[ddire]

All I can say is WOW! I really like this car. I currently drive an '01 Accord Limited. Great car but not totally happy with it (too many problems in my opinion)

Anyway, back to the Prius. It is SO smooth and quiet! Highway ride is great... still pretty quite, a little more engine noise than my Accord at highway speed.

The system IS truly smeamless.... You can't tell when the ICE kicks in on the highway!!

Sitting at a stop light is the coolest part of this car..... Everyone around you is wasting gas (or diesel) and we are just sitting there enjoying the A/C!!

I do have a few questions though.....

Do the Canadian cars come with the HID headlight system?

What are peoples experience with snow (could you provide a comparison to your other/last car?

Is the mileage at it's peak out of the box or does it get better after break-in?

Anyone have trouble with wind noise around the rear hatch? Our tester (according to the wife in the back seat) was "a little" noisy...

Anyway, I love this car!!

ddire

 

[neprius04]

Gas Mileage

8) Once the engine is broken in at approx. 7500 miles you will see a this car does get 50 mpg on the highway.

Ben

 

[Daniel]

Do the Canadian cars come with the HID headlight system?

What are peoples experience with snow (could you provide a comparison to your other/last car?

Is the mileage at it's peak out of the box or does it get better after break-in?

The Canadian Prius does not have HID headlights.

I never drive in deep snow (I wait for the snowplows to come through - the car is fairly low to the ground) but on ice it is fantastic. I have the "AM" package with VSC, plus traction control and ABS are standard, and they keep it rock-solid on ice. Whether stopping (ABS) making too fast a turn (VSC) or starting at an icy intersection (traction control) this car is great!!! (No comparison with my 1989 Civic, which had none of the safety/control features.)

Most people report improved mileage with time. It's worth noting, however, that I drive short trips mostly, where mileage is at its worst, and i got mine in January (cold weather is terrible for mileage) so my accumulated miles have gone along with the onset of spring and summer. So I cannot really say whether my improved mileage is due to break-in or warmer weather. I get 50 mpg at 55 mph; 44 mpg at 75 mph; and my very short-trip city average is 45 mpg. I honestly believe it would be 55 if my daily commute was longer. In the middle of January when the car was new and the heater running full-blast I was getting around 30 mpg.

A great resource for information is http://john1701a.com/ . John lives in Minneapolis, MN, where it's almost as cold as Fargo.

 

[ddire]

Ok, another question I forgot to ask...

Is the ICE mechanically connected to the drive wheels or not?

d

 

[ehurtley]

Ok, another question I forgot to ask...

Is the ICE mechanically connected to the drive wheels or not?

d

Well, there has to be some kind of mechanical connection, otherwise it wouldn't be able to turn the wheels.

If you're asking if it's a 'direct' connection, through conventional gears, then the answer is no.

It connects using to planetary gears, to a 'continuously variable' transmission. This means that the transmission varies its gear ratio constantly, rather than using one of a fixed set of gears. In the Prius, the electric motor is also linked to the transmission this way, so the transmission can control how much power from each source goes to the wheels.

In short: no, it's not possible to push-start a Prius with a dead 12v battery. (Since you can't engage the ignition system at all without use of the computer control, nor can you shift it into drive without computer power.)

 

[Victor]

Ok, another question I forgot to ask...

Is the ICE mechanically connected to the drive wheels or not?

d

Here is an excelent explaination of the drive train. One of the best Ive seen and it helped me get my head around how it works.

http://home.earthlink.net/~graham1/MyToyotaPrius/PriusFrames.htm

You also asked about wind noise. No its not a problem. I wonder if your wife was sitting on the right hand side at the back? If so, maybe she was hearing the outlet from the battery cooling?
Its about sholder height on the back RHS.

 

[ddire]

True, she was sitting on the right hand side, I will have to ask her about that.

I noticed the MFD was in L/100KM, is there a way to switch it to MPG for us old fogies?

d

 

[Victor]

Yes, on the USA version there is. I cant remember the details, but its something like hold down the odo button for 3 seconds??? Try the search button (at top of page) perhaps :wink:

 

[mrv]

Ok, another question I forgot to ask...

Is the ICE mechanically connected to the drive wheels or not?

d

Well, there has to be some kind of mechanical connection, otherwise it wouldn't be able to turn the wheels.

If you're asking if it's a 'direct' connection, through conventional gears, then the answer is no.

It connects using to planetary gears, to a 'continuously variable' transmission. This means that the transmission varies its gear ratio constantly, rather than using one of a fixed set of gears. In the Prius, the electric motor is also linked to the transmission this way, so the transmission can control how much power from each source goes to the wheels.

In short: no, it's not possible to push-start a Prius with a dead 12v battery. (Since you can't engage the ignition system at all without use of the computer control, nor can you shift it into drive without computer power.)

actually, the 2001-2003 Prius does have a interlock override switch that'll let you move the gear switch into Drive (or preferrably Neutral) should you need a tow and cannot start the Prius. The 2004, however, you'll have to jumpstart in order to change into Neutral for towing...

 

[mrv]

Yes, on the USA version there is. I cant remember the details, but its something like hold down the odo button for 3 seconds??? Try the search button (at top of page) perhaps :wink:

No, all we can do is switch the spedometer from MPH to km/h using the appropriately named button. The LCD screen is set at manufacture to be MPG or l/km based on the market that they're going to.
I kinda wish that the trip odometers would switch to km when the km/h / MPH button was pressed, so that it would be easier to follow directions...

 

[ddire]

Can't switch to MPG? That's kinda strange.... the CPU must be able to calc both ways... why bother locking it out? Grrr...

Who know the back door to fix this?

d