Prius owners/mechanics please chime in

[supton]

Wow, another thread to hate on Prius. The day must end with a "y".

If you don't have a local independant who's good at debug I'd bite the bullet and go to a dealer. It might be pricey, but, you've got lots of miles on the car (I'm assuming you bought new here), so, the repair cost washes out in the end. Besides, you can always defer the repair, and just pay for the diagnosis.

 

[Doog]

Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
Originally Posted By: mewisemagic
go to priuschat.com


+1

Prius and BITOG don't mix well.


Not really it is just many Prius owners have a "holier than thou" attitude and act like they are saving the environment. People get tired of hearing how great their Prius is. Then when one has a malfunction they deny it is anything serious. The whole green movement is really very rude and based largely on politics and emotion versus any real scientific facts. BITOG is not about the green movement. So the word Prius has been hijacked by greenies to mean something derogatory toward those who share a different philosophy.

 

[itguy08]

Originally Posted By: Doog
The whole green movement is really very rude and based largely on politics and emotion versus any real scientific facts.


Bingo. One of the podcasts I listen to is NPR's This American Life. The other week's was about climate change. They interviewed a Climatologist from CO that stated for every "major weather event" he could search the records and find something in the past that was exactly the same. Yet he had to relent (probably due to peer pressure) and start to jump on the Climate Chagne bandwagon.

The fact is we don't know - our records are for a tiny sliver in the grand scheme of things. The "fact" we know weather patterns for 100-300 years (when the Earth is Billions old) is just a little concieted. We have no idea about the true patterns (and core samples at the Antartic seem to support that it's all a pattern) and man's involvememnt in it. But one thing is sure - those studying it need their grant money so will "drum up business".

 

[nthach]

DTC P3191 is a no-start condition. Have the dealer or a indy who is well-versed in Prii take a look. The P0171 lean code just so happens to coincide.
http://priuschat.com/threads/codes-p3191-p3101-amps-codes-c1521-and-c1522.126214/

 

[Smokescreen]

Originally Posted By: asand1
Originally Posted By: zerosoma
Plus, the Corolla's MPG is nice (my FIL has one) but is nowhere compared to the Prius. We're talking +20 mpg on the Prius on an average day, +30 or more on a good day.

Just saying.


Wow, my moms '04 TDI Jetta gets 48MPG

My lifetime average with the Corolla is 38.76 mpgUS..and it's no spring chicken either.

 

[Barkleymut]

yeah, but you live in Alberta. The only time you have to stop is when a moose is in the road.

I have nothing against Prius's. I think it is great that you can get 50 plus MPG in city driving. The initial cost is pretty high for the size car that you get, but if you can go 170K like the OP before any real problems then I bet the math works out in the Prius's favor. Heck I will do the math really quick. I took the fair purchase price from KBB for a 2013 base model of a Prius $23,365 getting 48MPG, a Corolla $15,400 getting 34MPG, and a Focus $16,000 getting 36MPG.

The fuel cost for 170K for each is (assuming $3.40 gallon)
Prius $12,041
Corolla $17,000
Focus $16,055

If you junked each of these cars at 170K and made no repairs up to that point then the Focus would be the best deal, and it would take quite a few more miles to justify the initial cost. But the Prius certainly is overall a low cost to operate car.

 

[Mr_Incredible]

Originally Posted By: Doog
Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
Originally Posted By: mewisemagic
go to priuschat.com


+1

Prius and BITOG don't mix well.


People get tired of hearing how great their Prius is.



...and they don't have one...


Whiners.

 

[Cubey]

Originally Posted By: Mr_Incredible
Originally Posted By: Doog
Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
Originally Posted By: mewisemagic
go to priuschat.com


+1

Prius and BITOG don't mix well.


People get tired of hearing how great their Prius is.



...and they don't have one...


Whiners.


My Vino 125 scooter gets 80+mpg. So there.

Want to be green? Ride a bicycle.

I won't buy a Prius simply because it's insanely computerized and takes a dealer to mess with.. plus the batteries cost thousands of dollars.

Once the Elio is out, it'll put the Prius to shame in terms of price and fuel economy. Yes, it only seats two but for all those single people out there like myself, or even couples without kids, it'll be heaven sent.

 

[nthach]

Originally Posted By: Cubey


Want to be green? Ride a bicycle.

QFT. Unless you have $80K for a Tesla, and even so there's still the environmental impact.

 

[Landrew]

Originally Posted By: Barkleymut
yeah, but you live in Alberta. The only time you have to stop is when a moose is in the road.

I have nothing against Prius's. I think it is great that you can get 50 plus MPG in city driving. The initial cost is pretty high for the size car that you get, but if you can go 170K like the OP before any real problems then I bet the math works out in the Prius's favor. Heck I will do the math really quick. I took the fair purchase price from KBB for a 2013 base model of a Prius $23,365 getting 48MPG, a Corolla $15,400 getting 34MPG, and a Focus $16,000 getting 36MPG.

The fuel cost for 170K for each is (assuming $3.40 gallon)
Prius $12,041
Corolla $17,000
Focus $16,055

If you junked each of these cars at 170K and made no repairs up to that point then the Focus would be the best deal, and it would take quite a few more miles to justify the initial cost. But the Prius certainly is overall a low cost to operate car.


I like the above comparison, it really pays to look at all the numbers.

If you really care about the environment then there is also TCOEI, Total Cost of Environmental Impact, which considers manufacturing, fuel consumption, emissions, and end of life recycling. I know the Prius isn't winning anything in the first and last categories.
Also stating running mileage is as important as stating your initial cost. If the guy down the street has the same car as you but bought it used and save $2500 you'll never get as good as "TCO" as him. It's a huge factor than MPG people don't seem to think about.

 

[zerosoma]

Originally Posted By: Doog
Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette
Is a Prius hybrid worth the added expense compared to a Corolla ?



Not when they get older...once past 100k they will begin to be money pits and you need to be tethered to the dealer due to the level of technology in the vehicle.


Sorry this is a late reply. But,

Most idiotic comment I have probably ever read on Bob Is The Oil Guy. Congratulations. I KNOW you are NOT speaking from experience. I have no idea where you got that notion but it's not true.

By the way, the Mass Air Flow sensor was dirty. I cleaned it and cleaned out the throttle body (was amazing the vehicle ran at all it was so dirty).

Everything went away. Problem solved! Thanks to the guys that DID help out instead of whining ignorantly about the Prius.

 

[zerosoma]

Originally Posted By: Doog
Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
Originally Posted By: mewisemagic
go to priuschat.com


+1

Prius and BITOG don't mix well.


Not really it is just many Prius owners have a "holier than thou" attitude and act like they are saving the environment. People get tired of hearing how great their Prius is. Then when one has a malfunction they deny it is anything serious. The whole green movement is really very rude and based largely on politics and emotion versus any real scientific facts. BITOG is not about the green movement. So the word Prius has been hijacked by greenies to mean something derogatory toward those who share a different philosophy.


I could care less about the environment. On my list of importance it's right below air dusting the computer keyboard. I like it because it is RELIABLE (there I said it) and it saves GAS.

I'm not going to get into a Volkswagen/Toyota debate because I know what I like and what is superior. And I hope you read my comment that it ended up being nothing serious at all - a MAF. Glad I saved myself a shop visit.

 

[zerosoma]

Originally Posted By: Smokescreen
Originally Posted By: asand1
Originally Posted By: zerosoma
Plus, the Corolla's MPG is nice (my FIL has one) but is nowhere compared to the Prius. We're talking +20 mpg on the Prius on an average day, +30 or more on a good day.

Just saying.


Wow, my moms '04 TDI Jetta gets 48MPG

My lifetime average with the Corolla is 38.76 mpgUS..and it's no spring chicken either.


Yes, the TDI Jetta. I'm not going there today.

Yeah what I meant was +20-+30 mpg, OVER the Corolla. Not 20 or 30 mpg total. So yeah, whatever the corolla gets, add 20 or 30 to it.