Is It Worth Getting The Gen 2?

[ph47mf]

yea i know i am not that lucky. haha. what's the highest anyone has done? if i get 500 then i am a happy bunny!

the problems that's bugging me

apologies for the poor quality pic, but you get the idea

[ph47mf]

rang the dealer today to sort out the bubbled lacquer alloys and slight knocking noise when on full knock, their response is that they will charge £50 diagnostic fee before they do anything. what's the point of having the extended warranty?! it should cover everything except wear and tear.

not to mentioned my insurance has gone up which is definitely not what i expected. (had a 1.6 auto before this)

appearance wise, i'm going to take the wheel covers off, the grey ones have a jap feel to it, i like it!

[jdrrco]

The Gen2 didn't have heated exterior mirrors.

Mine does

[timberwolf]

The Gen2 didn't have heated exterior mirrors.

Mine does

Lucky you - it wasn't available on the Gen 2 UK spec. Either you don't have a UK spec model, it has been modified, or they made a mistake in the factory.

[sjrainsford]

I've got the wheel trims off of mine as I too think the exposed wheels look nice. You'll need to buy some centre caps for the wheels though as I've done. I got some off eBay.

[ph47mf]

I have done it, removed the wheel covers, then it took me a good hour to clean them properly as i dont think they had been cleaned in its whole life. the brake dust was inches thick! now having trouble locating (cheap) centre caps with the same colour.

i reckon it looks good especially at this distance, but close range? ugghhhh

do you think Mr Toyota would change them on warranty? the scuffs were done by previous owners but there are definitely some bubbling of the lacquer and some sign of corrosion. if you look at the white patch, it !Removed! peeled off! :!Removed!:

what else do you think i should do to improve the appearance? not fast and furious style but certainly make it a little more stylish. the alloys are a great start, perhaps tinted windows? it normally looks good on silver cars. any suggestions welcome

[sjrainsford]

My centre caps are chrome. Look really nice on the grey wheel.

[jdrrco]

what else do you think i should do to improve the appearance? not fast and furious style but certainly make it a little more stylish. the alloys are a great start, perhaps tinted windows? it normally looks good on silver cars. any suggestions welcome

De-badge it. I've taken all the badges off mine now (except for the T-logo thingy) and it looks so much better and less-cluttered. Mine being black too, it now looks like a stealth hybrid!! :D

[ph47mf]

My centre caps are chrome. Look really nice on the grey wheel.

you got a picture i can have a look? and perhaps the link to the centre cap you bought?

[sjrainsford]

Yeah sure. Will sort one out toward the end of the week when I'm off work and can give it a wash.

[ol'git]

I have done it, removed the wheel covers, then it took me a good hour to clean them properly as i dont think they had been cleaned in its whole life. the brake dust was inches thick! now having trouble locating (cheap) centre caps with the same colour.

SNIP

i reckon it looks good especially at this distance, but close range? ugghhhh

SNIP

do you think Mr Toyota would change them on warranty? the scuffs were done by previous owners but there are definitely some bubbling of the lacquer and some sign of corrosion. if you look at the white patch, it !Removed! peeled off! :!Removed!:

what else do you think i should do to improve the appearance? not fast and furious style but certainly make it a little more stylish. the alloys are a great start, perhaps tinted windows? it normally looks good on silver cars. any suggestions welcome

You could always get one of those 'wheel refurb' blokes round, about £30 - £40 per corner (depending on where you live), looks great when they're done, I had mine done on my Mondeo, gives the car that 'new' look.

[ph47mf]

yea i could i suppose but i am hoping Mr T would cough up, if not then i will consider that option. bottom line is 5 years old alloys shouldnt corrode.

so far i have bought some tailored mats, some roller blinds for the rear windows (don't want tints as i have experienced previously, winding window up and down will scratch the films no matter how good the job was), some air freshener to clear the old people smell LOL and aero wipers for front and back.

it may not be people's taste but i'd like to add LEDs for licence plate and interior and perhaps some HID for the front. though not those stupid audi daytime running lights which i find very tacky. anyone know anything about these or where do buy it or know how difficult it is to install it?

and probably reverse sensors as well, don't shout at me but those halford packages look ok.

[kithmo]

I can't find it now, but there was a wheel refurbisher somewhere near Blackpool that had refurbished Prius Gen 2 wheels in stock and you just drove up there and he changed them over after putting your tyres on. IIRC it was about £50 per wheel though.

[ol'git]

yea i could i suppose but i am hoping Mr T would cough up, if not then i will consider that option. bottom line is 5 years old alloys shouldnt corrode.

so far i have bought some tailored mats, some roller blinds for the rear windows (don't want tints as i have experienced previously, winding window up and down will scratch the films no matter how good the job was), some air freshener to clear the old people smell LOL and aero wipers for front and back.

it may not be people's taste but i'd like to add LEDs for licence plate and interior and perhaps some HID for the front. though not those stupid audi daytime running lights which i find very tacky. anyone know anything about these or where do buy it or know how difficult it is to install it?

and probably reverse sensors as well, don't shout at me but those halford packages look ok.

You could try here for HID Clicky not cheap though, also do number plate LED's.

[ph47mf]

price is okay, i was expecting it to be over £100. is it a front bumper off operation? someone has been saying it's hard to change the bulbs unless you've got girls' hands. more importantly, will it throw up some kind of error on the car's computer?

[ol'git]

price is okay, i was expecting it to be over £100. is it a front bumper off operation? someone has been saying it's hard to change the bulbs unless you've got girls' hands. more importantly, will it throw up some kind of error on the car's computer?

No idea mate, I haven't got my Prius yet, they do have HID fitters on the site but that's for London, surely there's someone in your part of the UK that fit's them.

[ph47mf]

oh a potential gen 2 buyer?

i love mine!

[ol'git]

oh a potential gen 2 buyer?

i love mine!

Nah, waiting for March to look at the new Prius+ or the new Prius Gen4?

I'll keep polluting the air with my Diesel Mondeo till then ;).

[Opifex]

......and perhaps some HID for the front......

Hate to be a spoilsport but before fitting HIDs you should look at the changes to the MOT that are coming in at the end of this year.

The VOSA Testing Directive includes the following sentence

Therefore, in order to pass the MOT test, vehicles fitted with after-market HID systems would also need to be fitted with headlamp cleaning and self-levelling systems

.

It would be a shame to fit them now and then have to take them out again in January when it fails the MOT.

[ph47mf]

cleaning?! i could do that myself! haha

thanks for pointing that out, ok so what's the most powerful halogen bulb there is then? the current ones are abysmal, i'm better off with a torch.

ol'git i saw somewhere the Prius+ can only muster 40mpg, which is ok for a 7 seater but rubbish for a hybrid. i'd say gen 4.

[ol'git]

ol'git i saw somewhere the Prius+ can only muster 40mpg, which is ok for a 7 seater but rubbish for a hybrid. i'd say gen 4.

Thanks for the info ph, I know the Prius v (Prius+) has only been out in the US for a couple of weeks (albeit a 5 seater), and granted, posters are showing mpg of around 40 - 45, but remember, that's US gallons, ours are about 10mpg more I think?

For a car that weighs around 16 stone heavier (reported 230lbs US) than the current GenIII and is wider, longer and taller, I'd be happy with around 50 - 55mpg, plus the extra luggage space and rear leg room would be ideal for my two long legged daughters, their junk and of course, handbags .

I'm definitely going to keep an eye on the 'Priuschat' forums to see how things pan out mileage wise, and if by any chance thing's go 'boobies up ', I can always go the Gen4 route or failing that, a loaded GenIII.

[ph47mf]

Fuel update, i have done 250 miles and still have half which is 5 bars remaining. at least 450 is the target!

[kithmo]

ok so what's the most powerful halogen bulb there is then? the current ones are abysmal, i'm better off with a torch.

You can't legally fit more powerful bulbs as in higher wattage. Not just the legality of it but it could overload the wiring.

New bulbs are always brighter than old ones anyway so you would gain from just fitting new ones.

But if you want more efficient bulbs then there are several on the market such as the Phillips vision Plus etc. which project the beam further and wider than the cheaper bulbs.

There are also cheaper, brighter bulbs with the same wattage as standard, usually with a blueish tinge and blue coloured glass, they look brighter but IMO don't project the light as well as Vision Plus etc.

Check out Autobulbs

They have an eco bulb on there too.

[MSHasan]

....

it may not be people's taste but i'd like to add LEDs for licence plate and interior and perhaps some HID for the front. .... anyone know anything about these or where do buy it or know how difficult it is to install it?

....

I've swapped out all the interior bulbs for LEDs in mine. The panels are called SMDs and can be found pretty cheaply on eBay. A thread on PriusChat was my inspiration:

http://priuschat.com...wold-style.html

THAT is a bit of an overkill IMO so I didn't buy as many panels as he did! - even so, I did underestimate the brightness of these bulbs as I've still got two spare (was planning on replacing the rear dome light with 3 panels but one was more than enough)

I bought them from a chinese seller on eBay:

http://www.ebay.co.u...=item256914232b

These were the best value for money at the time but you'll have to check what's best now. Look out for the number of SMDs per panel and the brightness number (i think thats what they are!) which is 5050 in the above link - these are superior to the 1210s.

The 24 SMD panels were perfect for both the front doors as well as the three dome/map lights in the front. I did order a 48 for the rear but I actually received two 24s and couldn't be bothered to chase it up with the seller. For the boot space I think I ordered a 16 or 12 set but I can't remember. (Can't check at the moment either as the car is at the dealers after my accident :()

One thing to note though is that these just have a wire running out of the panel so there's no way to keep them in place on their own. Its okay for the boot and the two doors as these have a harness type of thing which you can secure them with but for the dome lights I used blutack - this was not a very good move as it turns out as the blutack just melts and the thing falls off! I then realised there's no need blutack it at all as it rests perfectly fine on the light cover and doesn't move or rattle when driving.

Hope that helps!

Hasan

[ph47mf]

Wow impressive stuff. the Gen 3 through that link looks like a laboratory. that's bright! to be honest i was only thinking of buying a single LED bulb sort of thing as a direct replacement. How easy is it to fit these and does it throw up any errors on the computer? If only you live close enough!

btw thanks kithmo, i'll shop around.