Toyota Prius & EMF

I just purchased a new 07 Prius. After reading the owners manual we began to wonder what the emf reading is on this vehicle since it was purchased as a family vehicle. In the rear seats the EMF is above 24 mG (that is as high as our meter goes) what the actual number is I'm not sure. The EPA recommended limits for kids is 2 - 3 mG. After calling Toyota to see if they would shield the vehicle they stated it is safe since they have the numbers & test for EMF on the vehicle but would not disclose any w/ me. Toyota also stated since the car has been on the road for 10 years it must be safe.
I'm not saying I hate the car. I think it is a fun car and also great on gas.
However what has me so upset is I think if a vehicle has high EMF it should be disclosed to the buyer and the buyer then make the choice to purchase it or not.
I understand EMF is all around us. And there are no definate studies saying yes EMF is dangerous BUT there is also nothing claiming it to be safe. It is still unknown and many test are still going on. Maybe Toyota is part of this test group.
All I can say is if you're buying a hybrid vehicle and have kids please be aware of EMF and the possibilites that it could childhood leukemia or cancers.

I am in the same boat with the Prius purchase and later learning information about the high EMF. I agree 100% that Toyota is guilty of hiding this information and not being transparent about it. While the arguments about the effects of man-made EMF are debated, real health consequences could be happening. One thing is certain, if the EMF rating had been posted in the brochure like the other, 'favorable' specifications, I would have purchased something else - like a VW biodiesel.

Dear TMassmann,

I feel your pain, and your fear for your child's health, and your anger for being duped by Toyota - or at least not told the whole truth about your car. If you find any method of compensation, post it on this site. Also, contact NPR and ask them to do a story on this to inform the public, call Toyota and complain about failure to disclose all vehicle specifics, contact the EPA, and finally, tell all your friends not to buy a Prius until this matter is settled.

Hi Carpenter
I was advised by another person with the same problem that toyota will take the car back if you tell them you or a family member has a pacemaker and it wasn't brought to your attention prior to purchase. We ended up trading our Prius in a month after ownership and took a $5000 loss. However, after several calls to the our regional toyota customer service rep. They finally called the dealership for them to sell us another car at invoice. And after we made our purchase Toyota would send us an additional $1000 for our loss. I'm still not satisified with this but they basically had us because we owed what everyone was wanting to give us for trade so basically we would have to start from scratch to purchase another car and have nothing to put down on it.
If you end up trading in like we did. Make sure you go to the dealership when you can contact the regional customer support person. Because even though the dealership was told to take care of us and sell a car at invoice. We picked up a couple of cars from the dealers website and then pulled up cost on edmunds.com . Whats funny is the dealership tried selling us a car at $2000 over cost and said it was there cost. We had to call customer support to get the dealership to drop the price to cost. So be prepared!!! They try to get you coming and going.
Good luck!!!
I hope anyone else out there concern about the emf in there hybrid contacts the manufactors so they hopefully will start shielding them.
I think hybrids are great and are already being shielded in other countries just not ours!!

Hi everyone,
I am planning to buy a toyota Prius and I was surfing through the internet to see the reviews about the car from other people who purchased it in order to decide whether to buy it or not. The majority of the reviews was positive but, when I read about the EMF problem, I got worried and I was curious to learn what that was. After searching through the internet, I found a site "http://www.tachyon-energy-products.com/extern... ; refering to the problem and selling a product "Silica Disks" that, as the page claims, solves it. I do not know anything else about it but I thought it could posibly help you. If anyone knows something more about it please post your comments to the forum.

I have a 2008 Prius. I find the measurements reasonably low, 2ish in the back seat & less than 1 up front although higher near the feet.
I faxed Toyota & asked the question about the issue. I received a personal call back & he stated that the car is shielded such that the EMF levels are no greater than any regular car. He did say the thing that could cause it to go higher would be the keyless ignition which can be turned off. So take what they say with a grain of salt but at least they acknowledged the issue.

not Pittsburgh but Southern Cal.

I've been driving a Prius since they first went on sale, and am concerned about the car's EMF affecting the family member who wears a pacemaker. Where can I rent or borrow or buy something that would measure the EMF in my Prius? Thanks for any leads.

Aloha, Jim. Who did you fax? What number - what person? We just bought a 2008 Prius and now I am very very concerned. Freaked, actually. I have a 10 year old and we commute more than 1 hour a day in the car. I'd like to find out what they mean by "shielded" -- Also, did you yourself use a Gauss meter for the readings? Thanks.

jim nakao wrote:

I have a 2008 Prius. I find the measurements reasonably low, 2ish in the back seat & less than 1 up front although higher near the feet.
I faxed Toyota & asked the question about the issue. I received a personal call back & he stated that the car is shielded such that the EMF levels are no greater than any regular car. He did say the thing that could cause it to go higher would be the keyless ignition which can be turned off. So take what they say with a grain of salt but at least they acknowledged the issue.

I think hybrids are great and are already being shielded in other countries just not ours!!
Where did you find the information that other countries are shielding for EMF's? I am about ready to tackle Toyota and want to do my research first. We don't even use cell phones because of EMFs. Why would we want to sit on it for 8 hours a day when traveling! Thanks.

hey man where did you find out the info.i just bought a 2008 prius and am freakin out because i didnt know about this stuff. So some one told you that the 08 has a shield on it

In trying to research this, I am forced to conclude some concerns about EMF radiation are nothing more than urban legend. However, it is difficult to get real information because it would be unethical to do any real tests with statistically significant numbers. I mean, who wants to willingly place their children at risk? I remind everyone of the law of consumerism. "Buyer beware." Truth is, in contacting government regulatory bodies, it is nearly impossible to find anyone who regulates EMF levels. One thing is certain, the law suits in 15 or 20 years if EMFs from the large Prius battery do cause cancer or disease will put Toyota out of business. But then, how is it proven it was the Prius? Toyota seems pretty safe in this and can mislead and misrepresent, or even completely omit, information as much as they wish. Don't buy a hybrid if you have small kids. Ask yourself, is it worth the risk? There is much unknown about manmade radiation.

I used an EMF meter on my prii. Though the levels were high on the meter I used (designed for AC measurements) to test around the tunnel and rear seats, it was also high near the gas pedal. Interestingly, our Landcruiser measured near the same at the gas pedal. Thus implying that all cars emit high EMF near the gas pedal.

It is not true that non-hybrid cars have the same EMF reading as hybrid cars, like the Prius. I've tested a Honda Accord, SAAB (both non-hybrids) and a Prius. All three are similar only where the "harness" is located - near the feet and testing around 20 mG (at the brake pedal) to 50 mG (at the gas pedal). The back seat for non-hybrid Honda Accord and SAAB is 0 mG. The Prius's back seat left reads 15 mG and right reads 25 mG.

Anything over 1 mG can be harmful. The normal ambient reading for a home is 0 to 1 mG. TV's, telephone transformers, microwave ovens, inside the house where the power line connects to the house can all have reading anywhere from 10 to 50 mG.

I use a gauss meter for all my 'design livability' home inspections.

jim nakao wrote:

I have a 2008 Prius. I find the measurements reasonably low, 2ish in the back seat & less than 1 up front although higher near the feet.
I faxed Toyota & asked the question about the issue. I received a personal call back & he stated that the car is shielded such that the EMF levels are no greater than any regular car. He did say the thing that could cause it to go higher would be the keyless ignition which can be turned off. So take what they say with a grain of salt but at least they acknowledged the issue.

Question is: What kind of Gaussmeter did you use? A/C or D/C?

TerryC wrote:

It is not true that non-hybrid cars have the same EMF reading as hybrid cars, like the Prius. I've tested a Honda Accord, SAAB (both non-hybrids) and a Prius. All three are similar only where the "harness" is located - near the feet and testing around 20 mG (at the brake pedal) to 50 mG (at the gas pedal). The back seat for non-hybrid Honda Accord and SAAB is 0 mG. The Prius's back seat left reads 15 mG and right reads 25 mG.
Anything over 1 mG can be harmful. The normal ambient reading for a home is 0 to 1 mG. TV's, telephone transformers, microwave ovens, inside the house where the power line connects to the house can all have reading anywhere from 10 to 50 mG.
I use a gauss meter for all my 'design livability' home inspections.

Question is: What kind of Gaussmeter did you use? A/C or D/C?

Hi all, what happened to this post? I am having a defribuator implanted next month and the 2004 Prius we have has the smart key. I talked to Medtronic (maker of the implant) today and they told me that there was no problem. Any thoughts?

Thanks, Tom.

Google 07 camry transmission problems.
Toyota moving forward??????????