Yep. Not to mention annoying your fellow motorists by causing traffic. I've lost count of the number of times I've seen people stopped at the top of a hill or a few dozen feet away from a zebra stiipe with their flashers on. I'm sure there are ligit reasons for a few of those cases, but certainly not for all. Instead they remain completely blocking one of the two lanes of the highway.

Nothing to do but grin and bear it.

 

here's my experience of the benefit of a hybrid.. when i ran out of gas on an interstate.... similar to being able to drive the car without the key....

http://www.plusaf.com/coast/coast2.htm#outofgas

notice that "normal cars", when they are run out of gas, inevitably are left blocking traffic lanes. [though i don't understand why many drivers don't figure out that, on many roads, they might be able to BACK the car OFF THE ROAD and get it out of traffic... ]

 

Yep. I had read your trip blog a couple of days ago. Also made a copy of your spreadsheet for my new '06. I didn't keep one for my '01 which I traded in, and now I regret not having any data to which to compare the new one.

You list of mods is impressive. I particularly liked the auto-door locks. Doesn't that invlaidate the warranty? If so, I guess I'll have to wait a few years before I install it.

 

invalidate the warranty?!
how about the tow bar with 2" receiver?
how about the switch i patched in to defeat the "you can't access the NAV when the car's moving?
how about towing a trailer over 11,000 miles, then taking the car to three dealers for oil changes, re-flashing the system memory, etc., etc.

none of the dealers batted an eye or made any comment about the tow bar receiver, nor the extra little red button on the console which i added...

i'm expecting delivery of Coastal's REAL "nav override" cabling assembly in the next week or so.

sooooo..... the door lock module? if they ever find it, i'd be surprised, and the installation is hidden so nicely, thanks to Coastal's packaging and connectors, that i don't even think a tech would notice it!

and it would be a neat argument for them to claim that any of this directly affects the power train, which has the only warranty i really care about!
ok, ok, towing a trailer DOES directly impact the power train, and would be a valid argument for invalidating the warranty, but i decided to take a calculated risk with that: with a tongue weight light enough that i could lift with one hand, it's not heavier on the rear axle than putting one or two humans in the back seat, or some luggage under the hatch lid.
with a trailer gross weight i'm estimating at about 350 pounds, well, that's about 2.5 back-seat passengers being pulled uphill, as far as i can guess what the ICE and motor drives think is happening, and it doesn't overload any tire loads, either....

so...... well, i can't guarantee you WON'T get static from your dealer, but i've gotten emails from about 3-5 people in several states and countries who've towed things very happily. if i were me, i wouldn't wait.

 

Off Topic:
The other day I saw a car skid sideways to a stop in the right lane, this almost caused a traffic crash. I was 2 cars back when I realized that a ford escape was sitting in the right lane unoccupied & no flashers on 'just sitting in the middle of the lane'.

I activated my emergency lights & put traffic cones out to direct the other drivers into the left lane to avoid my vehicle and the ford.. I found the driver walking up the street towards me carrying a small gas can. (Not to add to the whole blonde thing) she was.. she put gas into the ford and drove to the gas station where I wrote her 2 tickets.

I am amazed at how many people don't know what or where the hazard light switch is on thier own cars or to coast/pull off the side of the road even if it means hopping over the curb..

 

one ticket for blocking traffic and another for being stupid???

i infer it wasn't an Escape Hybrid, right? in that case, i'd ask something about why they can't motor off the highway on electric, as i did....

good job, Officer!
+af

 

No it was not the Hybrid model, And yes she recieved one for leaving the vehicle unattended in a traffic lane & one for blocking the flow of traffic..

It would be nice to have a ticket for being stupid (no points & a $40 fine) lol..

 

double-LOL, PG04...

reminds me of the story of the guy who goes into the auto parts place to get a new starter motor (this is a somewhat prehistoric-era story, from my youth...).

he harangues the guy behind the counter about the service, the price, how he could have fixed it himself cheaper, etc., etc., and finally hands over the $125 that the counter guy quoted him, takes the starter motor, and leaves the store.

another guy behind the counter has been watching and listening to the whole thing play out, and comes over to the first guy. "what was that all about?! you know that starter motor is only about $30 wholesale, and we sell it for $65 retail! why did you charge the guy $125?!!?"

"simple," the other guy answered, "$65 for the starter and an extra $60 for pi**ing me off."

 

I love it. Sometimes I wish I could hand out tickets to people like that. It must be really satisfying.

And thanks for the reply on your sitch, Alan. You're probably right, the techs would probably never even find the mod. I'm waiting to hear from them if the mod is compatible with the '06 Prius. I wish I had access to the folks you take your car to, though. They sound top-notch.

 

mine's in for some body work [my wife tried to mate it with a fire hydrant], and it should be back in my driveway either the end of this week or early next week.

but i did, finally get the wiring harness for the Nav override from Coastal. I'll update my site and here when i see how it works. the directions talk about some 20 second one-time delay, and a 10-second setup pause each time the car is started, but after that, the nav can be used while in motion.

so far, Fred Anderson Toyota in NW Raleigh seems to be up-and-up and does good work. the bodywork's being done by Tru2Form, just a few miles east of FAToyota. they called today to let me know that they wanted to talk to me about the painting, as silver is apparently hard to match well, and they wanted to apparently feather it in to the rear quarter panel, too, due to the length of the scratch, which is ok with me, but might cost more.

we'll see. they do LOTS of business with/for Geico, so they're probably doing something right...