Hi gang, I gave my Prius its first bath before leaving on vacation. I did use lots of water on rinsing it off, with water undoubtedly draining down under the front wipers (wherever it drains from there?) and also rinsed inside the upper & lower front grilles to get rid of bugs. I assumed there was nothing but radiator inside of the front air grilles. I did not open the hood and spray the engine. Anyway, went to leave for vacation about 1/2 hour later, and when the ICE started, it missed on one cylinder (rhythmic) for about 5-10 seconds before it smoothed out. It only has ~600 miles on it and never had done that before. I'm assuming the miss was related to the car wash, as I have now put on an additional 300 miles (I'm at a hotel in Fort Myers now), and hasn't done it since. When I get back to St. Pete, I'll check again under the hood to watch where the water channels, and also what exactly is on the inside of the grilles. Has anyone else experienced this? It sounds like I inadvertently got a plug wire wet, but not sure how from just a normal wash.
On a related note, after meeting another enthusiastic Prius owner at dinner last night, I was getting gas today and a full size Mercedes Benz pulled alongside at the pump across from me. I was writing down my stats when he appeared next to me asking, "Is this one of those Hybrid cars?". I spent the next ten minutes like a Toyota salesman explaining the PSD, MG1/MG2/ICE, CVT, Atkinson/Miller cycle, and the package six options. He was absolutely amazed while pointing at his 400+ horsepower Mercedes in disgust at his $60 fill ups and high cost of ownership. In the end, he was completely sold on the Prius and planned to head to the Toyota dealership.
One thing I had never envisioned in just three weeks of Prius ownership is the Prius actually getting more attention than my Corvette! Psychologically, I guess the attention feels good in the positive reinforcement of making an intelligent choice.
What a great car.
On a related note, after meeting another enthusiastic Prius owner at dinner last night, I was getting gas today and a full size Mercedes Benz pulled alongside at the pump across from me. I was writing down my stats when he appeared next to me asking, "Is this one of those Hybrid cars?". I spent the next ten minutes like a Toyota salesman explaining the PSD, MG1/MG2/ICE, CVT, Atkinson/Miller cycle, and the package six options. He was absolutely amazed while pointing at his 400+ horsepower Mercedes in disgust at his $60 fill ups and high cost of ownership. In the end, he was completely sold on the Prius and planned to head to the Toyota dealership.
One thing I had never envisioned in just three weeks of Prius ownership is the Prius actually getting more attention than my Corvette! Psychologically, I guess the attention feels good in the positive reinforcement of making an intelligent choice.
What a great car.
