New Prius Owner

Hi jmp470. Congratulations on your new car and welcome to PriusChat, the right place to get answers. Use the Search link found at the top of every page to find out everything you want to know.

Briefly:

1. No
2. Most people think they are too dim on the steering wheel. Use the roller switch on the dash to the left side of the steering wheel to adjust other lights
3. The bladder is flexible, fill it until the pump kicks off and when it tells you to add fuel (and a blinking pip)
4. Break-in period for car and driver. Endless discussion, use search
5. Good! The Search feature is your friend, as well as the sticky topics at the top of many forums

Have fun and welcome again. Bug the dealer for the manual!

 

You can buy a manual for $ 12 on e-bay, not that you should have to, but if the dealer charged you $2000 extra, maybe they should give you a free service for not providing the manual in a timely fashon.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2007-Toyota...sspagenameZWDVW

eBay seller "thebirdman" includes the manuals on a CD with all the service manuals for $20, but he has no items on eBay right now. Maybe he was told to stop. Not exactly legal I don't think.

Enjoy the car.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jmp470 @ Jun 22 2007, 12:06 AM) [snapback]466191[/snapback]</div>

Welcome!

According to the dealers I spoke to in my area when I bought my Prius a few weeks ago, the cars are selling so well that they don't tend to stay on the lot for long, but while they were not much inclined to discuss selling at invoice, they certainly weren't selling above MSRP. If I'd found a dealer in that frame of mind I'd have left the lot and gone elsewhere - but then I've got a few Toyota dealers in my area so there's some choice!

1 - No, but it's not hard to generally work out. The gas tank nominally holds 11.9 gallons, but because it has a bladder lining it, it is somewhat variable. A good estimate is therefore to assume you have a working range of 10 times the average MPG. Thus if you have 43.5 MPG at present, assume your range to be 435 miles. Even if you don't set a trip meter at each fill up, the Consumption screen on the MFD (multi function display) sets itself to zero when you put more than a couple of gallons in the tank, so you can see on there not only the average MPG since last reset, but also how many miles since your last fill.

2 - The little vertical thumb-wheel to the left of the steering wheel on the dash allows the dash and MFD to be dimmed once it's clicked out of the detent position.

3 - 11.9 nominal, though usable capacity is a little less, and is further reduced in cold weather since the bladder expands and contracts.

4 - It depends to some extent on what kind of driving you do. That MPG would, for example, be pretty good if you do a lot of cold short-range distances, but would be relatively poor if you drive sedately to work over a 20 mile range. Check your tire pressures and make sure they at at least correct per the sticker on the frame in the driver's door (and maybe up them a couple of psi each from that), use gentler acceleration and braking techniques, anticipate traffic conditions ahead where you can, such that you can maintain more gradual speed changes, and keep an eye on the Energy screen on the MFD to get a sense of when the car is running at best fuel efficiency, using electric energy or 'gliding' with no energy use, when possible. Driven the same way you might drive any other car, your MPG isn't far off what you might expect, but more gentle driving should help push that number up. Mine, after about 1,000 miles, is at 54.2. That doesn't include any of the economical driving techniques you'll find described here, such as 'pulse and glide', just lighter use of the accelerator and brake, and more attention to what is happening on the road ahead.

5 - You'll find the operator's manual less helpful in many ways than the community here, and you'll also find a lot of good information at http://john1701a.com/

 

Congratulations. Look forward to many years of dependable, quiet, low mileage driving. Take a look through the "mods" section of the forum - there are some really easy basic ones like the rear wiper mod and turning off the backup beep that you may be really happy to see. The search function is your friend. Nearly any question you may have is here somewhere.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jmp470 @ Jun 21 2007, 09:06 PM) [snapback]466191[/snapback]</div>

Dude! You are SO hosed.... You're going to have to bribe her. Try chocolates, or something.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jmp470 @ Jun 21 2007, 09:06 PM) [snapback]466191[/snapback]</div>

I bought my White #4 about 2 weeks ago. I was trying for #5 but could not find find one anywhere. From what I understand, Priuses were plentiful about 5-6 weeks ago, but quickly dried up. However, the dealership I found the #4 at (about 100 miles away) quoted me $1200 under MSRP. I didn't haggle since I didn't want to tip them off that it was actually a great deal. I think the fleet manager was just quoting off a price sheet from the time when they had a lot in stock.

They also gave me about $1500 more on my trade-in (a 2002 Prius) than I was expecting, so I signed without putting up a fight.

 

Welcome to the forum

I bought mine on April 29th and the rep told me that they have so many on the lot that Toyota has stopped delivering.

Now they can't keep them on the lot again??? I was lucky enough to get a good price on it just when demand was low...

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ystasino @ Jun 22 2007, 04:17 PM) [snapback]466530[/snapback]</div>

Demand on this car is really weird. I filled out some internet car finder form and got 3 local quotes, one at MSRP, one vague and one about 1500 below MSRP. Haven't done any haggling yet. The below MSRP was a package 6 but not in Black or Magnetic which are the colors I'm hunting for.

To answer an OP point - I would pressure the dealer on the manual. As mentioned, this forum is a great source, but the manual is huge and detailed; there are a lot of good bits in there.

I don't suggest reading it during dinner, though. Think I lost a WAF point or two.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Malarkey @ Jun 22 2007, 10:27 PM) [snapback]466727[/snapback]</div>

"WAF"?