What's standard on the 2009 vs. 2005 Prius?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Technical Discussion' started by carstar, Apr 6, 2026 at 12:57 PM.

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  1. carstar

    carstar New Member

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    I bought a 2005 Prius at 19k miles and just retired it at 260k+ miles (it was such a good little car </3). But I was incredibly lucky to find a very low milage 2009 Prius to replace it! One of the reasons it's got such low milage is it was a government vehicle used for drivers license testing (so it also has a passenger side brake [removed atm, though]).

    There are a bunch of features that I just assumed were standard on my 2005 that are...noticeably lacking in this 2009. Are these just quirks because it was modified as a government training vehicle? Or was my 2005 more supe'd up than I realized? Or does it sound like there's history that wasn't disclosed to me in the private sale (that should have been)? I'm hoping some of you can help answer!

    1. 2009 does not have cruise control (I thought basically all cars since the 1970s had cruise control...?)
    2. No tint on the 2009 upper hatchback window (2005 had a tint that I figured was standard...great for night driving)
    3. 2009 driver's side mirror is not magnified at all but passenger side is zoomed out ('objects in mirror are closer than they appear). Mirrors on 2005 were identical.
    4. 2009 the side arm rest on both front doors have a rectangular hole beneath the fabric, as though there was something there that fell down?? (Is this a common issue...?)
    5. 2009 When I turn the headlights on, the dashboard nor the center console dim automatically, and I can't find any way to dim them manually?! (Both were features of my 2005)
    6. 2009 driver's front door (and possibly passenger front door) almost sound hollow when closed. Back doors sound much more like the 2005, without any kind of tinny resonance when you shut them.

    I'd say at this point I'm extremely knowledgable about 2005s. Any other quirks specific to 2009s you think I should know about?
     
    #1 carstar, Apr 6, 2026 at 12:57 PM
  2. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    1. That was changed in 2008 when Toyota dropped the base price and removed a bunch of standard equipment. You can check here to see: 2G Prius (2004-2009) Standard and Optional Equipment (Some Countries) | PriusChat

    2. Ohh, that's new

    3. Not possible. All modern vehicles in the US have a convex passenger side mirror and a flat driver's side mirror. (Unless the previous owner changed them)

    4. Isn't that the door pull? Unless you're referring to something else but the door armrest has the window controls with the silver plastic trim, then the fabric part that forms the armrest and there's a hole there to pull the door close.

    5. Check the rheostat on the left side. It might've been accidentally placed to "Day" mode. (When you rotate to full brightness, there's an extra click you can rotate too that puts the instrument panel in day mode).

    6. Not sure about that.


    Well side airbags were made standard in 2007 so your vehicle will have them now. A lot of the changes don't really apply to the base model (e.g. auxiliary jack is available as is a higher resolution screen on vehicles with a backup camera).
     
    #2 Tideland Prius, Apr 6, 2026 at 1:30 PM
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