Took my first test drive in a Prius today, Great car! The salesman claims no maintenance has to be done on any of the hybrid system, is that really true? Also I was told the Prius has special fabric and insulation in the passenger compartment to enhance the climate control. No leather or sun roof available. I thought the car handled very well, seemed a lot like a corolla. You have to get on a buyers list and hope that they will deliver you a car in 3 to 6 months. Even then you may need to be flexible on the cars options. Anyone have any Prius buying comments? I?m also worried about all the electrical connections, living in a rust belt state.
Glad you like it. Mine, acquired on August 1st, has behaved well in UK conditions. No maintenance on the hybrid system? Hmm, I'd say it depends where you define the limits of that system: eg, is the petrol engine part of it; do we stop short of the spark plugs and their routine servicing? He probably was a tad sales-hungry. Maybe he should have said "little" and "most of". The car is like many modern ones: loaded with sensors and issues warnings at the drop of a hat. The annual service probably reveals impending troubles when the car's diagnostic memory is read out.
Example of a warning...
The other night, about six hours after sunset, I was heading home and was alarmed by the sudden appearance of a new-to-me dashboard icon like a yellow wigwam with a big fire inside it. Not wanting to add to the UK's road accident statistics, I held off searching through the fine manual until parked off the main road. It seems the car was concerned to tell me that outside air temperature was
3 deg Celsius or less. The "wigwam" was actually a road reaching away into the distance, while the "fire" was a snowflake. I have since seen the icon come and go; every time, a small yellow alert appears on the central info panel for a few seconds. Panic over.
ISTR leather being an option in the UK versions. I may be wrong.
A sun roof IMHO would screw up the airflow dynamics and wreck the mpg. Its extra weight, ditto. Maybe Toyota don't expect to sell many to green-minded owners who may also be farsighted about skin cancer from excess sun exposure.
I hear it sometimes rains in Japan and the UK. We survive. ;-)
My Prius is the first sunroof-less car I've had in the last 10 - 15 years. I almost never slide it back. I tilt it to promote the flow of air through the cabin. That's quieter than opening the back windows, and the airflow keeps me more alert than the radio does.
I'd accept the rise in gas consumption if I could get a sunroof in my next Prius.
Not exactly a Prius-only issue: I'm not being dogmatic here, but raising a possibility. Apparently (a report I read in the 1970s in "New Scientist" magazine) not many drivers know subsonics can be generated by part-open windows. If they were audible, they'd be very loud; but they are below audible frequencies, so cause a generally unpleasant feeling leading to various symptoms such as fatigue, irritability and the like. That "NS" article cited the case of the Bristol aircraft works, where engines for "Concorde" were being tested -- way over the far side of the airfield site. A new draughting building was found to be unpleasant to be in if the engines were running; tests showed it was resonating at sub- sonic frequencies. Just a word to the wise. The car's air vent system may be the best way to bring in that Outdoors Experience.
Things look pretty well sealed electrically. As far as the hybrid system needing maintenance, only thing I note in the manual is changing the inverter's coolant along with the regular coolant at something like 100k. The '06's will have leather available, and a better tax break can be had after January 1. Those reasons combine to make 2005's more available in many areas. Our '05 averaged 49mpg for the last 3,000 or so miles; beats the F350's 17 on a good day all to hell.
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