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Use the best grade oil and foillow the API rating in the ownerts manual. All oils have a rating from the American Petrolium Institue and as long as the oil is at or above the latest or listed in manual rating you are good. The filter must say mets or exceeds mfg. specs. I usually use a Fram filter in all my cars and have had good luck for over 30 years. I was told by Hyundai that I should use their filter as the other brands may give me a slight lifter tap on start up but have over 20,000 on an Elantra and never had the lifter noise [I know lifter knocks very well working for a dealer for 10 years]. The meets or exceeds means it meets or exdfceeds all parameters such as bypass valve etc.
I am waiting for my Prius and when I get it I will do the oil changes with Mobil 1 or any good synthetic. Since they recdommend a 5000 mile for oil change I will do less of them and can afford better oil. Using synthetic sends a message and consedrves more of the petrolium ground based oil as these are made by man
As to maintenance: I change oil...air & oil filters...wipers....spark plugs ...and tire rotation. I take it to local tire place for the "much needed" wheel alignment and balance. I'm on my 2nd set of tires and was told by a trusted mechanic @ Toyota to be sure and get wheel alignment by 40 K (possibly sooner if there are telltale sign of wheel vibration, pulling or wheel wobble.
Last thing....If you ever have to replace a hd light bulb, leave it to the dealer. It's a son-of -a-gun. My dealer just charged 10 bucks and it was worth it.
http://john1701a.com/
Have a Happy Holiday and a Happy New Year.
Pat.
pat_tharavej@live.com
My 2005 Prius just reached 100,000 miles this week after 37 months.
I keep track of everything. My records have records,LOL
Every tank except the last 4 or 5 has been entered on the GH database. The lifetime fuel economy is 47.9 mpg. This is the 'real' number, Tot Miles Driven / Tot Gal Pumped.
So what has this cost me in Maintenance? Don't be shocked by some of the following..
All services done at or near the 5000 mi scheduled interval:
Oil and filters .................... $ZERO ! (All vehicles get O/F Free for Life)
4 new tires 50000 mi .......................... $275
2 replacement tires for road hazards ..... $180
16 tire rotations ................................... $320
3 rotate and balance............................. $90
2 sets of wipers..................................... $5
... Subtotal: Rubber .......................... $870
2 engine flushes ( my choice ).............. $150
1 rear replacement bulb............................... 10 cents
1 lower grill facia replacement................. $30
2 air filters............................................. $30
3 cabin air filters.................................... $90
3 minor accidents
broken rims, deer, other driver................ $750 deductibles.
The next service at 103,000 miles will be the first 'major' service where all the normal service is done plus the engine/inverter coolant drain/replace.
Excluding the 3 deductibles the total costs for maintenance has been about $1150 almost all of which is for rubber. The Oil/Filters Free for Life is unusual certainly except in this area. It's a significant piece of change since I get 7 or 8 free services every year.
I live in Northern Illinois and once again we've had a ton of snow and the Prius sucks in snow and ice. The wheels spin all the time. I'm reluctant to spend the money on new tires as I just bought this car in June and can't really afford to. So then I would have to pay for a shop to switch the tires over every season at more cost. I might have to though because I drive 33 miles to work one way on an open interstate that is bad with snow and ice. Maybe you can help me with another question, plus I'll start a new thread I think. On my way home tonight, wind chill 30-40 below, it suddenly lost some power then kicked in again and a light on the dash came on that looks like half a circle with an exclamation point in the middle. What does that mean? I haven't looked in my manual yet and hoped I could get a quick answer. Thanks! Laughen59
Thank you.
Laughen59
Don't worry about it. Yes if it's very cold the bladder will be very stiff and it won't allow a complete fillup. Just go with the flow ( ewww ) and try to bleed some in until you get a near-full tank. If it won't take as much as you'd like drive for a while and get the vehicle warmed up ... then try again.
Thanks.
The cabin air filter is easily checked and replaced as you found out. I don't know if the aftermarket filter will be as good -- probably better to go with the OEM Toyota one.
The irony is that the "genuine" and aftermarket part could be produced side-by-side in the same factory!
Other than regular tire rotation and wheel alignment, there are few scheduled services required.
Has the brake fluid ever been renewed?
Just let them fix your car for the reason you came in and then get out of there.
I suppose LEDS are more sensitive to polarity that regular bulbs, but then why would the brake lights be on? You mentioned cable boosting. Did someone ( AAA ) jump-start the car? Could the polarity of the jumper cables have been reversed? Is that the ONLY damage to the electrical system of the car?
I am pretty sure there are details on replacing light bulbs in the Owner's Manual.
It took 30 seconds to replace the dead bulb.
Well, the squeaking got worse -- more like a groaning sound every time I moved the steering wheel even a little bit, and after trying WD-40, to no avail, and not trusting the dealer, I took it to a different shop where they said it needed a new rack & pinion. I've already ordered and paid for this ($1300), but what else can I expect to have to deal with at this point? The shop said the steering is just normal wear and tear, and I love the car, which otherwise, appears to be in perfect shape. Am I in for more trouble ahead? So far these costs have been higher than expected, but are still much less than a new car.
Also, how do I know whether to trust a mechanic? Any advice?
p.s. I once went to a Major Brake & Muffler Shop for a brake problem on an old 93 Ford 150. He called and said I needed major repairs to the tune of $1,400.00 so I went down to the dealer and inspected his explanation and then told him to just replace the brake line that was initially requested. He did at a cost of $67.00 and the truck has been fine for 2 yrs. Buyer beware!!
As for the "groaning/squeaking" noise, there is a rubber boot and bushing where the steering shaft passes thru the firewall. Sometimes when even new, but esp when older, this needs to be lubricated to avoid a creaking/groaning sound that may even sound like the steering wheel itself is noisy.
I hope you really did need the complete rack [non-permissible content removed]'y, and did get your money's worth.
I have and '86, a '98, and an '07. I put a rack in the '86 Camry after it began leaking after 155K mi, and now my 157K mi Sienna is leaking. NOT creaking/groaning 'tho.
Good luck finding a truthful, competent mechanic.
When I declined the gas tank as first, the message on my invoice read:
"Declined gas tank and relay; engine light or stalling condition will come back." So, I asked that the technician please take a second look to see if the gas tank really needed replacing, in which case I would go ahead with it. Here's the message:
"Inspection verifies gas tank malfunction; replaced gas tank"
I really wish I could have spoken directly to the technician, but I was relegated to the "advisor"; is this normal?
As for the creaking/groaning sound, I've been asking about lubrication for the last couple of oil changes but was just told that was not the issue... I'll question the shop again before going ahead with the complete rack and pinion replacement, but I think I may be stuck, as the non-dealer shop made me prepay for a special-order part.
Anyone know of a good mechanic or shop in the South Bay?
That is in addition to the 8yr/100K mi warranty on "most" of the hybrid system.
It was about $2K, but I was slightly wary of the repair costs, and the "guessing ability" of the service department if the hybrid system, or any other "covered" component needs repair. My dealership relies on the service writer to diagnose much of the malfunctions while the car is on the drive during write-up.
I bought the service plan to ease my mind. But it was $2K after all.
Maybe she would feel more at ease with a "conventional" car.
The fact is, most of the Prius is just like most other cars. It does NOT have a nuclear reactor, and one need not be a computer programmer to operate it.
Unless she drives "a lot", she might be better suited to a non-Prius type of automobile.
A question: I was fooling around after vacuuming the floorboards and came across a "reader" beneath the driver's seat. I assume it is the DVD drive for the Nav system. I pushed the button and nothing happened, ie. nothing ejected, no DVD.
Is that the way it is supposed to be? Or has someone swiped my Nav DVD?
Anyway, he said yes they could do it, but that it requires synthetic oil and it costs $50 to do it. As opposed to the $20 they charged for my Accord.
I'm guessing this guy was either misinformed or outright lying, but I'd like to confirm that. So does the Prius require anything different regarding oil changes than other cars?
Of course, the same guy also told me Mazdas all have rotary engines and the engines are half plastic. That's not true either, is it?
Thanks for sharing your wisdom and experience!
Too many people know too little about the car.
I once had a salesman tell me the brakes would not last on the Prius since Toyota used a "regenerative" braking system on the car. Crazy!!!
Don't you worry ma'am, the guys at Firestone will be plenty able to drain the oil, overtighten the oil pan drain plug, and even overfill the engine oil level just like every other kind of car they work on.
P.S. MANY intake manifolds on today's cars are made of plastic. It is too expensive, and too difficult to make the parts out of aluminum. Plastic works just fine.
ps...There was a lengthy study that found "Synthetics" were no better than oil over a 100K comparison. Cost difference was in excess of $300.00 per same 100K miles. Next time you see a car going down the road farting blue smoke like a mosquito fogger chances are that person neglected oil changes.
Buy 3 quarts of synthetic oil at any automobile parts store or most department stores or farm supply shops. Look in a parts book or ask a salesperson for a good quality oil filter to fit a Toyota Prius. If you do not have one, buy a socket wrench and filter wrench, a drive-up car ramp, and an oil drain pan. Buy a roll of paper toweling, too.
Park beside your county oil recycling tank about every 6 months or 7,000 miles of driving. Set the drive-up ramps in front of your forward set of tires. Drive up the ramp. Set the drain bucket beneath the large bolt on the bottom of your engine. Use a socket wrench to turn the bolt counter-clockwise. Unwind it by hand until the bolt drops and oil runs into your oil bucket. Then, take your filter wrench and set it around the filter under your engine. Turn counter-clockwise until it drops and empty it into the oil drain bucket. Now, empty the oil bucket into the oil recycling tank.
Replace the bolt, which is called a drain plug, into the hole on the bottom of your engine and tighten clock-wise. Wipe a little fresh oil on the rubber ring on the new oil filter and tighten it onto the filter threads in a clock-wise direction. Then, open the oil fill cap on top of your engine. Pour 3 quarts of fresh oil into your engine. Pack-up your tools. Back off your ramps. Drive home and wait approximately 6 months or 7,000 miles to do it again. You are now a Prius owner. Have fun!