I commute 100 miles a day at higher highway speeds (around 75-85mph, its the flow of traffic around here) for almost my entire commute. I test drove a Prius C the other day and after about 20 miles with cruise set on 80mph, the computer showed 33mpg was the average. So I was hoping for some real world input from currently Prius C owners that commute at higher highway speeds.
View 19 RepliesWhat are the most and least optimal times to use cruise control at highway speeds?
View 16 RepliesBought a 2005 Prius with a perfect history and that recently had its 60k check up at the Toyota dealer. Don't know exactly when the sound changed since I'm not the primary driver, but now it sounds like a jet airplane when it reaches highway speeds and it's hard to hear what we're saying to each other, much less what people are saying over the Bluetooth (although the built in Bluetooth noise cancellation feature is fantastic and the person on the other end of the phone doesn't hear the noisy engine). What could be causing the car to sound like we're taking off at the airport (at any speeds above 40 mph, it seems)? Our passengers comment on the near constant background noise level.
View 10 RepliesHaving trouble with a shimmy at 65-75mph .....
View 19 RepliesIt feels like its catching, or its off and then comes back on ?? No codes, none.
View 11 RepliesCar suddenly started a high pitched whistling noise/metal on metal sound at highway speeds. It is intermittent, no noticeable pattern w/acceleration or braking. Similar sound at lower volume when the shock/spring is depressed (pushing down on that corner of the car). Louder at low speeds.
View 6 RepliesSo i was observing my battery charge indicator, it was 50% charged, and i was going 70 mph and begin to slow down to 20 mph to exit ramp, and at my best of my ability (dont have scan gauge to see if brakes are activating) I tried to use only brake regeneration (using < 1/4 way of the brake pedel) anyways when it was slowing down from 70 mph to 50 mph the battery didn't budge, but as soon as i when from 45 mph to 20 mph battery begin to charge and gained 2 battery bar, and its been consistent though out several tests i did. So my question is does the brake regeneration only works for speeds below 50 mph, and/or is the amount charged to a battery at 70 mph to 50 mph limited until speeds drops below 50 mph.
View 13 RepliesI bought 2012 Prius ii around 6 weeks ago. From day one I started noticing vibrations in the steering wheel most noticeable at highway speeds. I can describe this as high frequency vibrations that become very very annoying especially if you drive to work for an hour every day. This car has OEM Bridgestone Ecopia EP 20 tires. I took the car to the dealership twice already, they balanced the tires twice and road force tested it twice. They replaced front tires for me because based on the test results one tire was at 16 lb the other one at 19 lbs.
The new tires are at 8 and 10. They keep on telling me that this is by design and is a characteristic of the vehicle. However the Prius I test drove when I was buying it did not have this problem, otherwise I would never buy it. This vibration happens in any mode and I can even feel it at lower speed now though it is not as noticeable. I had a few people including Prius owners drive my car and everyone feels the vibration. With so many Prius models sold I highly doubt that everyone just accepts it as a feature.
The temperature has dropped down into the 30s here and in my 2011 Gen 3 Prius, when I am driving at highway speeds (55mph-75mph), and go over any sort of light bump or rough road (gently rough, nothing significant just normal "imperfect" highway bumps), there is a rattling sound coming from the front of the dashboard where it meets the windshield that can only be described as the same sound that your hand makes when it's rubbing a balloon! Not your normal plastic random rattle, but like "rubbing a balloon with your hand quickly" sound.
I don't mind that other plastic random rattles from time to time (I am not OCD about the imperfections of how much plastic is in the car), but this is obnoxious and I feel like I'm literally driving a clown car. Is there some sort of lubricant or adhesive that is between where the dashboard and windshield meet that has possibly dried out, that the dealership could quickly fix or apply? I'll still under full warranty at 22k miles.
I have a 2001 w/94k. New tires and alignment (3k). Recently I have been hearing a humming noise which can start to be heard around 45mph which gets increasingly loud up to 65mph, and then seems to quiet down if I go above 70mph. From the driver's seat it sounds like it's coming from the driver's side rear of the car and from the passenger seat it sounds like it's coming from the passenger side rear of the car. So it definitely sounds like it's coming from the rear of the car. Bringing my car in to get looked at it is difficult with my work schedule, so I thought I would try here first. Around the city there is no noticeable sound and there has been no loss in MPG that I can tell (44-47).
View 8 RepliesI just got my new 2013 Persona Prius on Saturday. I haven't put too many miles on it (under 200) but I'm noticed that a feel a stuttering or hesitation when I reach highway speeds. Typically about 65 -70mph. I can't think of a better way to describe this but it feels like the when driving a manual transmission, when you need to shift to the high gear? That kind of stuttering feeling. I'm sure that it's not the same problem but it feels like that. Once I go faster, the feeling stops. Or slower. But going between 65 to 70, it's the same feeling.
View 2 RepliesI've noticed that at speeds of 60+ (especially 65+), the Prius control doesn't seem "tight." I wouldn't go as far as saying it has a "shimmy" but it's harder to keep straight on the highway. I absolutely adore my Prius but this bothers me. I had the alignment checked and it's perfect. I know all small cars tend to be less grounded than, say, an SUV, but I'm still curious if this is normal before I take it into the dealer.
View 15 RepliesPurchased one owner Prius from Honda dealer May 2014 with 92000 miles.Now 2 months later 94000. Both service departments of Honda and a Toyota dealer said my car handles normally for a Prius.The car dips from left to right while driving at slow and highway speeds. It feels like a boat moving through water. The suspension was said to be good.Driving it feels unstable, like a Montero Sport or a stage coach. I wanted to do a lot of driving this summer, but this feels so uncomfortable.
View 5 RepliesI'm talking basically about the equivalent of your standard pulse and glide in the regular Prius. But the PiP would allow you to do it up to 62 mph. However, you would manually have to toggle the HV/EV button to do it. It would be tiresome.
View 12 RepliesWhen I am driving, especially at high speeds on the highway, the Navigation System on my Prius runs pretty slow. As the GPS icon is traveling, the movement is very choppy. It is not a smooth transition. Is there any way that I can fix this?
View 1 Replies2012 Prius Five- Had an annoying vibration coming from the trunk area at highway speeds- especially on concrete roadways. First thought was the problematic rear license plate/frame that I've read about- so I used some felt pads around the rear plate & frame but still had the annoying vibration ad highway speeds. Over the weekend I had some spare time so I started poking around in the trunk area by rapping in several areas with a heavy hand till I heard the same (or similar frequency) vibrating sound.
Eventually I was able to isolate it to somewhere under the rear deck. I removed the carpet, then plastic deck then even the spare, etc., Found it was actually coming from the sheet metal box that surrounds the connections coming from the car and relays to the hybrid battery box. Seems the metal edges of that small connections/relay enclosure were just touching the battery box metal enclosure just lightly enough to vibrate under certain conditions. But how to fix?
To make a long story short- I disconnected the 12v battery, removed the black exhaust duct over small metal cover, removed the battery cooling fan intake shroud, then two annoying orange lock rivets, then a few 10mm nuts and one 10mm bolt- and finally the metal connection/relay cover came off.
Once off- I used black electric tape to line every seam where that metal cover touched the battery box metal cover or car frame- I then lined the battery box metal cover the same way in the areas where the connection/relay cover mated on it. Reassembly was the reverse of disassembly. Upon ride to work this morning- vibration was 100% gone- fixed!
My 2006 Prius used to get GREAt gas mileage - 48 mpg around town and 55 mpg on the highway. Recently and all of a sudden, my mpg's have taken a nose dive. I now get 35 mpg! When I'm on the highway, I barely get 44 mpg. I took it to the dealer and they couldn't find anything so they are insistant that it's my driving, oxygenated gas and/or my tire pressure (even though they didn't check the tire pressure).
My driving hasn't changed; my friend with a 2004 Prius buys her gas at the same station and she's still getting ~48 mpg so I'm thinking it's not the gas; and I am OCD about keeping my pressure constant. (I own a compressor and check the tire pressure A LOT.) I drive 5 miles to work - about 15-20 minutes - on relatively level paved roads. About 2-3 times a week I travel longer distances at highway speed. I wash and wax the car fairly regularly to reduce wind drag. I have noticed periodically when I'm coasting downhill, my mpg's are less than 20 mpg so I'm thinking something's terribly wrong.
So after taking my car to the stealership to get defective door seals fixed, I start driving home and I realize the front tire is flat. After changing to the awesome 17" spare, I decide to get gas. After filling the car up, it started for a few seconds running real rough and then shut off. I tried restarting it multiple times for about 10 minutes and the car kept turning over, but no start. I finally just shut it completely off for five minutes and it restarted, but is running roughly with the CEL light on and another green light, EPL, or something like that. I was able to drive home, but the check engine light is on still and runs like crap.....Back to the dealership in the morning. What this could be? I noticed lately sometimes when I push the gas hard it kinds of bogs down for a sec before accelerating. I had them check this and they said nothing looked wrong when they tested it. Fuel pump maybe?
View 13 RepliesMy 302 runs pretty good when all warmed up. It has some cold start issues every now and then, but is easily dealt with. My question is how to best "tune" the carb. It's a 600 cfm 4150/60 style Holley single pump, vac secondaries and electric choke. About as basic as you can get. I think I have the fuel level set correctly. I also think I have the "idle mixture" set right. I used a vacuum gauge and moved back and forth between screws till I got the highest vacuum. Is there a better way than that? I have the idle set correctly. the fast idle is a little high, but I can fix that.
Now, my real question is how to fix the hiccup and stumble I get many times when I step into it pretty good. I assume that this is the point the carb is going from idle circuit to main circuit. It stumbles when I get on it real hard from a standing start. I can roll slowly and step into it and it stumbles as well. I also like to blip the throttle when I down shift (it has a manual tranny by the way), and many times I'll blip it and get nothing. Now, it runs fine after the stumble all through the rpm range. That's the only time it stumbles. so, do I need more accel. pump shot?? To compensate on the transfer of circuits.
I also notice when I on it real hard, during the shift right when I jump on it, under the heaviest load, I hear a bit of spark knock. It's not running hot, and the timing is good. Do I need a bit bigger jets? I'm thinking it's going a bit lead during that time, but I don't have any real way to measure it.
I have only been driving my Prius for a month. I have been paying close attention the to the Car energy usage screen. I have been noticing the car (while on cruise control) entering into stealth mode (Engine seemingly off and power getting drawn from battery only w/ about 3/4 bar on EV) on the highway @ 60mph going down a slight decline. I have been trying to mimic this on my own w/o the cruise control, but no matter what I try (P+G and other techniques) I cannot get the same results.
View 18 RepliesSo the gas engine shut off (I filled up the tank yesterday) when I was on the highway and the engine light came on, the triangle ! light came on and the hybrid system light came on on the GPS screen. I pulled over and turned it off, check the oil, which was a little low, but there is some in there and eventually the gas engine started up again, but it didn't sound very healthy. I need to get to work tomorrow morning...it's at the mechanics and I trust him, but if it's something stupid and silly, maybe I can just do it myself and not get charged for any diagnostics.
View 17 Replies