New To A Prius Hints And Tips?

[bells0]

Doesn't appear to be a sticky on this, so will ask away..................

Pick up the new to me 2007 T Spirit gen 2 on Saturday. Shall have it's maiden voyage on the A1 to get me home to Leeds.

Any hints and tips on anything and everything - getting the best mpg, how the toys work, disguises so that my mates don't recognise me.............................

[Hybrid Harbour]

Wear a wig and get the windows tinted asap......

[ian rooke]

Hi the Prius is such a good car to drive I would just enjoy it and let it do it's thing.Don't wear a disguise be proud and show it.

[Grumpy Cabbie]

Correct tyre pressure bizarrely make a big difference on the Prius - check them regularly.

Drive the car gently and try not to floor it as all you'll do is rev the engine. You'll start to judge where your foot needs to be for a given speed and just set it there and you'll get upto speed just as quickly but much more smoothly.

Don't listen to the radio in Acc mode as the 12v is not the best. Leave the car in 'Ready' mode and let the big 200+v High Voltage Battery take the strain.

Oh and never ever, ever offer to jump start your neighbours car with your Prius. Without going into the details, you'll fry the computers.

Failing that, sit back and enjoy the smooth and very economical ride. Contrary to popular belief, the Prius (both gen2 & gen3) will get good mpg's at motorway speeds, considering you're in a petrol automatic car.

[timberwolf]

Have you taken it for a test drive already?

I'd recommend John's User Guide it's an easy read.

http://john1701a.com/prius/prius-userguide_iconic.htm

There was an unofficial copy of the 2007 USA Owner's Manual posted somewhere on the internet.

If it is important that all the toys work, check that Sat-nav is working (i.e. some second-hand cars have the Sat-nav disc(s) missing and it is expensive to replace), reverse camera, the multi-function display, etc, before signing the deal.

Don't be tempted to put in too little petrol just to cover your trip home as the petrol gauge gets confused when only a few gallons is added to the tank (I've forgotten whether it is less than 2 or 4 gallons).

I always zero the average mpg on the consumption screen each time I fill-up the petrol tank other members may have a different view.

Car should be very quiet except when accelerating hard or when trying to maintain speed up a steep hill.

When the engine is warmed up, and you are driving at a steady speed, lift off the accelerator slightly to encourage the engine to shut off or drop the revs.

[bluenose1]

Hello, you'll love it. just sit back and enjoy. If you have got cruise control learn how to use it, (it's not hard) set it for reasonable speed and let the car do the driving. i had one for 4 yrs and loved every minute of it.

Have fun

Garry

[bells0]

Thanks for the great responses! Haven't test driven the car, and the one i'm getting is in Newcastle.

A total leap of faith to be honest - but done a lot of reading up, and hardly seen a bad review!

Good point on the toys all working, shall have to remember to ask for a demo of them all.

Walk out of my only job of 15 years Friday, get a new to me car on Saturday - thinking about it is definitely taking the edge off!!!

[Grumpy Cabbie]

You could always put a crate of milk in the back and beat all your mates to their original joke "What you bought a milk float for?"

And then smile a sly smile 4 weeks down the line when they're all complaining about the cost of fuel.

[ph47mf]

learn something new every day. i was going to start my dad's car with my prius until the very last minute when he managed to start it. i honestly didnt know i could fry my car?!

best advice for MPG - accelerate between moderately to hard to get up to speed then steady on the go pedal. take your foot when you can hear your engine is screaming for some mercy, now i manage 55mpg in town!

[Rav4ster]

Hi

Had my Gen II T4 for almost 2 weeks and done just over 800 miles so far.

On the first brim to brim fill up I traveled 474 miles and about 300 of them were motorway driving at 75-80 and I did not try to drive economically just to see what it will do and to my surprise my calculated MPG was 52.2 and car computer also showed 52.2.

After the second fill up I am driving a bit more relaxed and computer shows 55-56 MPG over 150 ish miles

You will know the car after a few days and will notice that it likes to coast and you will be using your brakes less and more gently.

I am very happy with myne and it surprised few people as it is quite quick from the stand still and others think that it should be dead slow.

Andy

[johalareewi]

learn something new every day. i was going to start my dad's car with my prius until the very last minute when he managed to start it. i honestly didnt know i could fry my car?!

Certainly can!

Rule 1 - Don't jump start other cars with a Prius or other hybrid.

Rule 2 - If your Prius needs a jump start - read the user manual and make sure you do it properly.

Check out...

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii-2010-prius-technical-discussion/105174-i-jumpstarted-car-my-2010-prius-wont-start.html

[Grumpy Cabbie]

Oh, don't run out of petrol either. Well, if you do don't think you can drive on the electric for a good distance as you could inadvertantly run the HV Battery below what it should be, resulting in a trip to the Toyota dealers to recharge it with a special machine or replace the HV Battery as you totally damaged it.

The Prius isn't an electric car, it's a petrol car with Battery assistance.

[wass]

I agree with everything GC has written.Good, sound, common sense!

As far as your mates are concerned, be a proud owner and smile a lot. Eventually nearly every single mocker will quietly approach you an enquire whether the running costs and road tax really are that low or are those Toyotas really that reliable? Curiosity always kills the cat! My boss only enquired about the milk float once and made the mistake of enquiring about fuel consumption. It turned out that i spent about the same on fuel per week than he does and he lives 3 miles from work whereas i live 38 miles from work.

You'll adapt... I still havent learnt how to use all the toys yet!

[bells0]

Does the T Spirit take ipods as an input?

[timberwolf]

Does the T Spirit take ipods as an input?

In my 2008, I've just got an Audio Aux input next to the Aux power socket, both are located in the storage compartment under the arm rest.

I prefer to burn mp3 files onto CDs as that way I've got some controls such as skipping tracks available on the steering wheel. If you use the Audio Aux input you don't have any integrated control of the mp3 player from the car.

[Peter Sale]

Another little tip is to turn the heater off 'auto' in traffic - less requirement for petrol engine = better mpg

But as everyone else says, enjoy it and don't expect it to be slow away cos it isn't !

Peter

[bells0]

Hot the car yesterday and after getting zilch help from the Ford dealership, worked out how everything works. Was a very timid first few miles!!

The sat nav decided to take me to the Tyne tunnel tole road, which I'd never been to and caused some aggro when I didn't have any change so had to get the 3 cars behind me to reverse!!!

All looked ok with the car till I got home and looked more closely.

There seems to be a line of bubbling rust right along the boot. It's just under the rubber seal of the boot glass. Is this a warranty claim?? Is like a salty white crust. Maybe it isn't rust?? It was based in Newcastle so near the salty coast.

Any ideas appreciated, taken he shine off an enjoyable drive home of 85 miles and 61 mpg!!

[timberwolf]

I've not heard of that problem before, so I don't know how often it occurs for owners who live by the coast.

I think the hatch may possibly be made out of aluminum. According to the web aluminum corrosion forms white crystals.

I don't know about the warranty, you could only claim if it was a manufacturing defect?

[Grumpy Cabbie]

And if it were still under warranty.

It's as Timber says - the hatch is made of aluminium so won't rust - as is the bonnet (well it is for sure on the gen3 and more than likely is on the gen2).

I guess it depends how bad it is. If it's not much I wouldn't worry about it. It's a 5 year old car and it's under the rubber seal. The Prius is very resistant to rust on all the generations so unless it's been bodge repaired in the past (and your issue just sounds like aluminium corrosion), then I wouldn't worry about it.

But it's your car not mine, so it's your call :)

Glad you enjoyed the ride though. They're all right these Prii aren't they? 61 mpg on your first attempt over 85 miles in a petrol car with automatic transmission. Like to see a VW Golf diesel do that!

[bells0]

Here are the pics from both sides showing the corrosion:

Really annoyed that the dealer hasn't responded to my email today. I asked why the mot cert was missing and if there was anything they would do about this marking. Not heard a peep back. They were super keen when they sniffed a sale, typical!!!

[Grumpy Cabbie]

Hmmm, has it been resprayed at some time? It's defo a different colour to the number plate light cover.

Is it corrosion or flaking lacquer? I wonder if the paint on aluminium has to be different to paint on steel if the hatch has been resprayed in the past.

And don't worry if it's been resprayed. It could be innocent in that it was scratched etc.

http://www.ehow.com/list_6299494_aluminum-auto-painting-tips.html

[timberwolf]

The MOT testing stations switched to a new system sometime late last year. My first MOT from October or November (I forget the month) was printed on plain A4 paper. If it was done late last year, it wouldn't have had a green MOT certificate. I think you can check the MOT status online?

The main body of the hatch and panel above the number plate are made out different materials.

[Chris Dance]

Like GC, I think it may have had a respray. Did you mention the state of the paint work to the salesman when you purchased the car? Some years ago I had a car which was resprayed with the wrong mix of paint and after a few weeks it looked similar to the condition shown in the photos. I think it is unlikely to be corrosion. I am surprised the Toyota dealer did not sort it prior to putting up for sale.

[afl1606]

Not sure whereabouts in Yorkshire you are, but if push comes to shove I can recommend a good paintwork man based in Huddersfield...

[bells0]

It wasnt a Toyota dealership i'm afraid. A Ford one, that must have taken it as part ex.

Bit gutted they didnt mention it, the whole deal was rushed through tbh.

Still no response from the sales guy, so may call and speak to the manager.

Car is great apart from this issue.

Based between Leeds and Bradford re the respray.