At first, when the car was brand new, the car would not lock into Park one day. I drove down to the car, my daughter was out shopping in it, and I could not get the car to make the wheels lock, even when the lever was put in "brake", and the Park button on. She was so upset that she let the car roll all the way forward into a sidewalk that resulted in the front bumper busting.
Anyway, after carefully driving the car to the dealer around 9 pm., pulling the car up to the curve and placing the spare tire under the back wheel, it turned out to be a bad control box, they said after 8 days, but we still had to pay our $500 dollar deductible to have the $3400 bumper replaced and painted.
Toyota admitted that the car would not hold itself, I already knew this, but they say that my 17 year old, scared to death, daughter, with a cell phone in the car, should have known to drive the car to some level parking lot and then get out of the car and go to the trunk/back and get her cell phone to call for help. If they don’t pay us back our deductible and have our insurance company drop this chargeable claim off of our record, we will sue and win.
Our monthly premium went from $202 a month to $258 a month because of this “Loss”.
On cold winter days, when the temp is around 5 degrees F, the digital dash speedometer is lazy and slow to respond. Once the car warmed up, it is fine. Toyota says that this may be normal. It continues to do this on cold mornings.
Sometimes the car will jerk violently. The car will do this under the same load, at the same exact spot, when I turn and gas the car going from one stop light up a slight hill. Toyota even drove the car to the spot and cannot duplicate the jerk - They say. They claim that the car has no trouble codes and that this may also be normal for the car. This car has done this same thing when I have driven in this spot, my daughter, and my wife.
The VIN number bar code will not scan most of the time when we take it in for service, the service write up guy will have to spend about 10-minutes trying to successfully type in the vin number by hand. They said that they would try to see if they could order a new vin number plate for the car, but now they have called and said that this is against the law. This one doesn’t matter, because we just sign a blank sheet and let them pull the car on around, and we walk in the front door.
We had the dealer install the “Fake wood dash trim” to the car when we bought it. Now this trim is coming loose and vibrating when the car starts to take off. I blame Toyota for this, because it appears that they didn’t properly install the trim pieces.
The left brake light is starting to fill up with water. Toyota removed the brake light assembly and inspected it, to see if we damaged it - they told us this, and found that it was their fault due to a "misaligned mold/gasket/seal/glue"- this is what the paper work says, and they ordered a new light for almost $800, they told me this is what the part would cost. Our almost a thousand dollar brake light should be in soon. I’d hate to have to pay for a hood or something for this car. Look at what our bumper cost.
I think that Toyota is doing a great job, but I expected a bit more out of them. I understand that this is a new car design, and I do give them lots of room for that.
I just don’t think that buying this car, over just buying a Corolla, was a wise decision.
The car is proving to be quiet a burden to own and the promised mpg has never been realized, even after the car has been more than “Broke IN” as Toyota put it to us. We were told that we would get 60 city and 51 roadway, but we have never seen that.
We had a 2003 Toyota Corolla automatic that averaged around 32 miles per gallon, and this Prius is only averaging around 41 mpg, which is not bad at all, but we expected more, a lot more, because of the advertising and hype, and even the sales team at Toyota. This Prius cost almost 2.5 times what the Corolla costs new, and doesn’t really deliver much more, and is much harder to drive and see out of.
We do think that the leather seats are very comfortable, and that the car’s design makes the best of every square inch of real-estate that the car sits on top of.
The climate control screen will require about 6-months of use, to finally figure out how to use it properly, without almost causing a wreck, from keeping your eyes off of the road and on the confusing flow chart type runabout, just to change the temperature.
The car does transmits a lot more road noise than what the Corolla did, but the Prius’ powertrain is very quiet and fluid like, other than this intermittent jerk that we experience far too often. This has been very embarrassing when I have had a passenger in the car with me on business, and have to explain to them what that jerk was.
I have talked to a number of Prius owners at the supermarkets and such, and most of them have had a few little, and some big bugs, but I seem to be the only one with this jerk bug.
Anyway I would have to give the car a 9 out of 10 for trying so hard and delivering a lot of promise. I just think that Toyota pushed the car a bit much, but I know that the next generation, or newer year models will be much improved.
By the way, our 2003 Corolla had 45,000 trouble free miles on it before we traded it in after a wreck. I think that if I could have gone back in time, we would have just bought another Corolla. We bought the Prius because it seemed so neat at the time and the thing to do, not to mention the $2000 tax credit that we took, which I read at the dealership is now up to $3400. I knew we should have waited.
I think that with me being the head of the household, and the safety of my family at the top of every decision that I make, I will most likely trade the car off soon for a more conventional car. My daughter is still a bit leery of this cute little car after her parking failure ordeal and the jerking problem.
I think that we will look at a new Camry non-hybrid, or even maybe a diesel by Volkswagen or Mercedes.
I will give them a bit more time to pay back my deductible, and absolutely find and fix this jerking power train issue, or else the car is gone. Please understand I am not blaming the car, I am upset with my experience with this particular car, and the lack of resolution that we are experiencing. I think that Toyota is doing all Americans a favor by bringing the Hybrid cars to market and helping to save the Earth.
I just wonder what kind of depreciation bullet I will have to eat? We lost over 50% of the value of out Corolla in just 2 years, but it did have 45,000-miles on it, and was just repaired from a major accident.
Please post if you have solved/have this jerking issue. Mine does it when the car is going about 20 mph up a slight hill under medium acceleration, right as I let up on the gas a bit. It is just a one time jerk, and kind of bounce of the front of the car.
One last thing, the dealer seems like they are skittish when Prius owners pull up. I get the feeling that the repair department does not know a lot about this car, and would rather not see them come back in for work. I wonder if Toyota has cut back on their training programs, and thus caused their mechanics to become less confident in themselves?
I really don't know what to make of your "review". I can say this though, you need to be driving a Corolla. I appreciate the detail of your review. I think you're a bit critical of your Prius. You said it's averaging 41 mpg. That's great gas mileage any way you look at it. Hybrids are actually more economical than their conventional counterparts in city driving. It sounds like most of your driving is on the highway, hence the lower than expected mileage. With that said, the Prius is delivering on its "green/economical" promise. Sell it if you don't like it and get your beloved Corolla back.
Poor judgement to let a 17 year old to practice driving on a new car, especially an advanced hybrid such as the 2005 Prius. My 2006 Prius manual parking brake needs to be pressed firmly to stop the car on a slope like my Mom's 1995 Ford Taurus. Park button on the hybrid transmission is just to lock the transmission, not to stop the car, just like my Mom's 1995 Ford Taurus. My Mom's Taurus will still roll forward slightly without the pushing the manual parking brake. Toyota was being extra nice to fix the car for you. Please remember consequential damage from operational mistakes or lack of driving experience is not covered by warranty. Even your insurance company raised your premium and qualify this event as your daughter's fault, not the car's.
The speedometer and VIN number complaints do not make sense and sounds suspicious. The digital speedometer only displays a number, not like the older style analog dial that moves slowly. The VIN number is clearly visible both on the dash and on the door frame. Fake wood dash trim is not a factory accessory and therefore only the dealer is responsible for poor installation, not Toyota. Installing a non-Toyota accessory is completely at your own risk.
Posted EPA mileage are not reached by any car. The EPA test assumes no A/C, very light acceleration, moderate weather and obeying all legal speed limits. I would suggest car buyers to look at Consumer report for the real world gas mileage. For Corolla they had 29 mpg average and Prius had 44 mpg, better than 50% improvement!
Given the usage of the car, Corolla would have been much wiser choice than the Prius. Your comment about the climate control sounds like you do not own a Prius. The temperature control is right on the steering wheel. I change it constantly in my 2006 Prius.
Overall, I am suspicious this review was more of a smearing campaign than a real review from a real Prius owner.
I know what the poster is talking about with the lazy speedometer in cold weather. It is digital, liquid crystal display to be exact, and when something LCD is exposed to cold temperatures, it can be slower to respond. That's just the "nature of the beast" so to speak. Try leaving a cell phone in the car over night during the winter (35 degrees or lower) and then when you get in the next morning, try dialing numbers on your cell phone. That will act "lazy" as well. That complaint really isn't the car's fault, it's just the way the speedometer is made. I agree with the poster about the transmission failing. The dealer said it was a component failure, so therefore, they SHOULD pay this person's deductible for them. Lord knows it's not going to hurt Toyota any! Especially if it was a mechanical failure.
These hybrids are not all they are cracked up to be. I drive my 2004 Chevy Malibu LT V6 to work everyday to Buffalo, NY, and my car CONSISTENTLY gets 40 MPG on the highway, and about 24 in the city. The window sticker says city 21 highway 32, and my car beats both of those figures daily. And that's in a vehicle with 201 hp. God Bless the Malibu... I sure love it... And I didn't have to spend a crazy amount of money for it either. And it has been super reliable! 74,000 miles and counting with NO trouble, whatsoever. Thank you.
To the June 24th poster:
First off, the reviewer never mentioned letting his 17 year old daughter "practice" driving in his Prius. She's obviously a licensed driver, in which we all know you have to pass tests to achieve, because insurance wouldn't cover any of the damages resulting by an uninsured driver causing them. So it's not really fair to say the reviewer lacks proper judgement.
If the dealership mechanics even stated it was a bad controller box, it doesn't matter who tried to park the car in that same exact spot, the car would've done the same exact thing.
If the 17 year old girl (or even you) had been driving down the interstate, even at the posted speed limit, and the front wheel fell off, causing her (or you) to drift into oncoming traffic resulting in a head-on collision, would it be safe for you to blame the girl for the accident just because she wasn't skillfully able to keep the car from drifting into oncoming traffic? No, it was an ACCIDENT caused by a faulty vehicle part(s). Either way, the reviewer would've most likely have had to pay his insurance deductible, causing a rise in his rates. Though a head-on collision and a cracked front bumper are two obvious different scenarios, they are still the same situation; an accident caused by a defective part.
Second, though it's not stated specifically, it's obvious to anybody when he is saying "Toyota", that when it comes to installation/repair work, the reviewer is speaking in regards to the dealership.
To the reviewer:
Thank you for the detailed review. Though I only own a 2003 Chevy Silverado, this review has helped me in making a decision in my new vehicle purchase I will be making within the next few months. (Including Mazda 3, VW Golf, Jetta, or Rabbit, and I've toyed with the thought of MAYBE looking at a Prius)
I tested a Prius yesterday for about two hours. Once I understood the starting procedure, it was easy to drive. As for the air conditioning, very easy to operate and the screen had simple touch features for everything. This vehicle got about 42 mpg in the driving I did. The one complaint I have is the driver's seat didn't have enough room when it was fully back for me, I am 6-2.
Question for Prius owners: as a passenger in one once I noticed a "surge" as engine moved to gas from electric.. I couldn't figure if it was the driver or the car... very annoying to say the least.
To the last poster (8/6) : be aware that this car has a CVT (continuously variable transmission). It is a highly efficient design, and actually much simpler than the cone-belt CVTs which are appearing with greater and greater frequency in other cars. Anyway, the CVT does not have to "shift" like a regular automatic. It looks at the overall situation, sets an effective "gear" ratio and with the ECU, it allows the engine to surge to its most efficient rpm, and then keeps adjusting both as you reach your target steady speed. It can take a tad of getting used to (I just bought a Prius about 10 days ago myself), but it's OK when you realize what it's up to (saving you gas!).
Our 2005 Prius caught on fire at only 4,200 miles. One of my employees was taking the car across the interstate, just one mile, to pick up the pizza for the Friday pizza party. She states that the car’s cabin started to fill up with a strong pungent smoke. She was stuck in still traffic so she was able to easily exit the car with out any injuries.
The official report, from the police, fire, and insurance investigators, says that the area of ignition was behind the dash cluster and quickly spread through the dash panel to the passenger side of the car. The fire was thought to of been caused by some unknown electrical failure.
Visit the nhtsa.gov’s web site to see the full report, which may lead to a recall, I was told. I later found out that Toyota did send an investigator to the impound yard to probe the car. After a few weeks of leaving many messages on many different phones, Toyota did get back in touch with me and they apologized for the “event”, they would not even call it a fire, they call it a “Rapid and uncontrolled release of excess electrical energy secondary to present fuel sources including plastic, foam, and other wiring. I was able to eventually get to talk to someone in investigations and he mailed me a copy of the preliminary internal “Confidential” report that says that the fire was unrelated to any hybrid component and that this was an isolated and unfortunate event and that Toyota was not aware of this happening to any other Prius owners.
To be fair, this employee is a very heavy smoker, but she claims that she was not smoking in the car, per company policy anyway, but I did disclose this to the investigators and they assured me that this fire was in no way caused, or helped to be caused by a cigarette.
The Toyota dealer was super friendly and got us another Prius in only 2-days. We did have a delivery van burn a few years ago, so I do not hold Toyota responsible for this, because Toyota has always done the right thing and if a problem is present in the 2005 Prius that leads to fires, I don’t have any doubt that Toyota will replace all the cars for free or correct the problem.
In the past our Toyota dealer has replaced the engines in two of our cars under a silent recall and they even let us use a new car free of charge for the time. They didn’t even charge us for belts, hoses, or fluids. Nissan also replaced 3 engines in three Quest mini vans, under a silent recall a few years ago, but they made us pay for fluids, belts, and hoses.
I suspect that Toyota will in fact pay back this guy for the deductible and that his insurance company will re-rate him. You have to be patient.
Did you get the Pizza for Friday night's party?
Wow! This is shocking! First of all, just about every car on the road gets better gas mileage on the highway than it does in the city. Well, Prius would be the exception. So to buy a Prius for (mainly) highway use is almost as insane as getting a rental and pouring premium fuel in it. Why not buy a far, far cheaper alternative (a Corolla would be a good example), because fuel savings will never ever offset the purchase price. My Saturn SC gets over 50 MPG on the highway! No, I am not kidding, nor am I exaggerating. Actually my record trip was 54 MPG, that's because my car is in tip top shape and I do care about getting as good a gas mileage as I can. Oh, and no, to keep my car in great shape it does not cost a lot either, just because I know a lot of import buyers will be quick to point that out. Other than regular maintenance, plus new tires and ignition wires and plugs I've spent nothing on it. Not bad for a six year old (american) car. Yes, the Saturn SC and its amazing economy is one of those little known secrets of the industry.
Back to the Prius. I am glad I didn't make a mistake of purchasing one of these, yes, they are nice, but you certainly pay for the technology, and the above review is not an isolated case when a manufacturer's optimal MPG ratings are far off what you might end up with in a real world.
Yes, the Prius is not a wise decision if you do highway driving a lot, since its fuel economy with the regenerative brakes is found in stop and go traffic.
That said, my friend is averaging 47 mpg in his and that is significantly better than virtually any car out there. Again, we are talking AVERAGE.
The EPA listings have always been wildly exaggerated and that is changing with revised rules next year.
You buy a Prius for its technology and not for the economic argument behind it. You are paying almost exclusively for what's under the hood than what's in the interior.
The only misjudgment by the poster was buying a Prius in the first place. Hybrid technology is interesting and holds promise, but the extraordinary expenses required to buy and maintain what would otherwise be a $12k econo-box, coupled with the indifferent service rendered by the poster's dealership, renders the decision to invest in a Prius faulty. The only people who can really afford to subsidize both this experiment and Toyota's profits are those few who couple upper middle class wealth with a slavish devotion to the green cause du jour.
We have a 2004 Prius with 55,000 miles of mixed hi-way and city driving. It has been one of the most dependable autos we have owned. We always keep detailed records on all our cars. The Prius has averaged 47.4 in mixed city driving and 50 on long hi-way trips at legal speeds over a period of 50,000 miles. Most recently I took a road trip to Chico from San Jose (245+miles each way) and got 47.8 against a headwind up and 51.3 returning the next day mostly at California freeway speeds. Gasoline economy is important, but we think reduction in green-house gasses is equally important. This automobile enables us to maximize both and still have a dependable, comfortable,safe 5 passenger family sedan. Kudos to Toyota!
Batteries fail within the first 5 years. Dealers denied it. Like most Toyota products, owners denied problems like dealers. Not to mention loose body structure, rust in the north and overall weakness. Liliputian suspension parts.
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