im wanting to keep my mechanicals in top condition for as long as possible above all else. fuel economy and driving at a safe speed (not to offend potential aggressive/dangerous drivers) are secondary concerns. what is the best way to drive to preserve long-term drivetrain durability yet still attain satisfactory fuel economy and safety? love my new prius..pjam!
Drive smooth and keep your momentum when able. Make yourself very comfortable in the car, so no fidgeting while driving (I got that really bad when it hit that my 2nd gen Prius fits me terribly). Here's an example of not driving smooth: I'm first at stoplight. On green, I pull onto overpass smoothly, not slowly, car behind guns the gas, goes around on left. Just as they crest the overpass, red light is ahead. So, they waste gas going around me and burn brakes to stop quickly. That will wear out mechanicals and maybe lead to a rear-ender. Now, I'm not saying super-slow to PO people behind, no, just smooth and easy, looking at 1 or 2 lights ahead, adjusting your speed. Tire condition and pressure, check them often, try inflating a little over the base spec. Of course good maintenance will help the most to help your car last long. Drive the car regularly. I don't think any Prius should sits for a week oftentimes.
Driving regularly on the freeway/highway rather than all stop-and-gos helps with engine longevity, although this is a bigger factor for conventional cars as the Prius does not experience cold starts.
Usually best mileage practices are very compatible with mechanical longevity. Avoiding sudden harsh braking for example, will dramatically increase your brake life. Same with accelerations (to the extent that the Prius will let you accelerate, that is.) Usually safety and high MPG driving are also compatible, as long as you're not a rolling road-block. I manage 55+ MPG, with very little Prius Hate. Yeah....I could probably leg that out to 60 in my area....but I always try to drive with the flow of traffic on single lanes whenever I can, and I'll accelerate juuuuuust a little more briskly when there's a soccer mom behind me trying to get her crumb-crunchers to day care (just my most common tailgater... ) If your idea of 'safety' is driving 35mph in a 40mph zone---well, we may not agree completely on 'safe'. That's just how I roll. Good Luck!!!!
Along with what everybody has already said, I always thought that high speeds wore out the drive train (and everything else) faster. Maybe I'm taking the "Little ol' lady from Pasadena" theory too far. I always figured that though a car is made to go 70-80 MPH, I don't think it's made to go that fast for long periods of time. I also figure that if your car isn't well maintained (oil, lube, tire pressure, etc.), then higher speeds can really tear down your car. Mike
seems common sense now that you all point it out. like any other car. anybody ever purchase that Car Talk (Click and Clack on NPR) thing they were selling many years ago "10 Ways You May Be Ruining Your Car and Don't Even Know It!" (or something similar in name)? I never did, but always wondered what these 10 things were. I'd wager that driving aggressively / harshly is right up there. strain on the mechanicals... i guess the basis of my original question was brought up because i've never had a vehicle with a hybrid motor nor a cvt transmission. i'll have to read up on the CVT. only experience was a murano my parents have that was one of the first 2003 or 2004, whatever the first model year was, that blew its CVT in the first 5k miles and nissan wanted it back to see what went awry. anyway, carry on...oh, and slowturd...hahaha funnyzombieyou!
Hey, whatdya mean; "SlowTurd's" not a zombie. I hope you're not making fun of his skin problem; very sensitive about that.
