2005 Toyota Prius

[2000IsuzuRodeo]

I am on the waitlist to get the 2005 Prius. Will any 2005 Prius owners reply with their experiences and advices? Worth the wait? Mileage? How to take care of it? Please reply.

[CaptainApollo]

its worth the wait

you'll need to drain the engine oil if its overfilled. mine came with too much oil inside the engine and it decreased fuel economy about 7 mpg for me. keep your tires filled up at about 42 front/40 back for extra fuel economy. Taking care of it.... all you really need is windex and your choice of wax to keep it shiny and beautiful. Regular maintenance includes oil changes and tire rotations.. and that's about it.

[Weili]

I've had my 2005 Prius for a little over a month now. I only get about 38-42 MPG, which is significantly lower than the ratings claimed by Toyota, which is 50 MPG on highway and 60 in city.

I've tried numerous tips on squeezing more MPG out of the car but none have improved the ratings in any dramatic ways.

Of course, this could be just my car and I got a lemon as I hear pretty good reviews from most owners.

[Ironmen]

I have had my 2005 Prius now for 2 weeks. It is amazing on fuel. The car came filled up and I drove it 610 Km with 2 bars remaining when I filled it. It cost me $28.00 Canadian. Well worth the wait!!

[ashmot]

Worth wait.
I was lucky as I found one when I needed another car for the family.
I happen to get 50+ mileage driving 550 miles a fuel tank (blinking bar to blinking bar).
I happen to be concious when driving as I try to not to drop my instant mileage below 50. I drive locally and on highway every week around 500 miles a week.

[Boeing Nut]

Originally Posted by Weili

I've had my 2005 Prius for a little over a month now. I only get about 38-42 MPG, which is significantly lower than the ratings claimed by Toyota, which is 50 MPG on highway and 60 in city.

I've tried numerous tips on squeezing more MPG out of the car but none have improved the ratings in any dramatic ways.

Of course, this could be just my car and I got a lemon as I hear pretty good reviews from most owners.

Give it time. This actually sounds like the norm for mpg on the Prius. I average 43-47 overall on mine. Also, you'll read that it is affected greatly by driving habits. Another intersting tidbit is that many poeple are really paying attention to the MPG's on thier cars now just because of the price of gas. The EPA ratings are not exactly 50highway/61city. If you look closely on the sticker, it's a range of readings. for the city, it could go as low as say 40 and as high as 70, depending on several factors. Driving habits, having the heat on, and so on. I've been able to keep mine at 99.9 mpg on several occasions in the city. You may find that milage on previous vehicles have done the same thing.

Our 2004 Prius varies in overall milage depending on who drives it, me or my wife. I, of course, get the better readings. Anyways, I think you'll find that nearly everyone will have similar highway readings since everybody holds similar speeds and characteristics. City driving is where you'll encounter a learning curve. I tell people I get better milage in the city by simply - "driving like grandma". Slow but gradual starts. You'll learn how hard you can push the pedal before the gas engine starts to kick in. My personal record is 42 MPH before the gas engine started.

I try to make a game of it actually. I have often driven to the corner store and have been able to do it a couple times on just the electric motor alone. My wife gets annoyed at me sometimes after I fuel it. I'll get home after driving about 10 blocks and the average will show 99.9 mpg.

Like I said, just give it time and learn how to actually drive and understand the Prius' characteristics. These are not you run of the mill cars you've had in the past, that's for sure.

Regards

[ashmot]

Great comments and I agree that the driving habits and additional thoughts on what is the mileage one is getting helps to improve the performance of the vehicle.
Driving like a "Grandma" does slow down the general traffic pattern on the city road. While one is outshining in the mileage performance, time can be of the essence for yourself and others following you.
My wife and I do great in the mileage performance as she drives the GREAT PRIUS daily, while I drive it mostly on the weekends. She has been outshining my performance on mileage recently.
I will be on the look out and report if I see any drop in our Prius mileage.
Regards
Regards.

[Boeing Nut]

Originally Posted by ashmot

Great comments and I agree that the driving habits and additional thoughts on what is the mileage one is getting helps to improve the performance of the vehicle.
Driving like a "Grandma" does slow down the general traffic pattern on the city road. While one is outshining in the mileage performance, time can be of the essence for yourself and others following you.
My wife and I do great in the mileage performance as she drives the GREAT PRIUS daily, while I drive it mostly on the weekends. She has been outshining my performance on mileage recently.
I will be on the look out and report if I see any drop in our Prius mileage.
Regards
Regards.

I know what you mean. I only "drive like Grandma" when it will not affect others behind me.

[ashmot]

So what mileage you have been getting and for how long have you been working on the Grandma driving.
I have been driving Prius now for 4 months and have yet to complain anything about it.
When you mentioned you get 42mpg efore gas engine starts , I can only get to 35-37mpg mostly, sometimes 40-45 mpg but either case it has to be the right road conditions, you know what I mean.
Just curious

[LKRANC]

Originally Posted by 2000IsuzuRodeo

I am on the waitlist to get the 2005 Prius. Will any 2005 Prius owners reply with their experiences and advices? Worth the wait? Mileage? How to take care of it? Please reply.

THIS IS MY SECOND 2005 PRIUS. SO FAR I HAVE 5000 MILES ON IT. MILEGE IS NOWHERE NEAR AS ADVERTISED. BEST I COULD GET IS APPROS 43 MPG.I GET BETTER MILEGE ON THE HIGHWAY RATHER THEN CITY. IN THE CITY I GET APPRO 40MPG. HOPE THIS WILL HELP. LEON

[Boeing Nut]

Originally Posted by ashmot

So what mileage you have been getting and for how long have you been working on the Grandma driving.
I have been driving Prius now for 4 months and have yet to complain anything about it.
When you mentioned you get 42mpg efore gas engine starts , I can only get to 35-37mpg mostly, sometimes 40-45 mpg but either case it has to be the right road conditions, you know what I mean.
Just curious

Well, I have to admit that I had gravity on my side, I was going slightly down hill. But I can manage to get it to 30-35 many times before the combustible starts up.

On another note, I bought one of those EV modules that will help prevent the gas engine from coming on below 34 MPH meeting certain criteria. I'll post a report on it after a while to see if it makes a difference.

And IMO, 43 MPG average is still damned good. On a recent cross country trip, highway average was right at 50-51. I think the city rating is "fudged" a little bit because of the fact that Prius that are sold overseas has this EV module I mentioned earlier. North American units do not have it.

[speediva]

My parents have an 05 Prius, and they are averaging 50-53mpg with combined city/highway driving... mostly in the city. They are absolutely THRILLED with the mileage, and couldn't be happier with the car in general. As was mentioned before, they do the "gradual" start whenever possible, and they agree that it makes a big difference in the mileage. I have yet to drive it, but I'm sure with some playing around I could find some other ways to boost the already good effiency.

[Mark Rudy]

if you do the math, the prius doesnt add up as a good sound financial investment...

lets take a barebones prius (here in california that will cost you about 23,000. drive it for 5 years doing about 1500 miles a month, getting 50 mpgt (and i am being generous here as the opne i droove only got 38 mpg >.<.)

cost ---------------23000
fuel for 5 years ----- 6030 (based on regular unleaded averaging $3.35 a gallon over the next 5 years)
total cost: (not including maintenence and insurance) $29030

lets compare it to my scion xA
cost (barebones as thats all i could afford) $13,500
cost for fuel (based on same price getting the 36 mpg I get) --- 8375
total cost (not including maintenence and insurtance) $21875

doing the math my scion xA over 5 years costs me $7155 less... of course there's always the 'nifty gadget appeal of the prius, plus theres the fact it's considered a ultra low emissions vehicle (though if you do a lot of highway miles then the electric motor is all but extra added dead weight)... plus if you get lucky you MIGHT score on one of those HOV lane exception stickers... but I cant see where the prius is really all that smart or practical of a purchase. theres other cars out there that get near 40 or better mpg that are almost 1/2 the price.

[Mark Rudy]

Originally Posted by 2000IsuzuRodeo

I am on the waitlist to get the 2005 Prius. Will any 2005 Prius owners reply with their experiences and advices? Worth the wait? Mileage? How to take care of it? Please reply.

let me break it down for you

* 2006 Toyota Prius (stripped down model for cheapness) $22,955
* fuel for prius to drive 1500 miles a month, for 5
years (based on 47 mpg and gas at 3.35 per gallon) $6415
* total $29,370

* 2006 Scion xA (stripped down version for cheapness) $14,770
* fuel for Scion xA to drive 1500 miles a month, for
5 years (based on 38 mpg and gas at 3.35 per gallon) $7,934
* total $22,704

by the looks of things i can buy the scion and drive it around for 5 years on what you would just pay to buy a prius and let it sit in your driveway and never use it for an economy car to be economical it has to remain cheaper to run over a period of time and as you can see, you never recoup the extra cost of owning that prius in a 5 year time span (thats 90,000 miles of driving!)

[Boeing Nut]

Mark,

I get the feeling your not a Hybrid fan! But you are correct from the financial aspect. If someone buys a Prius or whatever, just for the milage and they already have a car that gets decent milage, they will definitely get soaked. I have the same philosophy when someone buys a Hummer over a sensible SUV.

But obviously, the Hybrids do have thier good sides. Omissions being one of them. You do have a point though.

Regards.