Ever wonder what happens to the long term test cars after the editors are finished with them? This is your lucky chance to hear from the old 2004 Toyota Prius after leaving the fleet last Fall. That's because it was purchased by yours truly, Philip Reed, senior consumer advice editor.
I bought the Prius two months ago and I've already put 2,000 miles on it. It successfully survived the torrential rains of last week's historic storms. For Christmas the Prius received a new set of factory beige floor mats which brighten the interior greatly. I'm also happy to report that I've only discovered one defect.
Some mornings when I come out the brake lights are on. Yes, just the brake lights. Dan Edmunds, director of vehicle testing, suggested it was a faulty brake light switch under the brake pedal. I jammed a shoe under there one night and, sure enough, no morning brake light. I'm going to get it fixed as soon as I get around to addressing a recall I received for the pump that cools the hybrid system. Until then, I keep a strap in the car and attach the brake pedal to the steer wheel at night.
With access to the car pool lanes and gas prices climbing to $3.25 a gallon in California, I'm really glad I bought the Prius. After driving 385 miles, I rare put in more than eight gallons. While despised by car enthusiasts for its light steering and floaty suspension, it remains the easiest way to get from home to work and back easily, quickly and cheaply. For me, that's a priority right now.
itbeatswalkin says:
02:33 PM, 12/27/10
How does that faulty brake light affect the batteries? Are they draining the hybrid system at all or are they only running off the regular car battery(I'm assuming there is regular car battrery for startups)?
audisport says:
02:37 PM, 12/27/10
Is this 2004 Prius still getting around 45-50 mpg like a newer one does??
brn says:
02:42 PM, 12/27/10
itbeatswalkin, If I remember correctly, the battery for the hybrid portion of the car is isolated from the normal electrical functions of the car.
Seems like we're getting more frequent updates on this car now than when it was in the fleet.
sodaguy says:
04:02 PM, 12/27/10
Phillip,
The service campaign is for the inverter coolant pump, which Edmunds already replaced in this incident for an outrageous sum:
http://blogs.insideline.com/roadtests/2010/07/2004-toyota-prius-freak-out-fixed.html
Since the inverter has already been fixed, and the dealer will be able to tell from the different colored bracket of the pump, some people have suggested that Toyota will reimburse the owner for the cost of the repair. In this situation, I wonder how that will be handled.
kevm14 says:
04:46 PM, 12/27/10
Interesting. My car (not a Prius) disables the brake lights completely unless the key is on. I have no idea why. The headlights do work with the key out...
bradyholt says:
05:08 PM, 12/27/10
kevm14, same with my car (Ford Focus). It's really a terrible idea -- I have a stickshift, and if I stall it the brake lights won't light up until I've switched the car back on.
cjasis says:
05:16 PM, 12/27/10
Hi Philip -
Thanks for the update. If it's not too much trouble, I'd be very interested to see an update on fuel efficiency given the age, mileage, etc. of your Prius.
As an auto enthusiast I am appalled by the driving dynamics of the Prius but I am thrilled by the technology and efficiencies that this platform has brought to the masses. I'm not sure I'd ever own one (unless gas was $20/gallon) but I do appreciate that not everyone has my priorities.
Thanks.
cello_one says:
08:00 AM, 12/28/10
And to answer the question posed in the first line - no, no I was not wondering what happened to the 04 Prius...
Maybe a YouTube video of the LT Challenger doing even more burnouts would be interesting...
philip17 says:
10:16 AM, 12/28/10
I really appreciate the comments. Here are a few answers.
We were told when the replacement of the inverter pump was made that our Prius didn't fall into the VIN range covered by an earlier recall. However, I'm going to call Toyota and see if their goodwill will extend to the newer recall. It's worth a call to try to recover about $500.
Fuel economy: I was interested to see if the Prius would recover from the lead-footed Edmunds drivers. I also goosed up the tires to about 40 psi. I've been through only about eight tanks of gas so far and got one tank where the fuel economy was over 50 mpg, 51.9, I think. The tanks before and after were not out of line so I think that was a good reading. However, most tanks have delivered more in the range of 45 mpg. I don't know why there should be a drop off in mpg. And my feeling is that around-town driving isn't giving better fuel economy. Still, I'm happy with 45 mpg.
sodaguy says:
11:14 AM, 12/28/10
As far as I know, this service campaign (please do not call it a recall) is the first one to exist for the inverter coolant pump. There was an earlier TSB, #EG001-07 from 1/26/07 which covered the diagnostic procedure for inverter pump related trouble codes, but that TSB was for information purposes only and did not involve a warranty extension or service campaign of any kind.
The owner's letter for the recent service campaign is very clear in stating that if the repairs were performed, you are eligible for reimbursement provided that you submit the repair order, proof of payment and proof of ownership.
Good luck with the reimbursement, as judging from the blog entry regarding the previous inverter pump replacement, the dealer charged a very high price for the job compared to most dealers. Hopefully you will recoup the entire ~$700.
philip17 says:
01:03 PM, 12/28/10
I just called Toyota about the reimbursement and they said that, according to their records, the work was not cleared by the dealer. So not only did we get hosed, but they also didn't finalize the work -- or at least the records. So, it's back to SM Toyota to get things finished. But I also found that there was an earlier recall for the brake light which is now malfunctioning. So it will be an adventure.
sodaguy says:
02:07 PM, 12/28/10
Wow, so SM Toyota didn't "close out" the work order? Am I understanding you correctly?
This will certainly be interesting. Please keep us posted on the outcome.
jchan2 says:
02:23 PM, 12/28/10
I'm curious as to what happens with Santa Monica Toyota as well...