Priuses(?) on the Highway

[squirrl22]

I have owned vw diesels since the first rabbit. Lots of repair issues, even if your are meticulous with maintenance,- which I am.

[Isaac Zachary]

Originally Posted by squirrl22

I have owned vw diesels since the first rabbit. Lots of repair issues, even if your are meticulous with maintenance,- which I am.

With my 1985 Golf diesel the door handles and CV joints were continuous repair issues. But the engine and transmission felt bullet proof.

The Prius I own needs a wheel bearing, the dash lights have problems, the HV battery needs replacing, the engine burns oil and the catalytic converter is fouled. And it's half the age and half the mileage as the VW Golf diesel was when I had it.

[jburney76@gmail.com]

I have a 2009 Prius, generation 2 that I bought a couple of months ago.

Purchase price: 4,500 US.
Mileage: 166,000 miles.
Condition: Good, with a replacement aftermarket battery, but needed several things.

What I have done:
1. Replaced spark plugs, installing stock plugs (routine)
2. Tire pressures to 35 pounds (routine).
3. Fixed leak in rear hatch area.
4. Had multifunction display repaired ($220)
5. Replaced water pump belt. (routine)
6. Cleaned VVT solenoid and filter. (not routine, but not hard)
7. Cleaned intake manifold (kinda routine)
8. Replaced air filter (routine)
9. Cleaned PCV valve (kinda routine)

MPG: With this work done, I took an 800 mile trip and got 54 mpg, driving between 60 and 75 mph. Around home I get 51 mpg. Both measurements have been confirmed at the gas pump. My local terrain is rather hilly, which explains the lower mpg.

Oil consumption: With Priuses, you can get their maintenance history at Toyota on line at toyota.com if you have the VIN. I got mine, and it was changed faithfully every 5000 miles. It consumes 1/10 of a quart every 1000 miles, a negligible amount.

Can you mod a Prius? Sure, you can mod anything. Will it work? I don't know. A few things might help. Higher tire pressure, a belly pan, deleting the radio antenna might help. Other things are a lot harder to expect any returns--lighter engine oil, wheel pizza pans, side mirror deletions, etc. but might be worth trying if legal in your area. Getting above 55 mpg on the highway is tough if you plan to drive above 65 mph, I think. Getting 55 consistently would be a great goal, though. It is worth noting, however, that anything above 55 is a matter of luck and considerable skill in operating your hybrid, and not something that comes from driving "normally".

Prius maintenance is like any hybrid: The battery is likely to need to be replaced sometime, and a new battery gives you better mileage than a refurbished one and would be my first choice probably.

What does it cost to maintain, long term? First, if you work on your own cars, they are not bad at all, but they are somewhat more expensive than a conventional car. BUT If you want someone to do your work for you, they will eat you alive:
1. It will be most efficient with low-resistance tires, so they cost an extra 100 US per tire refresh.
2. It will need a main battery perhaps every 100,000 miles, at 1600 US for refurbished, or twice that for a new battery. If you install your own, you can cut both of those numbers significantly. It will also need a 12 volt battery every 4 years for $300--a bit pricy.
3. It has has five pumps to deal with (a conventional car has 2)--a regular engine water pump, an inverter coolant pump, a coolant reserve tank pump, an air conditioning pump, and a ABS pump. The first three are easy to change and should be changed every 100,000 miles. I plan to swap junkyard parts in for the a/c pump and the entire ABS unit when needed down the line, and will keep my eyes open for having one on the shelf of each.
4. It has has no alternator, no starter, and no timing belt (it uses a timing chain), and brakes last for 100,000 miles due to regenerative braking saving your conventional brakes from much wear.
5. It is a Toyota, with Toyota engineering, which is very, very good. But it needs what every car needs--occasional work. With so much electronics, however, driving it into the ground is not a valid option, though, so you need to plan to keep it in good operating condition, with a budget of US$1000 a year or so for parts, like any used car, plus tires. If you set the funds aside, a new main battery is affordable. If you don't, the music dies when the current battery dies.

[Isaac Zachary]

Originally Posted by jburney76@gmail.com

I have a 2009 Prius, generation 2 that I bought a couple of months ago.

Purchase price: 4,500 US.
Mileage: 166,000 miles.
Condition: Good, with a replacement aftermarket battery, but needed several things.

What I have done:
1. Replaced spark plugs, installing stock plugs (routine)
2. Tire pressures to 35 pounds (routine).
3. Fixed leak in rear hatch area.
4. Had multifunction display repaired ($220)
5. Replaced water pump belt. (routine)
6. Cleaned VVT solenoid and filter. (not routine, but not hard)
7. Cleaned intake manifold (kinda routine)
8. Replaced air filter (routine)
9. Cleaned PCV valve (kinda routine)

MPG: With this work done, I took an 800 mile trip and got 54 mpg, driving between 60 and 75 mph. Around home I get 51 mpg. Both measurements have been confirmed at the gas pump. My local terrain is rather hilly, which explains the lower mpg.

Oil consumption: With Priuses, you can get their maintenance history at Toyota on line at toyota.com if you have the VIN. I got mine, and it was changed faithfully every 5000 miles. It consumes 1/10 of a quart every 1000 miles, a negligible amount.

Can you mod a Prius? Sure, you can mod anything. Will it work? I don't know. A few things might help. Higher tire pressure, a belly pan, deleting the radio antenna might help. Other things are a lot harder to expect any returns--lighter engine oil, wheel pizza pans, side mirror deletions, etc. but might be worth trying if legal in your area. Getting above 55 mpg on the highway is tough if you plan to drive above 65 mph, I think. Getting 55 consistently would be a great goal, though. It is worth noting, however, that anything above 55 is a matter of luck and considerable skill in operating your hybrid, and not something that comes from driving "normally".

Prius maintenance is like any hybrid: The battery is likely to need to be replaced sometime, and a new battery gives you better mileage than a refurbished one and would be my first choice probably.

What does it cost to maintain, long term? First, if you work on your own cars, they are not bad at all, but they are somewhat more expensive than a conventional car. BUT If you want someone to do your work for you, they will eat you alive:
1. It will be most efficient with low-resistance tires, so they cost an extra 100 US per tire refresh.
2. It will need a main battery perhaps every 100,000 miles, at 1600 US for refurbished, or twice that for a new battery. If you install your own, you can cut both of those numbers significantly. It will also need a 12 volt battery every 4 years for $300--a bit pricy.
3. It has has five pumps to deal with (a conventional car has 2)--a regular engine water pump, an inverter coolant pump, a coolant reserve tank pump, an air conditioning pump, and a ABS pump. The first three are easy to change and should be changed every 100,000 miles. I plan to swap junkyard parts in for the a/c pump and the entire ABS unit when needed down the line, and will keep my eyes open for having one on the shelf of each.
4. It has has no alternator, no starter, and no timing belt (it uses a timing chain), and brakes last for 100,000 miles due to regenerative braking saving your conventional brakes from much wear.
5. It is a Toyota, with Toyota engineering, which is very, very good. But it needs what every car needs--occasional work. With so much electronics, however, driving it into the ground is not a valid option, though, so you need to plan to keep it in good operating condition, with a budget of US$1000 a year or so for parts, like any used car, plus tires. If you set the funds aside, a new main battery is affordable. If you don't, the music dies when the current battery dies.

Don't forget it'll need a capacitor for the dash lights to keep working. The brake actuator is another expensive fail point so keep good fluid in it. (Needs special tools to flush though).

As far as the refurbished battery, I've heard nothing but bad about those. Pay $1,600 to have it installed and expect it to last a year or two at the most. Some Toyota dealers are cheaper than others. I've also heard good things about New Prius Batteries (aka Toaster batteries).

[Hersbird]

Suggest people watch publicsurplus.com Prius'show up on there pretty often and they are well maintained.

[Blacktree]

Ironically, I just replaced my Jetta TDI with a Gen2 Prius. The Jetta was starting to nickel-and-dime me to death. I do my own maintenance, and am pretty vigilant about it. But every time I turn around, something else is broken. It gets old after awhile. It'll be nice to have a car that doesn't need constant attention.

[hayden55]

My Gen 3 (2010) has been good.
The things I've found:
1. You have to grease the caliper sliding pins every 30k or you will get bad mileage. But if you do that the pads should last the life of the car. I finally ate my pads by accident from the sliding pins seizing up around 190k. Never had a brake job after 12 years.
2. 5k oil changes are a necessity or the car will start to consume oil.
3. Gotta keep the egr circuit clean or just unplug it if you don't want to clean it every 1-2 years. After about 150k you will start having to clean the egr circuit. It seems the egr system becomes clogged and then the car starts misfiring and eventually blows the head gasket.
4. For me I like to keep the battery above 50-54% SOC on scan gauge. I tend to get better mpg and i feel its probably better for longevity.
5. At 3050 pounds, 195mm tires, and 63 or 64% front weight bias on the drive axle this is a fantastic snow car.

To this date I have only had to do pads rotors once, tires every so, original 12v battery, original high voltage battery, and I had to clean the intake manifold and egr cooler, and replaced the pcv valve.
Currently the car gets like 42-48 interstate, and 54mpg average for me with 65% city.

Once i figured out the brake and egr issue i was happy with the car again.

*in a couple months i will have 200k.

[JacobLeSann]

Been getting a lot of emails about this thread, sorry for no reply in so long.

I’ve abandoned the idea of getting a new car, due to sentimental value and high market prices. I’ll stick with my little civic. Thank you all for the info, as I hope it can be of use for others.