RSS
Bet You Didn’t Know…
I’ve been compiling a list of interesting facts and little known secrets about the 3rd generation Prius and here are some I thought you be interested to learn about.
1. There is a small LED light mounted in the overhead console and it shines down on the shift lever. Besides adding light to the lever when it is dark, I don’t know what it does.
2. When you approach the Prius and open the driver’s side door, you hear an strange sound that lasts just a few seconds. This is the brake boost pump being activated to make sure you have sufficient pressure when you first take off. If you wait more than a couple of minutes to start the Prius, the pressure is reduced and you have a hard time braking properly until the car has been driven a block or two. I especially notice this when backing out of the driveway. The brakes can be really touchy and they grab a lot if I wait too long.
3. There are no belts on the Prius engine. Instead, the water pump and air conditioner compressor run on electricity.
4. The Prius has alloy rims. You just can’t see them very well, because they are covered by plastic wheel covers.
5. All four windows are equipped with the auto up and auto down feature, not just the driver’s window like most cars.
6. The 2010 Toyota Prius requires synthetic oil.
7. On the left side of the driver’s seat, there is a small storage area on the floor. I’ve never seen one in that location on another car before.
8. There is a vent in the backseat, just to the right of the right rear passenger seatback. This is an intake vent to keep the hybrid battery cooler, so you shouldn’t block it with anything. See the picture above.
9. The 3rd generation Prius is more than a full second faster the the previous model in accelerating from 0 to 60 miles per hour. Now it only takes 9.8 seconds!
10. The plastic and foam materials used in the interior (seats, dash, trim, etc.) are not made from petroleum (like most vehicles) but instead are derived from plants. The ecological plastic emits less CO2 during manufacturing and throughout the life cycle of the car when compared to oil based plastics.
I’m sure there are lots of other interesting facts and near useless tidbits of information about this most incredible hybrid, so feel free to add more to the comments section below and I’ll update this post with more in the future.
Comment by Chris K. on 28 August 2009:
2) Huh, was wondering what that sound was…
7) In fact, it’s a cup holder on the door, yes?
10) My wife was commenting, “no new car smell!” Now we know why.
Is it just me or do the cabin lights light up before you touch the driver’s-side door handle?
I have been enjoying the iPhone bluetooth integration (too bad it doesn’t sync the addr book tho’). I listen to podcasts on my commute and if the podcast playlist happened to be the last thing I listened to, it starts playing once the phone automagically connects. And the sound quality is great for music over bluetooth (A2DP).
Comment by Francisco on 11 December 2009:
Yes, the inside light turns itself on when you get about two feet from the car… and it’s locked. It scared the living daylights out of me when I saw it the first time.
Comment by Paolo on 24 December 2009:
Number 1 is also known as a map reading light. It is to improve the overall visibility of the button and if you have something to read, like a map, you can do it without turning on the normal reading lamp. There are also 2 LEDs illuminating the footwells.
but they needed to keep costs down, I suppose…
I need to check 7 – if it is not the one on the door (you do say “floor”) I have never noticed it…
The cabin lights do turn on when you approach the car, nice feature – I only think it happens a bit too late. I would also have liked a bit more LED lighting in the car or when approaching it…
Comment by Al Rango on 17 January 2010:
No. 1 is the shift lever light which is supposed to throw light directly on the shift lever. Have you noticed it is only on when the headlight switch is on? I guess that makes sense, Toyoita is smart!