This is a great group. I've been reading it since before I ordered my Aqua Prius in September of last year. Took delivery March 6th, in a Upstate NY Blizzard. Drove the Demo unit the day before in the same weather. Put the Demo though some things I never would do with my new car. Love that Prius, have just over 12500 miles in less than six months.<br><br>John, you have a great site, Thanks!<br><br>Has anyone had a piece of foam (about 1"x2" the lenght of the radiator) dangle in front? I had the dealer put it back in place, then in a couple of days I noticed it dangling on the other side. Now it's gone and the Dealer/Tech said not to worry. Should I worry?<br><br>They also ordered me a new right rear strut. Firestone noticed it, when looking at one of my tires with a slow leak after fixing a punture.<br><br>Lastly about warranty repairs. They ordered me two new tires under warranty, due to excessive wear on the corners of the tires.<br><br>I'm probably repeating these questions, but would like someone who knows to give me some clues:<br><br>Extended warranty info ( I live in Upstate NY)?<br><br>NYS Sales tax credits (they are sending me some form).<br><br>NYS Income tax credits - they pointed me to IT-253 and instructions.<br><br>Federal Tax credits - saw some info on the prius.toyota.com FAQ. Any input?<br><br>I've been having pretty good MPG, usually about 45 in NY, doing a lot of 75 mph, with AC on.<br><br>I've been getting up to 55 MPG in Vermont doing 50 mph up and down the Green Mountains.<br><br>Thanks,<br><br>Again, Great Group!<br><br>NY 2GO B4

Don't take tax advice from unknown people on the net, contact a tax professional you can trust. The definition of "primarily powered by an electric motor" is probably important to the decision. If the tax advisor has technical questions, post them here (or better, on the Prius_Technical_Stuff yahoo group (not club)). Probably the easiest route for the tax advisor would be to contact the IRS reps you talked to.<br><br>Robert Snyder<br>NJ-PIKACHU

Hi,<br><br>I discovered a 2-3 foot long foam strip dangling from under the front of the car last week. Took it to the local dealer whereupon the service writer ordered the car up on the rack. He replaced it saying it belonged under the radiator, which floats on the bottom due to mount points on top. I dunno, sure was disturbing to see something dragging under my car!<br><br>-Michael<br>CA "Prius"

I also live in Upstate NY, what area are you in? I am also looking for the answers to the same questions. I haven't had much luck from the state yet (I called once and they sent me the wrong form) so let me know if you get any information. I have had some luck with the federal tax information, I called the IRS earlier to ask what tax incentives were avaliable for the Prius, they actually sent me the information on getting the $2000 credit and the person I talked to told me about the credit. but looking on the group it seems that most people feel that it you should only go for the deduction.

rubber strip dangling. Yes, I found this strip dangling after a several hundred km trip, I carefully pulled it out and made sure nothing was leaking, obviously an afterthought in engineering with a poor selection of adhesive! I have not done anything about it, but kept the strip. <br><br>My gas gauge jumps sevral bars very quickly sometime..which made me wonder...how does it measure the fill level if the gas is in a bladder with no upper liquid level?? <br><br>Re: dealer support, I think this is going to be the biggest downside issue with the Prius when they finally start having problems outside of warranty, many dealers seem to have some sort of aversion to the car and sorting out problems may be quite ugly. I have bought both service manuals while they are in print so I can try to at least diagnose problems myself in a few years when I expect some will occur. Hopefully, being a Toyota they will be few and far between as my success with Tercels has been very good. I suspect it is a dealership managment issue, that they realize they will spend significant training time for minimal repair billings. My nearest Prius mechanic is 130 km away, but so far the local dealership has changed oil with no problem. I did the rest of the service check.<br><br><br><br>The other day I jump booted up my old 100% electric Uniq Mobility Electrek car with the Prius...that must be the first hybrid to jump start an EV!!

I just found the same sort of strip hanging under the front of my car. I have saved it for my next trip to Toyota for service. In the meantime, I am assuming that driving without it will do no harm.

Hi,<br><br>The foam strip dangling from underneath is mostly likely a cushion designed for underneath the radiator, since it is a top mounted unit only. I had the same problem too. The service writer ordered my super white up on the rack and he promptly put it back into position in about 5 minutes. FYI.<br><br>-Michael<br>CA "Prius"