I get my new Prius Touring Package 3 this week. I've done joined and gone though many of the forums and I have several comments. 1. It seems that the battery needs to be monitored constantly. My concern is if I leave the car off and leave the radio or other accessories on, it will kill the battery. MY QUESTION IS THIS: Does the electrical system hold a "reserve" to start the car and begin the charging process? If NO, then can the car be jump started by AAA or do you have to have it towed to a Toyota dealer? 2. It takes about 1500 miles for the car to make its initial break in. A new owner can expect "things" not to be quite right especially the smoothness of the transition between battery motor and ICE. 3. Because of the components, any recommendations of purchasing an extended warranty? 4. Finally, for now, it seems not every Prius is made "equal" . I wonder if it is the driver or the car? There seems to be an adjustment factor to adjusting to the technology. I'd appreciate any comments.
1 minute of engine idle every 15 minutes or so isn't much of a plenalty. Just power on normally. As for starting the engine, the battery-pack is responsible for that, not the 12-volt (which is used to power the computer). So, there is always an ample supply available. But if you drain the 12-volt entirely, a jump (recharge) of that is still required... which is simple for anyone to do, like AAA. .
There are two batteries in the Prius: the HV Battery and the 12V Battery. You do not need to monitor either of the batteries constantly; the car will take care of the batteries for you. Most of the issues that you read about were probably issues with the 12V battery; it is just like the battery in a normal car, only it is smaller to save weight and space. Because it is small, it is relatively easy to drain this battery if you accidently leave the lights on or something similar. If this ever happens to you, you can get a jump from AAA and start the car normally. I really didn't notice this. My car seemed pretty smooth from the beginning. Mileage will get better as the car breaks in and you get used to driving it. My mileage is still going up slightly as I get better at driving it with almost 18k miles. You have until the end of the standard warranty, 3 yrs /36000 miles to decide if you want to buy the extended warranty. You can buy it on Prius Chat for much cheaper than most dealerships will offer it for. I still have not decided if I will get an extended warranty. The car is sensitive to how it is driven w/r/t gas mileage. Its mostly the difference between drivers IMO.
