asked dozens if not hundreds of times by drive-by shoppers.

Remember -- we are owners, not salespeople. First read what has already been asked and answered.

 

Note that these complaints fell across the entire Toyota line. Very few of the claimed incidents happened in Priuses. The largest chunk came from Camrys, but plenty came from other models as well.

Similar claims have dogged the entire automotive market for decades, but reports surged regarding Audi 5000s in the early 1980s, and Toyotas in 2010.