1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Rear right visibility?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by fgmg, Jun 10, 2010.

  1. kgall

    kgall Active Member

    Joined:
    May 3, 2009
    984
    152
    2
    Location:
    Olympic Peninsula, WA
    Vehicle:
    Other Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A

    Driving a lot on interstates, in a place where passing on the right is common (Ark), I have noticed this problem a lot more than most folks.
    As I've said a few times, I think this is the worst feature of the Prius at least as to safety. (i.e., I'll bet my chance of getting into a really bad accident is higher because of this than because of either sudden unintended accelleration or brake intermits on bumps.)

    I bet that Toyota could make the rear window wider and the rear side windows go further back without affecting the structural integrity of the car. This would reduce the physical blind spot and (by increasing the view of the rear view mirror) the mirror blind spot as well.

    While I have learned a lot about using mirrors from driving the Prius, I don't think it is good to assume that everyone will always set their mirrors optimally and will always drive optimally, both checking physically and in mirrors. I screw up on each occasionally, and I bet most other folks do too.
     
    crbe and The Electric Me like this.
  2. silentak1

    silentak1 Since 2005

    Joined:
    Jul 1, 2005
    893
    28
    0
    Location:
    LA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    III
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    $5 fix. Worked for me in all cars.
     
  3. Penny's Dad

    Penny's Dad New Member

    Joined:
    Dec 2, 2009
    421
    46
    0
    Location:
    Orlando Fla
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    II
    My last car was a Murano.....this car is a HUGE improvement....can't complain.
     
  4. Eoin

    Eoin Active Member

    Joined:
    Oct 6, 2009
    593
    116
    0
    Location:
    Long Island
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    Yesterday I was merging from a highway to a road and had to look toward the right rear. I could not use the right mirror as the angle was not right to see the traffic. I really could not see anything when I looked toward the right rear corner. I actually had to stop to make sure there was no traffic. These kinds of merges happen a lot around NY.
     
  5. Boo

    Boo Boola Boola Member

    Joined:
    Feb 13, 2007
    5,051
    481
    97
    Location:
    Flushing, NY
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Rear right visibility for the driver is poor. And rear left visibility for the front seat passenger is poor too.

    It's because of those huge triangles in the rear corners of the Prius created by the styling of the "C" pillars and the slope of the rear hatch.

    Because of the slope of the rear hatch and the side window lines, you might not notice these huge triangles from the outside. But inside, e.g., when you quickly look back toward the passenger side rear corner before changing to the right lane, these rear corner blind spots are huge.
     
    crbe likes this.
  6. crbe

    crbe New Member

    Joined:
    Dec 9, 2019
    1
    0
    0
    Location:
    San Carlos ca
    Vehicle:
    2019 Prius
    Model:
    Limited
     
  7. kc5dlo

    kc5dlo Active Member

    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2015
    266
    163
    0
    Location:
    DFW TX
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius
    Model:
    XLE
    maximum rearward visibilty.

    My guess is many people do not get much out of their mirrors because of the way they adjust them. I drove a Bobtail truck many years ago and the company had no problem allowing any of the employees to use it whenever they wanted. Seemed like every Monday morning when I would get into the truck, the mirrors would be adjusted so that all you could see was the side of the truck. The side of the vehicle is always in the same place so no need to look at it in the mirror. I adjust mine to show the smallest amount possible of the side of the vehicle.

    I have seen that link before and it really does a good job explaining how to set up both side mirrors to work with the inside mirror. One of those things that should have been discussed in my driver training but was not.
     
  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    107,571
    48,862
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    how do you compare gen4 visibility to gen 3?