Summary of problems reported on Prius 2010

Re: UN Regulations?

Toyota sells cars all over the world and they do need to comply, I suspect it's really not a U.S. issue.

 

i was at the dealers today, and he could have been trying to talk me out of getting the solar roof. but he said that the roof the way that it is installed after 4-6 years, the rubbers become loose and you may hear the roof. the roof design is the same as something in the scion. has anyone heard anything about this? i plan on driving my car until it dies, so obviously, if this was true, i wouldnt want a jiggling roof after 5 years.

 

I think he has trouble getting cars with the solar roof and he's trying to tell you it's no good so he can sell you a car without one. Typical car dealer stuff. Go to another dealer if he tries that there is no way to tell what else he will do.

Besides that why would he care if it becomes loose after 4-6 years? He's the one that would get paid to fix it.

 

I noticed that too and thought that a tire or tires were out of balance. Turns out it is caused by air turbulence in the back hatch. Try doing it with both back windows half way. It's even worse.

 

I did it once. I corrected it by not doing it again.

Seriously this is characteristic of every hatchback car I have owned. Kind of gives you the feeling of standing right in front of the biggest bass speaker at a heavy metal concert without the sound.:rockon:

 

Possible fix: My 2004 had the same problem, and it disappeared when I turned my rearview mirror 180 degrees. I don't know if the 2010 will do that, but in my 2004 it does, and the rear view improves as well as the auto-dimming feature.

 

Linky to thread here ...

 

This air pressure variance occurs in just about all vehicles when a single window is opened while traveling at speed limit pace. Similar to blowing across the top of a coke bottle and getting the fog horn sound. It is often reduced or eliminated when another window (opposite location) is even cracked a bit. Varies with different car models. The vibration sound can be a head shaker.

 

With both rear windows open it creates an almost sub sonic impulse. The rear view mirror starts distorting from the vibrations, almost like a subwoofer.

 

Coincidently, the Car Talk guys answered this question from someone on the air within the last two weeks. You might try their website to hear the actual discussion. Their explanation was kind of lame, but the bottom line is that ALL four-door cars do this, some worse than others.

Lemons into lemonade: If you have the sunroof, try opening the sunroof when only a back window is open. The oscillation will stop, and I've experienced a wonderful swirl of air thru the vehicle that can be very nice on a hot day. This happened in a '92 Integra and some other vehicles - haven't tried it on my Prius. The direction of the swirl depends on which side rear window is opened.

 

I think it has to do with the spoiler blocking the headlights of the car behind you.

 

I like your thinking!... suspicious with common sense... I think your spot on! :rockon:


Anyway.... Once the dust settles and if Toyota decides to do some software updates.... how will we know about it and how will it be done.

A service bulletin?

 

should this be added?
Yahoo!

 

Good question, but I would say no. The floor mat on the driver's side already has two hooks that prevent it from moving forward. I would say it's up to the driver to make sure the mats are properly secured before driving the car.

There is a thread on this crash: http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii-2010-prius-main-forum/68851-gen-iii-prius-turn-off.html

No one knows for sure if floor mats had anything to do with the crash or not. But regardless of the initial cause of the "stuck throttle" the real question in my mind is why didn't the driver put it in neutral or turn it off? and failing to do that why didn't he apply the brakes firmly and decisively to stop the car instead of applying them less forcefully to try (apparently) to slow down and letting them burnout before the car stopped?

A terrible tragedy to be sure but there are to many unanswered questions to blame the car or the car company.

 

Lets put the interior front rattle down so maybe we can find a fix.

 

I think it is more important to add the turning signal being too quiet than to try and preserve the reputation of the car.
As for the rattle, unless the cause can be identified it shoud be left off the list because it is not a defined problem.
If the Prius cannot stand up to a few comments then it is not worth having and we all know that it is worth having.

 

A rattle? be serious.

I guess the turn signal is quiet, since I don't notice it. If it is, I count it as a good thing. Next up, someone will insist the lack of engine noise is a problem.

I liked the idea of this thread, but this list is mainly showing there are no real problems. Several of these items are design issues, that most people would not consider a problem or that are inherent in the tech being used or the sunglasses being worn.

Why is hill assist even on this list. The thread it points to doesn't show any problem at all. If you mash the pedal to the floor, you get the alert. It's doing what it is supposed to do. Once you learn that, you just don't do it again.

 

I pretty much agree. For a new model the list is amazingly void of any remotely serious problems and most of the items could be considered nit-picking.