It's official... I hate my Prius!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(stealth @ Feb 15 2007, 01:18 PM) [snapback]391013[/snapback]</div>

I think the problem is lack of love. You haven't been spending enough time with your prius. Quit your job and find one that's 150 miles away so you can spend some more time with your car. The bonding will happen.



My 2006 is a year old today and I have 40,110 miles. I'm planning a page and a post on here with a 1 year recap later tonight.

I think you'd hate any car that went through all that in a year. That's more than most people get in a lifetime of cars. Hope your next one goes better.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(stealth @ Feb 15 2007, 02:18 PM) [snapback]391013[/snapback]</div>

Sounds like you're holding the Prius responsible for bad luck. I've been rear-ended in a couple of different accidents, and no matter if it was in my old Dodge Colt, Isuzu Rodeo, Isuzu Trooper, or this Prius, they all had different effects on me, depending on how I was sitting in the car.

Sorry all this bad luck has happened to you. I doubt it has anything to do with your car choice, but if you choose to believe that, then by all means, get rid of the car. And maybe launder your karma a bit--that could help with the next car!

 

This last one really put me over the top the kid couldn't have been going more than 5 or 10 miles per hour is a Civic type car but it felt like I was slammed into by a truck, my jaw was snapped shut and my back is a little sore. I've been rear ended a couple other times once as a driver in a convertible Mustang GT by a big van going at least 30mph and it felt nothing like this little fender bender I had today. Granted I wasn't expecting it but I'm still a 37 year old guy in pretty good shape and can't believe how poorly the Prius took this hit and there is barely any visible damage so I know he wasn't going that fast.


hi
Maybe You should try the lottery ? seems like You used all Your badluck on the car.

the Prius is a very safe care, one of the safest ones in its class. it did very good in the ncap tests aswell
http://www.euroncap.com/content/safety_rat...1=3&id2=193

sounds like your car "jumped" forward quite abit, as far as i experienced this is not too uncommon in a light weight car as the prius after all is (ca1300kg??). especially if the breaks are more or less not on (like barly touching your brakes to stand still)

and i bet Your Mustang GT had some damages if it got hit in 30mph ??? and the weight is close to 1600kg.-)

a van maybe 2500kg ? in 30miles an hour ,, auch .-)

cheers
Andreas

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(andreaswin @ Feb 15 2007, 02:39 PM) [snapback]391105[/snapback]</div>

Then again, Maybe this Insurance Institute for Highway Safety news release of 4/16/06 will explain the situation a bit (look under: First Institute test of a hybrid):

http://www.iihs.org/news/rss/pr041606.html

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(stealth @ Feb 15 2007, 02:18 PM) [snapback]391013[/snapback]</div>

Uh, sounds like it took it quite well. Would you rather you didn't feel anything b/c the car crumpled up where it was hit? That's what you want in a serious accident, but for something minor I'll take a little jolt in return for no damage.

 

Tough Luck.... Seems some folks are just "snake bit!"

HOWEVER... Associating it on a certain brand or model car is just childish. Hating an object is irrational. Some might call a series of such experiences "Bad Karma."

 

Sorry to hear about your bad luck. Maybe if you got a Hummer H2 your luck will change (hopefully for the better, not worse). I'm sure that you will feel more loved, especially by Exxon...

Good Luck!

Keith

P.S. Years ago I had a Porsche 914. I loved that car in spite of the fact that I was rear-ended 3 times in a 2 year period. Unfortunately I had to get rid of the car after the third accident. It was totaled. Strange as it may seem, all of the accidents were the result of me being in the wrong place at just the right time. In each case, everybody agreed that there was absolutely nothing I could have done to avoid getting hit. It has been many years since my last accident and I have never held any car responsible for a seemingly random accident.

 

Being mad at your car because it gets abused doesn't make much sense. And the car's design has squat to do with how had an impact feels. That's a mass and velocity thing. Granted the Prius has a lot less mass than the Envoy but it's not a flimsy vehicle.

Driving in California scares me every time I go. Your problem is not the car, but being surrounded by people who are either a) not paying any attention or B) already past the frustration threshold at which you appear to be, to the point of destructive outbursts against innocent cars.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(stealth @ Feb 15 2007, 08:48 PM) [snapback]391232[/snapback]</div>

I'm finding this exceedingly hard to read, perhaps because it's responding to eight replies simultaneously. When I try to follow this, I see:

* You and your wife were each in fender-benders in this car, which focuses the force directly on the occupants. You were hurt, and you don't mention the extent of your wife's injuries. I hope she's OK!

* Your daughter may or may not have been in the car at the time of the accident (you say that there is/was a child involved in the crash). I hope she's OK too!

* You're saying that someone provided a good link that sounds like what happened to you, you thank them, and then you snap back that you couldn't disagree more with it.

* The reason for your disagreement is that you "would prefer it to crumple as appropriate" (emphasis mine) -- but I guess I'm not sure who or what you were disagreeing with. R32 stated that cars should crumple in serious accidents but don't need to do so in minor accidents. You're saying that cars should crumple as appropriate. Seems the same to me, kind of like how airbags should only go off as appropriate.

* The primary reason that it's an unsafe car for a 1-year-old is because of how poorly the "seat/head restraints protect people from whiplash in rear impacts." My belief is that small children ought to be in car seats in the back; when installed properly, the geometry of the front seat head restraints ought not to come into play. Can't imagine them causing whiplash.

But, as I said, I found this diatribe difficult to read. Regardless of the circumstances, I hope you and your family recover from your injuries swiftly!

 

You may have underestimated how hard you were hit because of the lack of damage.
The rear bumper appears very flexible.
The other week I was backing into a carpark and there was a bollard at the back corner of the car, which I hit. Got out of the car and saw that the bumper was pushed in 2 inches.

Moved the car forward to get a better look at the damage, heard a pop, got out and the dent was gone and there was no mark.

All that other cars I have had (even plastic bumpers) leave some sort of damage when I have hit thing. I was very relieved at the lack of damage

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(stealth @ Feb 16 2007, 03:55 AM) [snapback]391331[/snapback]</div>

This was certainly interesting to learn. And this post is just a bit of further delving into the IIhs link from Ken's post.

I really thought I'd looked at all safety ratings before purchasing and didn't recall any negative ratings, but perhaps the rear test results weren't up then or I just missed em. But I did specifically go for the Prius because it did well in crash tests. High vehicle safety ratings are sort of in ingrained in my family, as my father works as an expert witness on airplane crashes.

By class size of car, the Prius still does pretty well (ranked 4th, behind Civic, Impreza, Versa, respectively). http://www.iihs.org/ratings/summary.aspx?class=40

But in rear end, the Prius gets a Marginal on the dynamics and a Good on Seat/Head restraint geometry in rear-end collisions, resulting in a Marginal overall. And is certainly sounds like you experienced those Marginal dynamics, described as:
In the dynamic tests measurements are recorded on a dummy (BioRID) representing an average-size man. BioRID is designed specifically for rear-end testing at low to moderate speeds. The dynamic ratings are derived from two seat design parameters (acceleration of the dummy's torso and time from impact initiation to head restraint contact with the dummy's head) plus tension and shear forces recorded on the dummy's neck. Overall ratings are based on both geometric measurements and dynamic results. http://www.iihs.org/ratings/head_restraint...nts.aspx?toyota

Now I still love the car and don't plan on unloading it (as if, not even an option for us, really), but it was a bit of a bummer to read this this morning, as rear-ending other cars is something Chicago drivers are particularly adpet at (one happened beside the bus I was riding to work this very morning).

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(stealth @ Feb 16 2007, 01:55 AM) [snapback]391331[/snapback]</div>

Perhaps I did confuse two posts, or perhaps I shouldn't have looked for a logical link between two points that I see as contradictory. The IIHS link you quote says that the Prius would have received its "TOP SAFETY PICK" if not for the marginal design of the seat/head restraints; it received top marks in the other tests. You seem to agree that this was the cause of your injuries (quote: "which seems to back up what happened to me so get your facts straight").

My problem is that I can't figure out why the stiff design of the front seats makes it an unsafe vehicle for a 1-year-old in a carrier in the back. That is the logic that I had trouble following.

I'll allow you to accuse me of being incapable of comprehending precautions, if that venting makes you feel better. I'm glad to hear that your wife and daughter weren't injured or involved in these accidents, and again, I hope that the recovery from your injuries goes well!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daronspicher @ Feb 15 2007, 01:49 PM) [snapback]391026[/snapback]</div>

Wow, I thought I put a lot of miles on a car with about 30k/year.

 

Do you and your wife drive with your headlights on at all times? Stealth is a great thing for our fighter planes and bombers, but people who continue to use it on the road everyday, by not turning on their headlights have only themselves to blame. You said "the car moved foreward 2-3ft before I could get my foot on the brake". Were you sitting in traffic, with nobody behind you, without your brakelights on? Someone approaching from the rear without seeing the red of the brakelights might have delayed braking long enough to hit you. Just food for thought. The best way to not be injured in a crash is to avoid the crash all together.

 

The amount of damage to the rear end of newer cars with the plastic bumper covers can be very deceiving. I was rear ended in my Mazda 3 by a Tundra doing 25mph. Hit and run, by the way. After getting off the highway I took a look at my car, did not look like much happened, the bumper cover was popped out at the sites and a tail light was busted and I thought "wow this little car didn't hardly got hurt at all" when I brought it to the dealer for repairs the bill was $5400!! All the actual damage was concealed by that plastic bumper cover that bounces back into shape after an accident, so what looked like minor cosmetic damage was actually frame damage. I was also told that the car was not drivable in this condition (after I put 150 miles on after the accident)

P.S. I hope the California Highway Patrol officer that responded to my call was not the average cop on the beat. Fat slob did not even get out of his patrol car and tried to talk me out of filing a report so he didn't have to do any paperwork.