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New Prius Taxi Owner

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by DirkG, May 22, 2009.

  1. DirkG

    DirkG Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 22, 2009
    54
    8
    0
    Location:
    Eugene, OR
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Eugene Oregon has its first hybrid taxi!
    Its actually my first hybrid also. I just bought a 2007 Prius. I am sure I will have lots of questions. I have been lurking for a few month hoping and saving to upgrade from my Previa.
    First question, How do I know what package it is? The last owner didnt know. It has leather seats, Nav, backup, 6 disk cd, some freaky little calendar that doesnt alert me to any of the things I put in it, bluetooth, some great lady that asks me questions, but never understands what I am saying, HID lights, ummm... I think thats it.
    Its got 61k miles, and drives like its new, so I think it will make a great Taxi.
    Taxi owners -
    How often do you change fluids and with what? Same with tires and brakes.
    I've got a centrodyne 610 meter, is there anything I need to tell the install guy other than where to put it.
    Where is a good place, on top of the monitor seems very high and would restrict vision.
    Other than the car, what has been the best advertising strategy to get your number out there as being Hybrid?
    I just read a nation poll that ranked Eugene as having the most Prius per capita than any other city in the US. That will either be a good thing or a bad thing, I dont know yet.
    Is there anything I should do to the car to help with all the abuse and miles it will get?
    Any other pointers? I have been in the taxi business for 5 years, use to own a fleet of 12 Previa but sold it to my biggest competitor with 14 Previa. Now I am just working for a small outfit with three single owner/driver cars. Our goal is to provide better service and better cars than anyone in town since its just us driving we have total control over the passengers taxi experience. We'll see how this works out, its a completely different business model than any of us has tried before.
     
  2. halpos4

    halpos4 "Taxi"!

    Joined:
    Aug 13, 2008
    377
    24
    5
    Location:
    Ireland
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Hi DirkG,First off...Welcome:welcome:
    I'm a Taxi Owner/Driver in Dublin/Ireland,i have an 06[from new]now with over 225,000klm,i can't help you with what Package your Prius is[completely different in Europe]
    Oil change as per your service guide,
    Your Prius has 61k[Miles]if not already done,i would recommend that you change the Transaxle Fluid[not in your service book but recommended by the Guru's here on PC to be done every 60k[miles]
    Do a search here for the recommended fluid and quantity.
    In relation to your meter,before i got my Prius my Toyota Dealer loaned me a Prius for a day,i used that time to see exactly where to put my equipment and decided to change my meter for a Hale Rear View Mirror Meter[goes nicely with Prius Technology]
    Just look after your Prius Taxi....and it'll look after you...financially:D
     
  3. NoMoShocks

    NoMoShocks Electrical Engineer

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2007
    1,292
    82
    11
    Location:
    Camas, WA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    2007 with leather and Navigation is called a Package 6, highest package, assuming the leather and Nav was from the factory.

    Other option is it could be a Package 6 Touring if it has 16 inch factory wheels and a Standard Package 6 if it has 15 inch wheels.

    If any of your fellow taxi drivers would be interrested in a 2007 package, same as yours but with cloath seats, I am selling one with 48,000 miles for $17,500.
     
  4. DirkG

    DirkG Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 22, 2009
    54
    8
    0
    Location:
    Eugene, OR
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Its all factory.
    15in wheels. Is that the only difference between touring?
    I also have to go to the dealer for the SKS. The only key I got with the car works harder not smarter, and doesnt open the doors either.
     
  5. DirkG

    DirkG Junior Member

    Joined:
    May 22, 2009
    54
    8
    0
    Location:
    Eugene, OR
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Thanks for the reply. No service guide. I got no paperwork with the car, and one non-working smart key.
    I look into how to change the transaxle fluid, see if I can do it easily and quick before I take it to a lube store. I've never heard of a mirror meter. We are pretty limited on taxi tech here. The Centrodyne is top dog, only after the new MDT's that the company I use to work for just got. Man that was a nice change from radio dispatch. I hate to go back. If I didnt already have a new Centrodyne here, I would look into the one in the mirror it sounds cool. I am thinking of hooking up some kind of arm from the passenger side floor for it to mount on. That may not work though, too many 300 lb people have to sit in the front seat with me.
    BTW- I just put my first 200 miles on the car and decided to go fill up. When it only took 2 gallons, I made the gas attendant try to put more in! 50 MPG will be very easy on the bottom line.
     
  6. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 4, 2008
    11,627
    2,531
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    Location:
    Southwest Colorado
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Two
    I think it is great that taxis are (slowly) moving to a same driver/owner model in the US. The old system where the owner bought a gas guzzling POS, and the driver was stuck with fuel charges just led to abuse all around.

    Best not to try and stuff fuel into the tank. The bladder may barf ;)
     
  7. NoMoShocks

    NoMoShocks Electrical Engineer

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2007
    1,292
    82
    11
    Location:
    Camas, WA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    Make sure the SKS defeat switch located under the steering column has not been switched to turn off the SKS system. There is also a Tire Pressure Monitor switch down there. Once you set your tire presssure, push the Tire Pressure monitor switch to set the system and then it will alert you if any tire gets 20 percent low. Or better yet, if you want the system to alert you when any tire is 5 percent low, overfill the tires to 114 percent of where you want them, set the system, and then put the tires down to 100 percent and it will warn you if any tire gets 5 percent lower than that point.
     
  8. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
    Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2004
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    Location:
    Canada
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
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  9. Boo

    Boo Boola Boola Member

    Joined:
    Feb 13, 2007
    5,051
    485
    97
    Location:
    Flushing, NY
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Hi Dirk,

    Welcome to PriusChat.

    Here's the 2007 Prius eBrochure, where you'll see the different standard and optional equipment (option packages), including the differences between your Standard Prius and the Touring Edition Prius:

    [​IMG] 07_prius.pdf

    Here's a PDF of all the substantive sections of the 2007 Owner's Manual:

    [​IMG] 2007 Prius Owners Manual.pdf

    And here is its Table of Contents:

    [​IMG] Table of Contents 2007 Prius Owners Manual.doc

    Your maintenance schedule is available at ToyotaOwnersOnline.com Toyota Parts and Service and also at Edmunds.com.
     
  10. Blauer Glimmer

    Blauer Glimmer Active Member

    Joined:
    May 2, 2009
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    Location:
    NY (Southern Tier)
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    The Touring also has a bigger spoiler and the suspension is different.