What issues do the three generations of the Prius have? I'm pretty well-versed in the Honda hybrids, but don't know much about the Toyotas, what say the hive?
I know they are boring to drive and get good mileage, but what are the hidden problems, reliability issues, etc?
Our 07 has 125k on it and we've only replaced the water pump. We also JUST did the first brake job.
Other than that, just add gas and change the oil. We still average well over 50 mpg.
as a purely commuter car.. I would have one. But don;t know if I could only drive something that boring for any amount of time
I can't wait till we start seeing some of the Chevy, Mazda, and other manufactures getting diesels on the market. A VW Golf TDI would make a great daily, and could probably be made "fun", but I'd be worried about all the VW problems.
That being said a Prius C with coilovers and nicer wheels would probably be plenty of fun in the twisties without sacrificing its commute capabilities.
PHeller wrote: That being said a Prius C with coilovers and nicer wheels would probably be plenty of fun in the twisties without sacrificing its commute capabilities.
Did you know hard suspension is actually bad for efficiency? It causes the car to slow down more over bumps. Hypermilers use a setup similar to a stock BMW: Soft springs, soft shocks, hard as hell sway bars. This way they have the efficient soft ride and can still go around corners without slowing down too much.
My wife's second gen Prius has been trouble free for three years / 40,000 miles. The only annoying service issue I know of is the water pump. To properly bleed the cooling system you need to move a three way valve to all of its positions via the OBD port. When we bought the car only the Toyota dealers had a computer interface to control it so only dealers could do water pumps. Someone may have hacked the controls by now.
GameboyRMH wrote: Did you know hard suspension is actually bad for efficiency? It causes the car to slow down more over bumps.
drat.
GameboyRMH wrote:PHeller wrote: That being said a Prius C with coilovers and nicer wheels would probably be plenty of fun in the twisties without sacrificing its commute capabilities.Did you know hard suspension is actually bad for efficiency? It causes the car to slow down more over bumps. Hypermilers use a setup similar to a stock BMW: Soft springs, soft shocks, hard as hell sway bars. This way they have the efficient soft ride and can still go around corners without slowing down too much.
Aside from that, those ugly wheels on the Prius are actually good for (dunno how many) MPG.
Prius wheels are under 11 lbs and stiff. They are a nice upgrade on a Miata.
Hard suspension should not be bad for efficiency - it gives a more stable aero platform, and if the car slows down more going up a bump, it'll speed back up more going down.
GameboyRMH wrote:PHeller wrote: That being said a Prius C with coilovers and nicer wheels would probably be plenty of fun in the twisties without sacrificing its commute capabilities.Did you know hard suspension is actually bad for efficiency? It causes the car to slow down more over bumps. Hypermilers use a setup similar to a stock BMW: Soft springs, soft shocks, hard as hell sway bars. This way they have the efficient soft ride and can still go around corners without slowing down too much.
I have yet to convince my wife that driving fast around corners is actually a fuel-saving technique.
You'll need to log in to post.
