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Prius less economical as experience and miles pile on

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by cbs4, Nov 5, 2006.

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  1. Walker1

    Walker1 Empire

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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2014 Prius
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    Two
    After reading through all the posts on these issues I make the following comments. 1) Toyotas are very reliable-I worked in a DL dept. for a yr. and many of the old clunkers that poor people brought in for road tests were Hondas & toyotas, usually 20-25 yrs. old. 2) Yes, there will be a % of ANY car that will have part(s) fail. The OP had some bad luck all around it seems. 3) If you can hold 2 hand wrenches, a pair of pliers, and maybe a screwdriver you can replace the 12 volt battery yourself. 4) I bought the extended war. on our '06 Prius for piece of mind. 5) If you want to be srewed bring your Harley to the Harley dealer for anything!

    I have the 2006 Prius with 12,000 miles. It has NEVER been to a dealer and won't be unless it has to. After reading many of the horror stories about Toyota dealers I'm glad I still can do most of the maint. required on my 2 cars and the Harley. It's scary to be hit with a SUPER bill for something like a headlight.

    My 2003 Honda Accord has 33,000 miles on it. The illuminated "screen" went out 2 months ago. It's not like the one in the Prius, but it shows quite a few functions. The car was under 36K, but time wise was out of war. by 3 mos. The Honda dlr. was so NICE to us! They replaced the $610 part- (A tuner assy.?) for FREE as a GOODWILL GESTURE. They said they wanted our business and had a fund for grey area cases like this one. If I buy another Honda it will be from this dlr.

    As to the Prius we are very happy with it. No problems, averages 53 MPG, no real complaints other than the ride and the less than comfortable seats. BUT, we only pd. $21,300 for the car with pkg. 1.

    TIP: If you want a Prius for list price or lower and don't want to be on a forever type waiting list call Earl Stewart Toyota of No. Palm Beach, FL. We bought our '06 there and they are a very respected dlr. in these parts. They also don't whack you $400 to shuffle the papers! Ph. # is (561) 844-3461
     
    #81 Walker1, Nov 25, 2006
  2. cbs4

    cbs4 Member

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    Just thought I would add an update...

    We got the car back from having the right hand headlamp bulb and ballast/computer replaced... only to find a day or two later that now the left hand headlight doesn't work. Here we go all over again.

    This time, it took them only one day and one rental car to put the bulb in, but since they didn't have the computer, we have to bring it in for yet a seventh day.
     
    #82 cbs4, Nov 28, 2006
  3. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    cbs4: I'm not sure if you've posted before, but what dealer is this so I know NOT to go there for any work?

    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Walker1 @ Nov 25 2006, 10:20 AM) [snapback]353955[/snapback]</div>
    From your sig, you have a package #1 which doesn't have HIDs. You have halogens which are cheap to replace.

    cbs4 and I have HIDs which are a lot more expensive to replace but in theory should last longer. The HIDs on my >3 year old 04 350Z are still fine. My 02 Maxima (also had HIDs) was a a few months past 3 years old when I sold it (boo hoo) also had no headlight probs.

    When I used to frequent maxima.org, we found at least Nissan's HIDs seemed to be pretty good quality. Nobody ever reported having trouble w/theirs (they were standard on 02 and 03 models) other than them being stolen (for those in NY, NJ and a few other states). :(

    FWIW, 02-03 Maxima HID lights were $1356/pair http://www.courtesyparts.com/Merchant2/mer...de=2002HID-PAIR.
     
    #83 cwerdna, Nov 28, 2006
  4. Craig

    Craig New Member

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    Hi All,

    Our dealer replaced both hid bulbs and both computer sub-assys in mid-October. This was due to the bulbs just turning off for no apparent reason. The passenger side bulb was the more troublesome of the two. The part numbers listed on the ro was 90981-20015, bulb; and 81108-30B90, computer sub-assy. The dealer did the repairs under warranty and included a loaner at no cost. This was at Burien Toyota near Sea-Tac airport in Washington State.

    Craig
     
    #84 Craig, Dec 1, 2006
  5. cbs4

    cbs4 Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Craig @ Nov 30 2006, 09:29 PM) [snapback]356104[/snapback]</div>

    Wow! It's like deja-vu all over again!

    Craig, welcome to PriusChat and thanks for posting your experience in having to have both the bulbs and the computers to both the driver's and passenger's HID headlights replaced... an experience which echoes mine to a "T" (for Toyota).

    The passenger side was more troublesome on our car too. It went out first, and kept going out more often than the right side.

    Folks, this is a real issue. It isn't so much that the bulbs burn out, because all one needs to do is cycle the headlight switch and they come on again, as before. If the bulb were burnt out and incapable of igniting again, then it wouldn't be able to turn on again after cycling the headlight switch, would it?

    The problem is, we don't need our headlights just going out at random, for no apparent reason. And while under the many streetlights in the city, it is hard to tell when just one headlight goes out. And it is unsafe and misleading to other drivers we share the road with to have to turn the lights off and on again while driving down the street just to restart the bulbs that should stay on until we arrive at our destination.

    So, fellow Prius HID headlight owners, my situation was not as anomalous as I originally thought. And it could happen to you too.
     
    #85 cbs4, Dec 11, 2006
  6. cbs4

    cbs4 Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jim B. @ Nov 9 2006, 07:29 PM) [snapback]346706[/snapback]</div>
    Somehow, I missed this "compliment" earlier. What nerve! It shouldn't really matter where I "hail" from... as only Toyota determines the price for repair and replacement parts to their vehicles.

    The price I was quoted was a verbal estimated made by our service writer at the dealership (a dealership that no less than 5 Prius Chat members highly recommended, which is why I went there in the first place in lieu of my selling dealer). Given that the car was still under warranty when I initially presented the complaint, the parts, labor, and three car rentals for a total of seven full days in the shop were covered.

    But should the same failure happen to you outside of warranty, after say 100,000 miles, being as mechanically inclined as you describe yourself I'm sure you will find a clever way to mount aircraft landing lights on the front bumper of your Prius, and be able to level them properly with your self-centered bubble.

    I however, will likely still be obliged to replace the factory lamps with factory lamps, at whatever price the factory deems to charge.

    Popping in non-HID lamps as replacements is not a straightforward or easy option without rewiring the car with larger wires capable of handling the higher current that Halogens burn and waste as heat. The labor time and parts cost of acquiring and fitting new engine compartment wiring harnesses and the appropriate fuse and relay changes in the electrical center would likely equate the cost of repairing or replacing the HID lamps with the original equipment that came with the car.
     
    #86 cbs4, Dec 11, 2006
  7. Pinto Girl

    Pinto Girl New Member

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    Does this have anything to do with HID bulbs that seem loose somehow? Perhaps a precursor to actually going out?

    My Prius is my first experience with a car with HID headlamps.

    You know, ever since I had the TRD suspension installed, if I go over a fairly rough stretch of road, the light coming out of one or both of the headlights seem to bounce up and down rapidly for a few times, if I hit a bump just right.

    It doesn't appear that the assemblies themselves are loose, but I didn't do any sort of exploratory surgery to learn more, either...

    These tales of unreliable HID's are really beginning to worry me. I'd hate to have the lights fail on a trip or something...is there any warning or are there other signs to look for that might foreshadow problems?

    I just learned something new: you can turn the lights off and back on again to 're-ignite' them!

    Thanks, PC!
     
    #87 Pinto Girl, Dec 11, 2006
  8. member

    member New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(cbs4 @ Nov 5 2006, 10:23 AM) [snapback]344113[/snapback]</div>
    Ecologically, Toyota put out a white paper on how recycled components are dealt with - just fine. Unless you're the type to toss your Ni-Cads into the trash...

    If your primary motivation for buying the Prius was economics, then you wouldn't have bought HID headlights, and you wouldn't have bought this car, because not everything on it is available at Fred's auto parts in rural Iowa.

    Everything makes sense. Thanks for posting!
     
    #88 member, Dec 11, 2006
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