The following:

1) 110 VAC outlet - installed a 1 kW inverter but want more.
2) auto 'pulse and glide' - manual for now but an automated system later this year.
3) variable air inlet - manual now but an automated system later this year.
4) block, transaxle and battery per-heater - planned for later this year.
5) transaxle lock-up at cruise - under investigation
6) tail pipe heat recovery - under investigation
7) auto tire inflation monitor - under investigation
8) oil, transaxle oil temperture monitor - under investigation
9) data dump to USB fob - under investigation
10) filtered transaxle vent - planned for this month
11) aerodynamic clean-up - under investigation
12) auto-stop when cold - under investigation
13) MP3 horn tones

Bob Wilson

Operation Iraqi Oil Freedom:

Automatic, stock, project car.

My other 1500 cc car:

Automatic, stock, backup car.
Free speech, dialog and knowledge thrives without the poison of SPAM.

Bob~

We want pictures of your work in progress ..!!..

Oh my, look everybody Bob wilson has finnished tinkering with the Insight!!!!

04' # 5, W/leather & JBL omitted.
"Prius, Just ask the person that drives one"
04' Tundra, 18mpg city & 22mpg hwy.
04' Prius, 60mpg city & 53mpg hwy.

Kenstyle NHW20 AERO Kit

Nope, that is the two seater, Insight plan.

I did go back and put links for my projects.

Bob Wilson

Operation Iraqi Oil Freedom:

Automatic, stock, project car.

My other 1500 cc car:

Automatic, stock, backup car.
Free speech, dialog and knowledge thrives without the poison of SPAM.

LOL, good one and thanks for the links some of us would like to see the work in progress It gives us ideas too ..

04' # 5, W/leather & JBL omitted.
"Prius, Just ask the person that drives one"
04' Tundra, 18mpg city & 22mpg hwy.
04' Prius, 60mpg city & 53mpg hwy.

Kenstyle NHW20 AERO Kit

For the HCH speedometer...make it simple, like a fatter or longer bar, to determine where the 5 mph increments are (35, 45, 55, 65 mph and so on). With the actual speedometer this is a chore.

Is anyone else getting shocked by their Hondas? For me it always seems to happen in the morning when I get in and reach down to adjust the seat. Any recommendations that would dissipate the static build up before I touch metal?

One thing that my husband and I don't necessarily like in my 2004 HCH is that when the battery charge kicks in on a downhill, it really kicks in! It noticably decelerates the car. This gets annoying when cruise-controlling when it kicks in, backs off, kicks in, backs off... it would be nice to have it kick in more gradually, somehow.

I like the guage cluster in my car. Everything is within reach and easy to manipulate while keeping my eyes on the road. A lifetime MPG meter would be nice! Oh, and my favorite little thing is that the floor in the back seat is totally flat. I love that.

Also, a couple things I noticed going from my 1988 Accord (GOOD CAR!!) to the 2004 HCH and that I miss:

--No lock on the glove box (and it's too small). Two years later I'm still peeved about this. (I am happy that they put the lock on the trunk release, though!)

--The air vents don't seem to direct air very well-- I move the middle ones up and down and the air still blows straight foward, rather than up or down

And one more suggestion-- if not a fold-down back seat, what about a ski-hole, like is available in the Accord: a little latched opening into the trunk area behind the fold-down arm rest in the back seat.

I was just thinking yesterday that we needed a thread on what we like and don't like about our cars! Thanks for asking!

--A

Yes. All the time, every day, even when it's rainy, and sometimes really hard! But for me it's usually when I'm getting out and then reaching to close the door. This happened on my old Honda too. Is it the fabric in the seats, maybe?

I have found that if you put your hand on the frame while getting out (grip the door or the frame while still seated and keep it there while climbing out) then you don't get shocked. I guess it transfers the static directly to the metal without building it up. Maybe it will work for getting in, too?

--A

One peeve I have with the Prius (never would have known I was missing anything, until getting the FEH and getting used to this feature...)

- The audio system does not continue playing after turning off the engine (in the FEH, it does, and stops only when you open the door - LOVE that, got used to it and now miss it in the Prius).

Thought of another one - the manually adjusting drivers' seat (I like the power one in the FEH).

And one more - the rear wiper cleans off only about 1/2 of the rear window. What's with that, anyway? And the backup camera is relatively useless for objects in close range, like when you're trying to back into a parking space. I wish it had close (normal) and far (fisheye) settings.

OTOH, I sure hate having to get out and use the seemingly archaic KEY to start the FEH, especially on cold mornings when I have bulky gloves on!

(I have posted my pet peeves with the FEH at least once, over in that forum, so I won't repeat them here).

For the Prius, and specific to your questions about instrumentation:

1) I'd like to see a clear, unequivocal ICE ON/OFF indicator.

2) I'd like to see an indicator of percentage of break force going to regen vs friction.

3) One of my biggest pet peeves with automatic climate control systems:
In the Prius, if you change from auto climate to non-auto climate, the heat stays ON until you then manually adjust the temperature to max cold. My old MINI Cooper did the same, and it was infuriating to have to lower the temp every time you turn off auto clime. Turning off auto clime on the Prius is even more complex. The default should be that when you turn auto clime off, temp should revert to max cold.
PLus, on the Prius the steering wheel temp up-down buttons only work in auto clime, but not when climate set to manual, that is simply stupid!

4) Smart-key system: I still don't like it after over a year of use, and my wife positively hates it. It's not a smart key system, it's a dumb key system: you can unlock/open the doors, but you have to press a button to lock. I would at the very least like to see an auto lock option, where if the car is turned off, and one walks away, the car locks itself. Otherwise I really see no advantage/use of the system.

5) I know this is less instrumentation than other gripes, but for Toyota: please give us a premium sound system that deserves the name: the JBL system is a joke, and a bad one at that. My wife commented the otehr day that I hardly listen to music anymore in the car, whereas in my MINI with a wonderful Harman Kardon system, I could not wait to get in teh car and listen to music. Now I think the JBL system in the Prius is worse than most standard sound systems, and I will have to change it, I just can't take the poor sound any longer.

In terms of instrumentation: I would say develop a standard interface for sound system control via steering wheel buttons, so that replacement of a factory sound system with an aftermarket system is possible without losing steering wheel controls.

M