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Random Questions from a New Owner

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by NCNyrk, May 4, 2005.

  1. NCNyrk

    NCNyrk New Member

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    Picked up my Tideland Package 4 on Saturday in Springfield, VA, about 4 hours away from my home in central NC, where Prii are a very rare breed (at least in the dealerships). I've been gushing non-stop to my co-workers who are both jealous and tired of listening to me.

    So, a few random questions for those of you that have been happy Prius owners for a while...

    1) Lint! You'd think I was making the stuff...I got a lint-free towel at Sprawl-Mart, but any ideas on products to help keep the car lintless? Products that maybe make the lint float down to the light-colored carmats, where I can't see it?

    2) I keep seeing postings referring to the readiness states IG-ON and IG-OFF. Do these labels actually appear in the dash display, or are they just Car Tech terms with which I am unfamiliar?

    3) Radio Display? The area below the CD slot looks to be some sort of LED or LCD screen behind the plastic, but so far nothing has appeared...is it anything special?

    4) The Radio Text Display is very cool...last car had nothing like that. On some stations, the word MSG appears, but then there is a safety disclaimer that since the car is moving, they won't print the text. I know the text is a station-specific feature, but is the moving car restriction from the station or from the car itself? You'd think that text is not as distracting as say, moving bar graphs...

    5) In my upper glove box, I discovered a small tray in the shape of a parallelogram, slightly indented sides...any clues?

    6) So the MPG calculator resets automatically whenever you add gas, correct? This means that in those posts I've read where people have meticulously avoided pressing the RESET button are mistaken that the value shown is actually a Lifetime MPG...there's actually no way to get that out of the car (short having some special Toyota tools)

    7) Any hidden uses of the buttons on the steering wheel. I don't have the NAV package, so I guess I can't change screens from the steering wheel? Only bonus I figured out was that I could turn the radio off by holding down the MODE (?) button.

    8) I saw that there is a module to auto lock the doors once you've started traveling in the car. What about a way for the car to automatically lock once the SES has left the perimeter? The car does so much else for me, that I find myself not always remembering to push the black button.

    OK...that's a lot of inquisition, but I'm a curious guy. Thanks to all the posters that had such invaluable information that helped me decide to buy a Prius, and where to buy it, and what to buy, etc...Looking forward to many happy years with this awesome car!
     
    #1 NCNyrk, May 4, 2005
  2. jeromep

    jeromep Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Eastern Washington State
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    1. Lint is a reality in this car because of all the black and silver highlights. Swifer dusters work out very nicely.

    2. If your foot is not on the brake when you press power you will go into ACC mode, basically runs the radio. You will have no dash lights, no speedo, no control over power windows. If you remain with your foot off the brake and press the power button again you will go into IG-ON mode. In this mode the car is in a state of powerup, however the hybrid drive system is not on, i.e. the vehicle has not "started". The speedo will light up and there will be a number of warning lights turn on on the dash. Electric windows will work now. Once again, with your foot off the brake, if you press the power button again, the car turns completly off. The key to getting the vehicle in Ready is to put your foot on the brake before pressing the power button.

    Order of events:

    Foot on brake
    Press power button,
    Car goes to Ready

    Foot off brake
    Press power button
    ACC mode entered
    Press power button
    IG-On mode entered.
    Press power button
    system off

    Foot off brake
    Press power button
    ACC mode entered
    Press power button again
    IG-ON mode entered
    put foot on brake
    Press power button yet again
    System to Ready

    3. Nothing is in the radio void that you notice, because nothing is there. All data from the radio is displayed on the MFD. If you have a package with the 6-disc changer and tape deck the face of the radio has a lot more stuff on it, along with LEDs for active/inactive/empty disc status.

    4. The moving car restriction on radio station text is a car limitation. To see the text, it will appear when you are at a complete stop, say at an interesection or in stop and go traffic.

    5. The tray belongs to the upper glove box. If you notice, about halfway up in the middle of the glovebox there should be some ridges, those shoudl fit in the slots along the edges of the tray.

    6. MPG calculator does reset every time you fill up and roll away from the pump. I do not believe that the Toyota hand held tester can get at lifetime economy. You will be forced to track that economy yourself.

    7. If you had the CD changer, you could use the track/station memory up and down buttons to also change CDs. I believe that you can use the up down buttons for station scan or seek by holding them down till you hear a beep.

    8. Maybe Coastal Tech will come up with somethign like that, but not sure if that can really be done.
     
    #2 jeromep, May 4, 2005
  3. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    One tip for lint: I wipe the car down weekly with a damp cloth. There is a $2 lint wand you can get at Target but it'll leave blue fuzz all over your dash because of the texture (of the dash, not the wand)

    There is a small Prius Club that gets together on occasion in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area. Keep an eye out for a thread labeled "Thoughts about forming a Prius Club in Raleigh/Durham area" (or something similar) for updates. You are more than welcome to join us!
     
    #3 galaxee, May 4, 2005
  4. bookrats

    bookrats New Member

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    Just to clarify this one question:

    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(NCNyrk\";p=\"86902)</div>
    These labels don't appear anywhere on the display; they're tech terms from Toyota.
     
    #4 bookrats, May 4, 2005
  5. dipper

    dipper Senior Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee\";p=\"86945)</div>
    New here. Can I join you guys? My wife's Prius will be in the area during the summer months. And I will be dropping in the area on and off.

    Oh. I just picked up my wife's Prius on Monday (San Jose, CA). And I will track it cross country for her (will generate a log and post when possible starting on weekend of 5/13 until 5/18). Good test subject.... :mrgreen:

    When I was in the area over the weekend, I only saw one new Prius on I40 (RTP). Is the number of Prius owners out here that small? In the SF Bay Area, it is just another car now. I see about 5-10 Prii on a 6 miles commute. There is more Prii than s2k (my car :| ).
     
    #5 dipper, May 4, 2005
  6. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    Vehicle:
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    Everyone's welcome to join us at our meetings :)

    Prii are still a little rare around here, hence the size of the group... but I do see one or 2 a day. I saw a white one, waved, and got an entuhsiastic wave in return. I think it's still a novelty here.

    I will add a post to the "club info" post to bring it near the top.
     
    #6 galaxee, May 4, 2005
  7. NCNyrk

    NCNyrk New Member

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    Thanks, everyone, for your tips and replies. I look forward to meeting some other local Priusites at the RTP Meetup.
     
    #7 NCNyrk, May 5, 2005
  8. Charles Suitt

    Charles Suitt Senior Member

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    Dallas TX
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    :) Welcome to "fun" driving - and - lower polution - and - much better fuel economy.

    The (as you call it) "Parallelogram" is a tray which fits in the center armrest console. The two "indents" mate with the plastic in the console. It provides a handy place for small items in the cavernous console storage space.

    The smoked plastic below the CD slot is a small storage space - no connection with the audio system.
     
    #8 Charles Suitt, May 5, 2005
  9. Bill Merchant

    Bill Merchant absit invidia

    Joined:
    May 3, 2005
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    Location:
    USA | Oregon | Portland area | 97004 |
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Charles Suitt\";p=\"87262)</div>
    I think you are wrong, Charles. The tray you are referring to is square and lives in the center console. The non-square tray NCNyrk is referring to is the shelf for the upper glove box, as jeromep identified. You can take it out if your gloves are too big to fit... :lol:
     
    #9 Bill Merchant, May 6, 2005
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