NEW (old) Prius - help me get it home!

Does harbor freight also sell the brackets?

How much do the brackets usually go for?

 

The brackets were home-made. I used 1/4" steel plate cut to shape with inserts welded to fit in the tow hooks. A 5/8" diameter steel bolt holds the plates together and on the other end you see the 1/4" diameter u-bolts from Lowes. It took about 8-12 hours to fit and fabricate. To the best of my knowledge, no one else has built any.

Send me a PM and I'll be happy to send you patterns and a parts list. Near as I can tell, the tow hook anchors on the car will rip off the frame they are built into before the brackets.

If I had to do it over again, I would use 3/16" steel plate. There is a good deal of custom grinding involved and the 1/4" steel plate was over kill.

Bob Wilson

 

If you have the owner's manual, check the section regarding the MFD. I recall that one of the buttons on the right side of the display will turn the display on and off.

 

How long does the battery last? Is it a myth that the batter life is only 5 years?

 

The 12v battery lasts several years. I don't believe the useful life of the traction battery has been determined. Taxi fleets have put over 200,000 miles on cars without replacing batteries. An old or high mileage Prius is more likely to end its service in a collision.

 

The standard warranty is 8 years, 100,000 miles. CARB states warranty is 10 years, 150,000 miles for some 2004+ vehicles. In 2004, the traction battery modules were improved and their reliability has been exceptional. But this "5 year" claim is more "FUD" (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) than a "myth."

There continues to be hybrid skeptics who in the face of the facts and data go out of their way to make stuff up or mislead:

• "You'll never save enough gas to break even" - this assumed the quiet, smooth ride and qualities of the Prius and its utility have nothing to do with a buying decision. Then we had $4/gallon gas in 2008.
• "Hybrids are not as green as a Hummer" - and two months later, the original Hummer line was shutdown and the Tahoe shaped Hummers are ending this year. The source was "CNW Marketing," that has been 'revising' their report ever since.
• "Dangerous toxic nickel batteries" - only they are the same chemestry batteries sold in Radio Shack and grocery stores and Toyota pays $200 to get them back. The source was a Sunday Mail article that was withdrawn and a college paper article that used this tainted source.
• "Hybrids make no profit" - most recently by George Will even though Toyota sold out of the Prius in May 2008 and the percentage of vehicles sold continues to rise.
• "Nobody wants them" - which is the wishful opinion of Rush Limbaugh having nothing to do with Prius monthly sales. Then the subscribers of Consumer Reports have voted the Prius the highest rated vehicle for the past five years running.
• "Quiet Prius are killing pedestrians" - the latest claim by the blind and Lotus engineering, is not supported by the NHTSA accident data. The NHTSA in a Freedom of Information Act response, Dr. Christopher Hogan, and my independent analysis have shown this to be a lie yet HR 734 and S 841 would put noise makers on the hybrids.

I had personal experience with the battery FUD when I was deciding to buy my used Prius. I was walking into work and going down the reasons why I should not buy a Prius. I'm money green and if a civil servant can get the rated 52 MPG, I could meet and exceed it. Used Prius, a couple of years old, were in the price range of a new car. So everything came down to the battery risk and I had an epiphany.

The people who claimed the batteries didn't last, the most vocal, were the same ones who were so wrong about politics, life and just about everything else. I was letting the 'honorable competition' make my decision. Knowing the battery warranty would still have 50,000 miles and years to go, I had my Prius three weeks later.

"Due diligence" means checking the facts and data. Posting your note here is a first step. Understand there are no guarantees in life but the folks here are pretty happy with our Prius and this is not a place to find many hybrid skeptics.

This is May 2009 and we know a lot more about the 2001-03 Prius, the NHW11 model. The 2004-current Prius is the NHW20. With 9 years of operational experience, we know the weaker areas of the NHW11. That doesn't mean they are 'falling apart,' but anyone contemplating buying a used car needs to make sure they are prepared to deal with parts that wear out and may need to be replaced.

As a rule of thumb when buying a used car, make sure you can draw upon $5,000 if needed for a major repair and you'll be OK. Also, have a backup transportation plan for a week. There is no guarantee that a used car will fail but rather this is 'risk management', making sure you can handle anything that might pop up.

If you decide to buy a used NHW11 model, come back and we'll chat about what can fail and what you can do to minimize the risk. My short list:

• transaxle - make sure the oil is replaced including dropping the pan and cleaning it out. Type WS may improve mileage but Type T-IV is the OEM standard. Transaxle failures are progressive, most have been progressive failures and they cost about $3,000-5,000 to replace. Keeping speeds at and under 65-70 mph seems to minimize the stress.
• Steering jitter - the earliest NHW11s were weak and this typically costs $1,000 to repair IF it happens. The failure is progressive and you have time to get it fixed. Often stopping the car and cycling the steering back and forth can clear the problem for a day, week or month.
• traction battery - try to avoid a lot of high-speed hills and heat by parking in the shade when possible. Replacement cost is $2,900 for the battery and $500-800 in labor. It tends to be progressive but seldom lasts longer than 2-3 months.
• Accelerator contacts - the 2001-02 seem to have a problem with noisy contacts and the failure just means the car goes into a 'limp home mode.' Often stopping and rapidly cycling the accellerator pedal while off is enough to return normal operation for day, weeks or months. This is a $500 part with $500 labor although I also refurbish them.

So how is the masters thesis working out?

GOOD LUCK!
Bob Wilson

 

Can you post a picture of underneath the car? I am interested in seeing how you connected the brackets to the front frame rails.

 

Prius Flat Towing - AT YOUR OWN RISK

Bob Wilson