I'm driving a 2018 Prius Prime (plug-in). What do you want to know about it?

[Gasoline Fumes]

I kinda forgot about this thread. My neighbors bought a 2017 Prime. Nice, but too fancy for me! And I'm currently pet/house sitting for someone with a 2018 Prime. It's in the driveway, but I wasn't given the key.

[Gasoline Fumes]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

...if it's possible to put a hitch on it, I would. (For a bike rack! Not for a warranty-voiding light utility trailer!)

I recently put a hitch on my neighbors' 2017 Prime. Same hitch fits all 4th gen Prius models. It mounts between the body and bumper beam.

[aerohead]

Pity about trailer towing. That would be of the utmost interest. I carried more behind my CRX than most Big-Three half-tons.

[mpg_numbers_guy]

I've seen plenty of people tow with both the regular Prius and Prius Prime. Most say it can tow 2k without issue and some have even towed close to 3k.

It all depends on how you're towing it though; a poorly balanced load is a danger to an inexperienced driver even with no weight.

[MetroMPG]

Well, the car refused to "start" a couple of weeks ago, christmas tree dashboard lights.

So my friends had it towed to the local dealer, and this is what they found in the traction battery compartment:









Apparently mice can get in through the ventilation passages. Rodent damage is apparently one of the top problems with these cars. Search "rodent damage prius prime" and you'll find multiple similar stories.

The dealership quoted $18k for a new battery.

Insurance wrote it off!

"What should we get next?" I was asked...

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Apparently mice can get in through the ventilation passages. Rodent damage is apparently one of the top problems with these cars. Search "rodent damage prius prime" and you'll find multiple similar stories.

I have only ever had problems with vermin inside the Prius. If I recall correctly, there are about a dozen paths of entry that have to be screened off to keep them out. Usually I'd find evidence they had been in the glove box.

Once, I left an unopened bag of potato chips in the rear hatch area. My friend and I did a multiple day trek to Mt. Whitney and arrived back to the car starving around 10pm. Vermin had helped themselves to the chips, chewing even the bag into tiny bits of confetti. No restaraunts open at 10pm and no fast food around... we just drove back to Washington that night hungry.

The worst was the one that died in the center armrest area. Smelled like a dead body in the car, and finally I buried my nose into every crevice of the interior, playing Marco Polo with the olfactory until isolating it to the center area.

Anyhow, your story is worse since you lost the whole car...

I wonder if the Gen IV or V suffer similar intrusion?

[Gasoline Fumes]

I don't understand why cars aren't made to be rodent-proof. Screen, mesh, wire cloth has been around a long time. I added screens to my Insight to keep mice out.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by Gasoline Fumes

I don't understand why cars aren't made to be rodent-proof. Screen, mesh, wire cloth has been around a long time. I added screens to my Insight to keep mice out.

I have no evidence of vermin being in any other vehicle of mine except the Prius. I've parked a Subaru, trucks, other cars out in nature for days and never had issues, not that other cars aren't susceptible. The car should default to recirculation at minimum to close intake passages to the interior.

[freebeard]

I parked my 1956 Sunroof on dirt, and ants ate a flat spot on a perfectly good 145R-15 Kleber.

[Gasoline Fumes]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

I have no evidence of vermin being in any other vehicle of mine except the Prius. I've parked a Subaru, trucks, other cars out in nature for days and never had issues, not that other cars aren't susceptible. The car should default to recirculation at minimum to close intake passages to the interior.

Maybe it depends on where you live. I've pulled dozens of urine/feces-soaked mouse nests out of cars. The longer a car sits unused, the more likely it is. But it happens on cars in use as well. The mice love cabin filters and air cleaners.