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Showing content with the highest reputation on 12/24/2011 in all areas

  1. I can't suggest a replacement unit. But this site has full instruction regarding the removal of the radio: http://www.fitaudio.com/ ... and yes the air-con unit is separate from the radio/sat nav.
    1 point
  2. I have not seen a miles remaining countdown on my Prius. Where can I see that? The 'distance to empty' display is a feature on the Gen 3 Prius, AFAIK not available on the Gen 2. I used ScanGauge when I had my Gen 2, and now with my Gen 3 it interestingly gives a different figure when compared to the car's computer (see more below). You can also figure it out in your head, if reasonably good at mental arithmetic, as the Gen 2 and Gen 3 Prius both have 45 litre or 10 Imperial gallon tanks - so if your indicated MPG is say 55 mpg, you would expect to get around 550 miles on that tank [note: other readers have posted that the indicated MPG is generous by about 5%, so you may need to take that into account]. When comparing the Gen 2, Gen 3 and ScanGauge I have noted the following behaviour and this information from Priuschat: 1. Gen 2 - Fuel gauge is not all linear. The first 'pip' can take around 120 miles before it disappears, each subsequent 'pip' appears to be consistently linear (around 45 - 50 miles each). When the last 'pip' starts to flash, you hear a beep and the car briefly displays 'Add Fuel' on the MFD screen (if you have one). At this point, it is reported that you have a reserve of about 6.5 litres. Using Scangauge as a guide, I have gone up to 40 miles further before refuelling. Taking driving conditions into account, I would say 20 miles is well 'safe' (this statement ignores any potential fears that others may have about 'dirty' fuel at the bottom of the tank or keeping the fuel pump immersed and cool). Others have driven on until completely out of fuel. At that point, they report that you will see the 'Check Engine' warning light come on. The car will run on the traction battery until it is 'indicated' flat which is actually about 40% state-of-charge (SOC), essentially in forced EV mode. Various figures of 1/4 to 2 miles have been quoted before this is flat, so essentially you have a little room for manoeuvre to get somewhere safe. 2. Gen 3 - (I have less experience in this car and happy to be corrected!). The fuel gauge appears to be more linear than Gen 2, with each of the ten 'pips' representing about a tenth of 'available fuel'. I put this in inverted commas because, like the Gen 2, the indicator works to a 'reserve' so Empty is not actually Empty. Reports indicate that the Gen 3 reserve is about 8 litres (or 1.75 gallons, 2.1 US gallons). The car's 'distance to empty' gauge counts down to this point as zero, and will continue to show zero when using your reserve. This gauge appears to me to always count down from the moment the tank is filled (unlike the ScanGauge figure, which goes up and down depending on how I drive). This tells me that the car is using a previous MPG figure to calculate the distance to empty, whilst scangauge uses the current average MPG (since last reset). Others have driven on to a complete stop and their reported findings are in this long post & discussion. (I should warn you that the discussion is currently 45 pages long and mostly opinionated drivel with a handful of gems of information! Best value is the experimental work by Bob Wilson who did the run-to-flat experiment on this Gen 3 five times by the end of the thread!). In summary: i) The low fuel indication is a beep and the last 'pip' flashing. Distance to empty gauge indicates 20 miles (in my experience). ii) The larger reserve could get you another 100 miles (around 120 if you are Bob Wilson) iii) When you run out of fuel, unlike for Gen 2, you **do not** get a 'Check Engine' warning light. Instead, the car seamlessly transitions into using the traction battery without telling you. The only indication you might have is a feeling of reduction in power if travelling at over 46 mph. At lower urban speeds it may be so subtle that you may not notice anything. If you happen to have the Energy Display selected, it will show no arrows. Therefore, this is the display to select if you are deliberately going to run your reserve to empty. When the arrows disappear, you only have traction battery power. If you miss this, the car will run on traction battery until 'indicated flat' (actually keeping a charge reserve to protect itself). At this point, the car will stop without warning. The only indication is the 'Power Steering fail' light. All power to the wheels is cut and the car shifts itself to (N)eutral and you are unable to engage (D)rive. Therefore, unlike Gen 2, there is a greater chance of missing these subtle signs and the car just stopping without giving you the chance to get to a safe situation. Hope that helps!
    1 point
  3. Merry Christmas to all. Its been a great 6 months on here learnt a lot and met new people and had fun. Lets hope the next years the same David
    1 point
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