Is it just me, or is the Prius awefully easy to bottom out!

Huh. No problems here, but I've always driven vehicles that are low to the ground. What kind of "bumps" are you running into on normal roadways?

 

I think it bottoms out easily. I've got a dip in the road leading to my house and I've learned to slow way down. I hate that sound.

 

Happens to mine in the same spot of road routinely, no matter how slow I go. But I can tell from the marks in the asphalt left by other cars that it's the road, not Ruby's fault.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(AuntBee @ Jul 23 2006, 10:05 PM) [snapback]291308[/snapback]</div>

 

I found that Utah has a different design mentality for the gutters where the street meets the road. Maybe it's an 'out west' thing, and especially St. George. I think they do it because when they get rain, it's dumped hard and fast and it all runs off quick.

The gutters are not so pronounced in the midwest..

 

Same for me. Pulling out of the drive- it sometimes scrapes but backing in the drive it is OK. It is pretty low to the ground.

 

How does the Prius do with speed bumps or humps?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Starfall @ Jul 24 2006, 09:35 AM) [snapback]291443[/snapback]</div>

At 60 mph, I was airborne for 42.5 feet (but got really great mileage during this flight.)

The car is a little vulnerable here. I've learned to anticipate. The school I teach at has deliberately high speed bumps as a punitive measure and I get over them well, slowly. Be more suspicious of dips. The rising far side is what gets me if I'm not careful.

There was a short but intense thread in another forum about lowering a Prius. That should be a hoot to watch.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(sl7vk @ Jul 23 2006, 08:59 PM) [snapback]291265[/snapback]</div>

As compared to which what?

Compared to the average cars I've driven: Civic, Camry, Corolla; no. The Prius is pretty much the same, maybe just a bit heavier, but I sure didn't bottom it out on a dip at speed like my friend did to his TL.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(sl7vk @ Jul 23 2006, 08:59 PM) [snapback]291265[/snapback]</div>

Take it to your good local dealership service area, grab a service writer/parts guy, and ask him what that bolt is. They should be able to get you a part number too which you can then directly order, or find slight cheaper online.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Alnilam @ Jul 24 2006, 09:47 AM) [snapback]291449[/snapback]</div>

Hey Alnilam...this is NOT your airplane we are talkin' 'bout, remember? That would be AirBusChat you have us confused with!

 

Yes, gutters out west are worse than in the midwest or the south. When we were living in an apartment complex in Carson City, we scraped every single time going into or out of the complex unless we came in very slowly at a 45 degree angle from the direction of the road. It's partly due to the rain. When it rains here, we can EASILY get flooded, so the gutters are deep to allow water to flow away quickly. it's also due to many people here having trucks and the mentality that a dirt path is a road.

 

I agree. But then I went from an SUV to my prius. The main place I notice it is my driveway which is on slight grade till you hit the bottom and it's a deep bump. Now I just have to angle it out and I'm find.

I didn't find any problems with speed bumps yet.


Did I mention I really love this car?

 

I have a grated drain field line right across the front of my garage. Over the last 20 years I driven everything from a Twin Turbo 300ZX to a Ford Expedition with several Subies in between and I never bottomed out on the little dip until this week with my new Prius. No big deal but it rides a LOT lower than what I'm used to.

 

i've only had two major bottom-outs. first, i made a wrong turn and found myself in the WRONG neighborhood at the WRONG time. i figured that the local church would be a safe driveway to turn around in... except that the driveway was extremely steep one- i heard the scrape and i knew it was bad. but i wasn't about to stop to check the damage till i was in friendlier territory. no major damage like i was expecting.

the second one was really bad, i was again in unfamiliar territory, in the evening, late for a gathering. there was no sign in the parking lot that there was a really big hump and since it was dark i didn't see it. i heard a constant scraping after i hit that one, so i had DH come out and pull the plates off before i drove home. he reinstalled them for me with no permanent damage the next week.

in regular daily driving i haven't had a single problem. it seems to be the extenuating circumstances that get me.