Prius news article

Tleg93 · Post by **Tleg93** » Fri Oct 14, 2005 2:00 pm

Prius has a problem, says Toyota
Hybrid owners to be notified of stalling glitch on '04 and '05 models; no recall issued.
October 14, 2005; Posted: 6:36 a.m. EDT (1036 GMT)

DETROIT (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday it will notify about 160,000 Prius owners around the world about a potential software problem that may cause the popular hybrid cars to suddenly stall or shut down.

Japan's top auto maker said the fault may cause warning lights in the cars to illuminate. That can prompt the vehicles to enter a "fail safe" mode that may cause their gasoline engines to stall.

Hybrid vehicles twin a gasoline engine with an electric motor and batteries to boost fuel economy.

Toyota spokeswoman Allison Takahashi said that, if the gasoline engine stalls, the electric motor will have enough power to allow the driver to pull the vehicle over and away from the traffic.

The vehicles involved in the Toyota service action are from the 2004 and 2005 model years. About 75,000 of them are in the United States and 70,000 in Japan.

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had received a number of complaints about the hybrid vehicles stalling or stopping unexpectedly, often on highways.

Toyota will be sending out letters asking customers to take the cars to a dealership for free repairs, Takahashi said.

No recall notice has been issued, she added.

Toyota sold 53,991 Prius cars in 2004 and 81,042 so far this year. There is usually a waiting list to buy the vehicle, which have the second-highest government mileage ratings of any passenger vehicles.

At least they're offering a free repair.

snowboarded · Post by **snowboarded** » Fri Oct 14, 2005 3:16 pm

Tleg93 wrote:...

Japan's top auto maker said the fault may cause warning lights in the cars to illuminate. That can prompt the vehicles to enter a "fail safe" mode that may cause their gasoline engines to stall.

...

umm "fail safe" is a term that I most likely relate to things that can go boom. Power plants, generators, unstable power sources, untested technologies, bombs...

LaureltheQueen · Post by **LaureltheQueen** » Fri Oct 14, 2005 7:36 pm

I think it's more like "limp mode"

AWD_addict · Post by **AWD_addict** » Fri Oct 14, 2005 8:37 pm

Well this wouldn't be safe on the freeway.

91White-T · Post by **91White-T** » Fri Oct 14, 2005 8:45 pm

AWD_addict wrote:Well this wouldn't be safe on the freeway.

Something with 60hp isnt safe on the freeway to begin with...lol

Tleg93 · Post by **Tleg93** » Fri Oct 14, 2005 8:53 pm

AWD_addict wrote:Well this wouldn't be safe on the freeway.

That's kind of why I posted it. If you're in the middle lane, explain to me how you're going to safely cut through HOV or fast lanes to get to the shoulder.

Manarius · Post by **Manarius** » Fri Oct 14, 2005 11:09 pm

I'll never buy a hybrid until they get like 150 mpg. I don't like that the batteries are dust after no more than 8 years. My car can live forever..that Prius will be in the yard by the time it reaches my car's age.

G-reg · Post by **G-reg** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 2:36 am

Manarius wrote:I'll never buy a hybrid until they get like 150 mpg. I don't like that the batteries are dust after no more than 8 years. My car can live forever..that Prius will be in the yard by the time it reaches my car's age.

I read that after those 8 years those batteries will cost 7-8K to replace. That's not including labor and disposal/haz-mat fees. What a deal.

wiscon_mark · Post by **wiscon_mark** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 4:07 am

eek, honda only quoted us a 2000 dollar charge for a new battery when we were looking at the civic hybrid, but it was also supposed to last longer, and the civic is less battery dependant...

entirelyturbo · Post by **entirelyturbo** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 4:08 am

Hybrids are nothing more than a green machine. There is absolutely no way you could ever save money driving one.

I don't think you could get a Prius from my dealer for less than $24k. $24,000!!! Especially if you want one now, as our waiting list is huge. Hell, we have Corollas for $13k!

Don't get me wrong. I fully commend anyone who buys one so they can impact the environment less and stop making the Saudis so rich, but that's all they're doing at this point. They're not saving any money.

wiscon_mark · Post by **wiscon_mark** » Sat Oct 15, 2005 4:10 am

yeah, we calculated that it would take it 6 years before the gas was worth it (keep in mind this was before it went over 2 dollars a gallon

, so its less time now) but the battery is just too much of an expense. If I had that kind of money, I'd probably buy an LGT new or something

Post by **Legacy777** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 3:10 am

Get this....a friend of a buddy of mine bought a civic hybrid.....and supposedly he spent close to 30k on it!! I don't know if that is true, but that's what he said.....that's freakin crazy.....

wiscon_mark · Post by **wiscon_mark** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 3:11 am

30k? The Accord Hybrid is 30k.

The Civic Hybrid is like 22k

Post by **Legacy777** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 3:16 am

He did get almost all the options, but like I said....I don't think he's very car savy....so he may not know what he's talking about, or got things mixed up....

wiscon_mark · Post by **wiscon_mark** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 3:21 am

I went to the Honda Website and loaded up the hybrid with everything and it was 26k.

Still Pricey.

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