Toyota Prius: Considering a Prius, a few questions?

G-Man wrote: 

'04 loaded, owned since Oct '03.

I do it all myself in my home garage, including tire rotation.
No problem with fluids, reaching filters, etc. I added an
EZ-Drain which keeps things clean. Everything in the car comes
apart easily, usually snap fits or simple screws/bolts. There's
nothing tricky.

Keep a log and receipts just in case, but with a Prius the odds
are you'll never see a dealer except for service upgrades.

At 40k I thought about replacing the brake pads - which looks
like a simple task - but on inspection they appear to be new!

Thanks for the quick reply!

Are there any HUGE mainteance intervals like Honda? At 110k, you need to
replace the timing belt and water pump. This is a $600 ~ $700 trip to the
dealer?

G-Man


"nunymouse" <to> wrote in message
news:f3fr8h$603$motzarella.org... 

G-Man wrote: 

Nothing special other than there are two independent cooling loops. One
for the engine, another for the electrics. Both are a bit harder to burp
of air pockets than average. Just have to 1) know how much is supposed
to come out. and 2) measure how much came out. Then 3) measure how much
you put in. If the 3 measures are not close you know something is wrong.

The VSC (Vehicle Stability Control) system can actuate the brakes
electrically. So when servicing the brakes one has to remove the VSC
relay and/or fuse for safety to ensure it doesn't kick when the brakes
are disassembled. Same as with any VSC system, hybrid or not.
 

Valve adjustment comes at 60k miles. This is something you should
consider paying someone else to do if you are uncomfortable removing
your camshaft. Entire buckets have to be replaced as the shim is
integrated into the lifter bucket. A good dealership should have a
selection in stock, but apparently most do not. Means you have to take
your car partially apart and measure. If adjustment is required the
camshaft has to come out, more measuring, order parts...

Some have jumped in on the valve adjustment, measured everything, and
decided it was good enough to leave the way it was.

Transmission oil should be changed at 60k but thats easy enough because
there is no torque converter. There are no bands or other adjustments
inside the transmission.

"G-Man" <com> wrote in message
news:supernews.com... 

No timing belt; it's a chain. Several people in the Yahoo! Prius forum (and
maybe here) have driven around 200K miles, and I've never heard of a chain
problem.

The big interval for the 2001-2003 model is at 30K mile intervals. I believe
some services, like coolant replacement, have been extended in the current
model. Some people have reported paying $500 US and more for that service,
while it is only worth $200 at most. "Adding services" is rampant. The
procedure for changing coolant is more complex than in most cars, but is
still an easy DIY. I have two 2002s in the family and did both in a short
afternoon; I spent about an hour on each (more on the first, less on the
second), but a pro should be able to do it in half an hour. Caveat - don't
do it the first time without getting the skinny from somebody who has done
it; there is a "gotcha."

I have done Honda timing belts twice (another one coming up soon) and would
classify them as a challenging DIY... about 7 on a scale of 10, where 10 is
engine replacement or overhaul. (Getting that crank bolt loose is the big
deal there.) The Prius has never been higher than a 3 (like brake pads and
rotors would be, although our original pads and rotors are like new), with
most of the routine work being a 2.

Mike

On May 28, 8:05 pm, "G-Man" <com> wrote: 

You can view the US Toyota scheduled maintenance guides (including for
the Prius) at: http://smg.toyotapartsandservice.com/

Your basic 6 month/5000 mile US service interval on the NHW20
(current) Prius is an oil/filter change and tire rotation.

(Now that I have a torque wrench and a good jack, I don't mind doing
the tire rotations myself (or at least with my husband, since he's
better at knocking a stuck lug nut loose than I am...). I just don't
feel comfortable with an oil change yet, although DIY guides are
available:
http://john1701a.com/prius/prius-oilchange.htm
http://www.vfaq.net/mods/OilChange.html
I highly suggest that everyone save their money and do the very simple
engine air filter and the passenger cabin AC filter changes
themselves:
AC filter: http://john1701a.com/prius/prius-airconditioner-filter.htm
1st 3 photos to do a Toyota part change for the engine air filter:
http://www.vfaq.net/mods/AirFilter.html
)

Be careful about what your dealer claims is needed for a "major" X-
mile service vs. what Toyota says is really necessary per the
scheduled maintenance guides.

If you have the tools and ambition, you can do mostly all of your
regularly scheduled servicing DIY. You may be interested in getting
copies of the repair manuals, though. See
http://smg.toyotapartsandservice.com/pubs.php?v=&y=&int_id=&done=1 for
available publications and part numbers for ordering print versions
(your local dealer may offer them less expensively, though), or if you
have a decently fast internet connection, a credit card, a PDF viewer,
and a lot of patience to download a lot of tiny little files, see:
http://techinfo.toyota.com/ or http://techdoc.toyota-europe.com/ for a
subscription.

Do the new(er) Prius's require the "brake inspection" as the hybrid Camry's
do every 5,000 miles? Wondering if DIY maintenance might void the warranty
if this is not done by a dealer tech?





<net> wrote in message
news:googlegroups.com... 

In article <com>,
"Bob H" <net> wrote:
 

Does Toyota state that in a maintenance manual somewhere?

Because with the HSD, you can go over 100K miles on a set of brakes.

"Elmo P. Shagnasty" <com> wrote in message
news:usenetserver.com... 

I'm not making it up if that's what you're thinking. It is listed as part
of each 5,000 mile maintenance requirement. As I stated originally. The
fact that the brakes last so long and may also do so in the TCH has nothing
to do with the existence of TMC's requirement.

Anyone? Will DIY oil changes and tire rotations be construed as ignoring
the "brake inspection" portion of the service requirement?

I read on a website an owner paid $70+ for the OC/rotation/inspection
service. This seems quite a bit for an oft-repeating 5,000 mile service
interval.