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Prius annoyances

Discussion in 'Prime Main Forum (2017-2022)' started by Zed Ruhlen, Jun 13, 2019.

  1. jb in NE

    jb in NE Senior Member

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    I'll gladly take the quad LEDs in exchange for a very small increase in Cd. They are very nice headlights.
     
  2. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Ditto. They look fantastic and are bright. Only downside is the driver side throw is noticeably short than the passenger side. (As noted in the IIHS headlight test).

    Hopefully the next gen will feature adaptive high beams (matrix LEDs) or at least adaptive headlights.
     
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  3. jb in NE

    jb in NE Senior Member

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    Can this not be adjusted? There are both up/down and L/R adjusters on those lights.
     
  4. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    It’s not so much the aim but just the design that doesn’t let light go as far down as the passenger side. They both “start” at roughly the same distance from the car but “end” at different points.
     
  5. jb in NE

    jb in NE Senior Member

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    I have not noted this as a problem. I’ll have to head out after dark and see if IIHS is wrong again.
     
  6. Zed Ruhlen

    Zed Ruhlen Active Member

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    Maybe they have fixed the battery issue and maybe they haven't. I'm not going to be their tester though. The NiMH is a far more durable and dependable technology which leads me to believe that the real issue is their charging profile.

    That's a lame reason for center mounting. The distance would be negligible and I guarantee it is more of an issue that you have to actually move your eyes away from in front of you. That means that you are now relying on your peripheral vision to see in front of you. That's notoriously inaccurate.
     
  7. Zed Ruhlen

    Zed Ruhlen Active Member

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    My Sienna doesn't do this. While it may cool a car off quicker it also can fog up the windows and I LIKE fresh air.

    The thing all cars do that I find mind boggling annoying is to turn on the AC with the defrost setting AND YOU CAN'T TURN IT OFF! WTH? So I'm driving in the winter and it's 15 degrees out, why on gods green earth would I want the car to blast even COLDER air? I don't. Or here's a common scenario in our region, it's in the 40s and a little humid and if you just run outside air over the windshield (with heater on) it will stay defogged but if you do split windshield/floor it won't. But the car won't let you run non a/c over the windshield. I don't mention this in my Prius rant because every automaker appears to have this same stupid design. And I know why it exists: because some people are too dumb to know to turn on the AC when their windows get fogged up or they use recirc in the winter.
     
  8. jb in NE

    jb in NE Senior Member

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    At that temperature, the A/C won’t run and you will be using outside air only. There is a low temperature cutoff on A/C.

    VWs have an option to turn off the A/C in defrost mode. That is a nice feature.
     
    #68 jb in NE, Jun 15, 2019
    Last edited: Jun 15, 2019
  9. Zed Ruhlen

    Zed Ruhlen Active Member

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    Agreed. Good one on VW.
     
  10. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    A common misconception is that A/C = cold air. It literally says air conditioning. It’s conditions the air. In the winter time, that means dehumidifying the air so that drier air (not colder air), runs over your windshield.
     
  11. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    Passenger side doesn't normally have oncoming drivers to be blinded by headlight glare, so it can get by with throwing light higher and father on that side only. And it helps to read the roadside signs.

    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
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  12. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    Two things that are important that I haven't seen brought up:

    1. On the instrument display location. Much has been said here and in other threads about not wanting to divert attention from straight ahead. Don't want to turn to the side. Say what!!?? I sure hope your eyes are scanning side to side, from mirror to mirror, to mirror, but with the primary attention being ahead. Perhaps that's part of why there are so many accidents at intersections. No scanning. It's like people are looking through a pipe as they drive and have no clue what's going on outside the car except for the 100' (if that much) directly in front of them. I want to keep my eyes as much as possible on the same plane while constantly scanning the environment and updating my escape plans. Defensive driving 101. No charge for the mini-lesson.

    2. A/C recirc. If it's hotter outside the car than inside, why would anyone think it's at all efficient to start off by trying to cool that super-hot interior air rather than bring in the relatively cooler outside air? Then switch to recirc once the inside cools down to match outside. The system lowers the temperature of its source air by a fixed amount. The cooler the source air, the cooler the discharge air. That should be automatic. It already has the parts it needs. The car knows which is the cooler source air. It should use it. It's just a matter of programming it.
     
    #72 jerrymildred, Jun 16, 2019
    Last edited: Jun 16, 2019
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  13. jb in NE

    jb in NE Senior Member

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    Just to quibble, the outside humidity is also a factor. If slightly cooler but much more humid air is outside, it is better to cool the inside air than bring in the humid outside air.
     
  14. Blue-Adept

    Blue-Adept Active Member

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    My only annoyance is that I can't charge the traction battery faster and I want more electric range.

    Other that that it is a great car for my current work situation. I charge free at work. So most days I burn no gas.

    Steve
     
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  15. Zed Ruhlen

    Zed Ruhlen Active Member

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    Actually the misconception is on you. The way it dries the air is by cooling it down which brings the air below the dew point causing moisture to condense on the coils. The original development of A/C was to dehumidify by this process. Cold air was just a byproduct that turned out to be the most desirable trait by most users. In any time of the year the air gets colder. In the winter cars also heat the air post cooling to make it warm. A/C performance is determined by the pressure difference and the fluid/gas used but they can easily cool in extremely cold temperatures.

    The difference is that most the time you are not FOCUSING on the stuff around you. Your brain literally cannot process all the information available unless you focus on it. The second you focus on something you lose most of the remainder. The act of looking to the middle of the dash is doubly bad because now you are focusing on something not in front of you and your brain is much less likely to see something outside the car. IT'S A BAD DESIGN. Stop defending it. Other cars that have done this design:
    Mini Cooper to be retro. Redesigned.
    Toyota Yaris: Redesigned
    Saturn Ion: Bankrupt

    Notice a trend. Bad designs fail eventually.

    If your car was a sealed environment this would be a bigger deal but it isn't so the humidity levels are pretty similar unless you are blasting the A/C. Even then the difference won't be extreme. The benefit is that the air blowing over the window is dryer so is evaporating any moisture that has been attracted to the windshield.
     
    #75 Zed Ruhlen, Jun 16, 2019
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 16, 2019
  16. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    By that standard, only a HUD is acceptable, even the traditional behind-the-steering-wheel display is at least as bad. And worse for old folks like me, because it demands a closer focal distance, requiring greater time for our aged eyes to re-focus.
     
  17. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    I will defend it. Because it works better. If you're focusing on your instruments you're going to hit someone whether the instruments are under the steering wheel or beside it. You glance at them. Maybe a half second at a time. Never focus on anything inside the car while it's moving. You are right that bad designs fail. This one's still selling well in spite of low gas prices after something like 15 years plus. In fact, the roads here in Tampa are full of Prii.

    But your comments on air conditioning are correct. (y)
     
    #77 jerrymildred, Jun 16, 2019
    Last edited: Jun 16, 2019
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  18. Zed Ruhlen

    Zed Ruhlen Active Member

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    Except they have tanked primarily due to the design:
    Toyota Prius hybrid sales have tanked: here are 4 reasons why

    As for the dash, I keep saying you can keep the dash at the same distance but in front of the driver without any difficulty. There's more than enough room. Agreed HUD is best but until then...
     

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  19. Data Daedalus

    Data Daedalus Senior Member

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    I totally concur.
    I still own and drive a Prius 2nd Generation.
    I picked up on this website over 5 years ago that using recirc when operating the A/C was a good way to optimise the cooling capability during hot weather, and I do this religiously.

    Leaving work on a hot afternoon, I drive the first mile or so, with the windows down. Then I bring the A/C online, and after it’s run for about a minute, up come the windows.

    I seldom go above the No. 2 fan speed during A/C operations. Even on a hot day, with the onboard temperature set to 17c, it soon gets cold enough to drop fan speed to the first position.

    I assure you, I don’t like hot weather - especially when I’m behind the wheel surrounded by glass.

    I have long discovered that setting the vents to “upper vents only” (at face level) ensures that when the A/C is brought online at temperatures of 16c and upwards on a hot day, the A/C automatically defaults to recirculate.

    The above info pertains to the old Gen 2 (UK). It may vary on other models, but I have come to realise the A/C on the 2nd Gen is far more sophisticated (function wise) than very many owners realise.


    iPhone 6s +
     
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  20. Zed Ruhlen

    Zed Ruhlen Active Member

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    Best part of recirculated A/C is how it takes your foot smell and puts it into your face.
     
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