2 hours ago, RT85 said:

 air bags are great! make sure they aren't on any recall lists first... 

 

invest in a small obd2 scanner... check if there are any codes hidden on the car computer..

 

most importantly drive carefully!!! never assume anything on the roads here!!!

 

countless close accidents.. caused by unexpected motorbikes going against traffic... or public buses (don't get me started!)

 

enjoy the drive.. :) love travelling outside bkk for short trips.

I have been driving here for 20'years so have had time to observe a little :)

"obd2 scanner..codes" please tell me more. 

Priuses are great cars. 

 

Priuses have two batteries. There is a small 12 volt battery, a bit smaller than a regular car battery, that turns on the vehicle's electronics. Those have about average lifespan of 5 years. The larger battery that runs everything else is designed to last the life of the car. I know many people who have these vehicles, including the first generation and none of them have had to replace the large battery and probably never will. Occasionally they do go bad but that's fairly rare. 

 

There is a reason that there are a lot of Prius taxis all around the world--they get great mileage and are bomb proof. I talked to a taxi driver in San Francisco once who was driving a Prius taxi. The vehicle had about 270 thousand miles on it. He said that they had one in the shop that they used as a backup vehicle that had over 400 thousand miles on it and still ran great. 

 

My only complaint with the Prius is that it's a low-clearance vehicle. If there is flooding, bad roads, mud, etc., it's not the best. 

 

A lot of people have bad attitudes about the Prius because of the "eco friendly" reputation but if you look at it from a functional point of view and put that emotional stuff behind, you will find a fantastic small-midsize car. 

 

I have a friend who bought a generation 2 about seven years ago, used, with 60,000 miles on it. She's driven it as her primary vehicle and hasn't had to do anything to it in that time, other than regular services.

 

Good luck!

 

 

 

 

 

 

21 hours ago, JAS21 said:

I drove a relatives one three weeks ago when we were going out for a meal. Big mistake as my wife drove my EV and reversed it into a post support cable. 

 

Said ... YES ... I heard the bleep but couldn't see a problem ...

 

Didn't reckon much to the Prius either ...

I hope the meal was a better experience

Most of the taxis in the beach areas of LA are Prius. So they must be good in some ways. No the drivers are not vegis.

I suppose they are a bit like Electric Fork Trucks, use them hard every day and their reasonable, once a week and they are useless . A Taxi never rests.

On 9/29/2016 at 7:24 PM, nickcar said:

I have been driving here for 20'years so have had time to observe a little :)

"obd2 scanner..codes" please tell me more. 

 

looking up the 'torque' app on playstore or apple app store...

 

u can buy cheaper chinese made obd 2 scanners.. plug in and using your phone.. u can scan the car's ecu for faults...  also gives you interesting data on your engine etc.. can be useful if you are a tinkerer like me...

 

 

https://www.otctools.com/products/pocketscan®-code-reader-0

 

Mine looks like this - other brands similar

 I have been driving this car for several months now and really enjoy it.  Soon after I got it I was trying out the lights at night without starting the engine lo and behold after about 10 minutes the battery went dead.  Started it from another battery and haven't had any trouble since.  I note though though that the small battery has an expected lifespan of five years and the vehicle will be five years old in January. To replace it is about 8500 baht, do others recomend that i relace it at once or wait till it goes dead?