Seriously considering a new Prius ... observations and a question or two

Hi Joel, welcome to PriusChat out here in the open...

Let me address your last question first. I think the US and Canada maintenance is the same. You'll need three oil and filter changes in 16,700 miles. The Prius uses regular gas, of course. Rotate the tires with the oil change. I don't think there's any other maintenance. Cost probably under $100.

The Prius cabin heater, like any car, gets most of it's heat from the Internal Combustion Engine. Unlike other cars, since it is designed for minimum air pollution, getting the ICE and exhaust hot is a high priority, which is at odds with getting you warm. To compensate, there are two small ceramic electric heaters in the air vents going to the front foot wells. You won't be too chilly for too long.

Now, with the exchange rate as it is, why don't you come down to Washington and get a nice leather equipped package and import it? You'd have to retrofit DRLs, but that's pretty minor. Do some searching here as several Canadians have imported US Prius.

 

And if you'd like to reduce the warm up time even further, consider using an engine block heater (EBH). Although I've never found it necessary even in the coldest of Chicago winter mornings, it will cost you approx. $40 US. You can plug it into a timer so it turns on a couple of hours before your typical commute. It's likely to reduce your fuel usage in the morning as well, since the engine won't need to burn as much fuel to reach normal operating temperature.

 

If your lucky you can find a dealer that includes Oil Changes for free.. I'm guessing they are doing this because of the Canadian Dollar, but I just bought my Prius on Monday, and I got 7 years Oil Changes complimentary - every 6 months or 8000KM.

I'm sure heat will not be an issue, its a bit cooler here than Vancouver and I've found the car warms up very quickly.

As for buying in the U.S. - with the $2000 CDN rebate, the price is not a whole lot different. (if you compare with a U.S. Touring Version, and add up all the extra taxes/fees)

 

Seems to me that the car warms up just a little bit slower than a non-hybrid, but not enough that you'd notice much of a difference, and if you have an engine block heater it will eliminate that problem, plus give you a happier engine and better mileage on cold days.

Maintenance costs for a year or 16-17000 miles? That's three or four oil changes, and a couple of tire rotations.....$150-200.

 

Well at least your starting at 32F 0C and not -22F -30C like here... a for quite a few days it was in the -teens this year and about 5 minute into the drive the heater would start blowing on auto warm air. It would take about 10 minutes to 15 mintues before it would start to get comforatable. how ever my trips where just 20 minute drives to work. My old car was about to the same so I never noticed any real differnce. This time of year around 32 the auto will kick off when set at 68 after about 10- 15 minute drive, depends on the sunlight that day.

 

My 04 with 72,000km looks like new.

 

You're welcome, Joel. I was thinking about your desire for leather seating when I suggested importing a Prius. Personally, I don't like leather; too cold in the winter and hot in the summer. The fabric in the Prius wears very well and resists soiling even better.

Shortly after getting my 2005, a valet with a ballpoint pen sticking out of his jacket pocket gave me my car with a very ugly center-console cover. I was heartsick at the smeared ink in my new car. The hotel promised to make me whole and replace the cover if necessary. I used a laundry stain remover wipe and the ink disappeared. Later, my wife found a muddy dog running loose on the road. She picked it up to save it, but the back seat was covered in red clay mud. I wiped it down with damp cloths and vacuumed the seat when it was dry and you would never have known.

Like Patsparks' car, the 2005's seats look as good as new.

 

I might add, I now have sheepskin covers over the seats, way better than leather. I put them on at 65,000km. Cool in summer warm in winter, why put up with leather without wool?