Tips for a "newbie" owner??

greenhybrid.com

Check out PriusChat.com ... you'll find loads of information there.

There are lots of th> Wife just got a phone call....she had bought one $25 raffle ticket a

Get in and drive. Toyota went to HUGE lengths to make this look, feel, smell, and drive just like any other car you'd buy from anyone else. The only difference is, it gets better gas mileage.

Prius does have a few surprises. Sit in the thing on the dealer's lot for a half-hour reading the basic sections of the Owner's Manual, and finish reading it when you get home. Note especially the break-in period recommendations.

When you pick up the car take a copy of the pick up checklist:

was written for the 2004 but most (all?) of the differences between an '04 and an '08 are invisible with respect to the checklist. Remember that when the last pip on the gas gauge starts to flash, buy gas immediately. Because of the fuel tank internal bladder you cannot accurately estimate how much gas ought to remain based on how much you put in at the last fill and how far you've driven since then.

Follow the Scheduled Maintenance Guide. More service is not required and will cost you money. Less can damage the car.

Thanks for all the suggestions.....Have just over 300 miles on it now....Still holding to the breaking-in restrictions....waiting for shipment of OEM rubber floor mats from toyotapartspeople.com. Ordered Monday....haven't heard a thing, but imagine with the holidays, it will be a few days.

For the Prius mats Local TOY dealer wanted $115.99 (MSRP is $99.99). Dealers in the closest Metro area (four-hour round trip), want $80. Toyotapartspeople wanted $68 + $12 shipping.

Whenever I buy a car, I always ask that the dealer throw in mats and pin-striping. I've never been turned down.

You may want to be careful about the floor mats:

Check the area around accelerator pedal.

Bob Wilson

Yeah, well, we got the car for free... and a cranky "lienance manager" besides who decided to try to pick a fight because I flatly refused the extended warranty...so free mats were not in the picture.

Obviously, you got a better deal than I did. :-) Just as obviously, it would take an infinite amount of chutzpah to ask for free extras on a free car.

Interesting recall. How is it the loose mat represents a danger?

Are the designs in question such that the errant mat presses down on the accelerator actuator? Or is it a floor pivot/hinged design?

In a "hanging" (overhead pivot/hinged) accelerator design, an errant mat simply interferes with foot/pedal distances, and in most cases actually limits the extent to which the accelerator can be depressed.

In the past two years, I've seen at least one person claim "the Prius ran away" and a reference to a California crash into a gas station and subsequent fire. The recall references the floor-mat somehow 'catching' the accelerator pedal and holding it down. But I don't understand it either.

If you should ever feel the car is 'running away,' just shift into "N". It is perfectly safe at any speed and will instantly take all power from the wheels. The ICE quickly spin down to idle and you can brake to a safe place.

Bob Wilson

In the reported cases the mat apparently crept up the side of the center console hump until it rode over the pedal.

It is important to ensure that the restraining hooks engage the floor mat. If you buy an aftermarket mat without holes for the hooks, cut holes into it to admit the hooks.

Elmo P. is right. As a matter of fact, when I try my best to squeeze mileage out of it, compared to not even thinking about it, most of the time I get higher mileage just driving it like any other car.

Buy it, and Drive it!

G-Man