That would pointless in this thread. But if you like I can start another thread with all the things I do like. And there are more good than bad things I like or I wouldn't have bought the car! It's just that some of the bad things seem like no brainers to me that Toyota should have thought of.

 

The dealership called us today about this and said they checked a used 2006 on their lot and it doesn't have the day mode option in the NAV display screen. Yet they admit the 2006 manual shows it should have it. Then they just said, "well I don't know what to tell you". I'm like how about contacting Toyota tech support? Since our 2006 was bought last month it isn't an early version of the model year because the dealership just got it in.

Any other 2006's not showing the Day Mode option in the display screen? Page 102 of the Navigation System Owner's Manual shows it.


Again don't think I feel the Prius is a terrible car in any way, I just think they could have improved it even more. Many of my dislikes about the car would not have cost Toyota more money to produce it. I do understand design and production walk a fine line.

 

yeah, that one puzzled me, too, until i found out how easy it is to pop the plastic cap off at the base. and how easy it is to put back after you've changed the wiper or whatever.

for me it's not even a "small deal" let alone a big deal....

here, from another thread, are a few things that DO bother me about the car:

 

On consumption screen (the bar graph screen), since each bar stands for the average MPG for every 5 minutes, I like to know the distance (how many miles) I gone in each of the 5 minutes. Perhaps a little number display right above the bar.

This may be just me, but I think the transmission positions (for R and D) are somewhat counter-intuitive. I find myself pulling the gear down (backward) when trying to go into Reverse, and pushing the gear up (forward) when trying to go into Drive. Luckily I have not caused an accident yet; but it could easily happen in a garage, driveway, or parallel parking situation.

On the Smart Key, I wish the driver door will unlock all dooors (like passenger front door or the hatch). On that plus side I am now a southern gentleman, always opening the passengers side door first (so all doors are unlocked).

And last one, for my back seat passengers. Since there are still lots of space in the rear hatch, Toyota should give the backseat some recline ability. Standard seats are very upright, and gets uncomfortable on long rides.

 

Something like this?


Ken has a great little device that captures data from the NHW20 Prius and can be used to make graphs like this and even more detailed.

Bob Wilson

 

Wow Ken's graph is very detailed, it has all the data needed to compute average and instant mileage. I was just hoping to know how far I go during each of the bar (in the Consumption Screen). I know the mileage, just hoping to know how far I gone with that mileage.

I think CAN-View toolkit can capture these data into a laptop or whatever. Problem I have, is I don't think anyone has figured out how to hack into a 06/07 MFD yet. And probably even harder to add some strings/characters into an existing screen (ie consumption screen).

I sure hope Toyota open the MFD programming so we can use the default screens, or program the screens we want.

 

There is no doubt that Toyota observes groups like these to inform future designs. Why they have not yet offered an 'enriched' Prius data display is anybody's guess. Perhaps there is a clue in the fact that a fair proportion of Prius drivers still get confused about pressing the brake pedal before the 'power' button.

DAS

 

most folks new to the Prius have many of the same comments/wishes/complaints... You're not alone.

the forward/reverse **** will become comfortable after a while. back in the early 50s and before, reverse was at the bottom and drive was right below park and neutral. we all adjusted in time.

the remote can be programmed, i believe, to EITHER open just the driver's door on one push [my preference, and a nice safety factor in some parking locations] OR all the doors. a double-push unlocks all four doors and the hatch, too.

as for reclining the back seat, remember, the drive batter has to go somewhere, and it's right behind the back seats, so until they figure how to put that under the car or somewhere else, the rear seats probably won't recline. fortunately, as the driver, you don't have to suffer that problem....

enjoy!

 

Hi Bob,
Thank you for the chart. It's beautiful!

Ken@Japan

 

If you 'think outside the box', the answers are fairly easy.

All that is needed for fuel consumption is the count of injector pulses and duration. You have to take out 0.5 ms for inertia and valve open-close, but the rest is pretty much the fuel consumption. As for distance, there are several excellent hacks including Hobbit's tapping into the ABS wheel encoder and injector signals. I've used a magnetic probe but just on MG1/MG2, not on the injectors. Add an accurate clock and you've got the source data for a much improved MPG display.

Recently, I've been playing around with a TI MSP430-F2013 and believe a pretty basic prototype could be put together for less than $50 . . . assuming you already have a handy display device (aka., palm pilot, laptop, e.t.c.)

Let me put it this way, CAN is not the only way to measure fundimental vehicle characteristics. All it takes is will and a certain amount of disdain for warranties . . . especially after 3 yrs / 36,000 miles. <GRINS>

Bob Wilson