Super-Commuter & high mile thread

This happened yesterday. 1 year, 5 months, 19 days of ownership.

 

80,000 mile service happened this morning. Everything is still good.

In that 80,000 miles, I’ve just had routine maintenance done (oil, filter, and tire rotations), replaced one set of tires, replaced the wiper blades, and replaced both the engine and cabin air filters. Besides that it’s been gas and go.


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If I remember correctly, I just got wiper blades at the dealership because they were cheap and I was there getting it serviced.

Your city figure is interesting...on the rare occasions that I drive around town, my MPG rises dramatically...it's easy to top 60-65 mpg. But then again, when I'm in the city I drive pretty gently. My highway dropped when I replaced the stock Toyo tires...I had been averaging about 51 (hand calculated), but after the tire swap it hovers in the 47-49 mpg range. It's not that big of a deal to me though...the replacements are quieter, smoother, they handle better, and they've got a 75,000 mile treadwear warranty, which based on the current wear (nearly none), I should easily get that.

I should note though that my highway driving is in ridiculous conditions. The speeds are moderate (68-75 mph, using cruise control), but every day I drive home for about 100 miles directly into a 20-30 mph headwind. It's also really hot in the summer (daily highs are generally in the 105-110 degree range), and the car typically sees a 50+ degree temperature swing every day during the summer.

One thing I thought was very interesting...Car and Driver has added a test recently that seems to duplicate my daily commute pretty well. They do a 200 mile loop, all highway, cruise control set at 75 mph. In their test of a Prius 2 eco, they got 47 mpg on that test...just slightly off my average. In their test of a 3, they got 44 mpg. I'm watching that test closely in other vehicles that interest me, just as a point of comparison to my Prius.

 

Just thought I'd throw this out there...

My daily commute is very predictable. I've mentioned before about the strong headwinds I experience on a daily basis on the way home from work. Every now and then, there will be a day when I get no wind on the way home. A day like today.

On a typical day, my indicated fuel economy for my trip home sits right around 50 mpg...sometimes a little lower, sometimes slightly higher, but never above 51. That's with the headwind. Today, there was no wind on the way home. My indicated MPG? 60.2. I'm losing roughly 10 mpg to that headwind!

 

Sorry for the delayed reply...life happens!

I’m running the Yokohama Avid Ascend tires, and I’m very pleased. I lost about 3 mpg, but they are much quieter than the stock Toyos. The Yokohamas went on at 45,000 miles. I’m at 87,500 miles now, and they don’t look worn at all. If I remember correctly, at the last service the dealer said they were at 9/32nds, which is barely worn. They have a tread wear warranty of 75,000 miles, and it looks like I’ll get all that and possibly more out of them.

On another note, my Eco just keeps going with no troubles. No check engine lights, fuel economy has remained consistent (with the usual winter downturn), no oil usage, no unscheduled repairs, the interior shows shockingly little wear, and everything still works like it should. I’m on my second set of wipers, and second set of tires. Even the suspension feels fine after all these miles.

So far, so good...


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Today I was in for the 90,000 mile service. Normally, I stick to the maintenance outlined in the owner's manual, but today I chose to get the dealer's recommended 90K service. I did so mainly because recently I saw a little film of oil on the inside of the intake manifold (what I could see looking down the throttle body), and because part of their recommended service sounded like it would clean that out.

Spoiler alert: I'm actually glad I had it all done.

Here's a rundown...
- throttle body & intake manifold cleaning (more on this in a minute)
- replace brake fluid
- run an oil cleaner through the engine, drain, fill with clean oil & new filter
- new air filter & cabin filter (I have to drive a short distance on a dusty road going to work)
- replace PCV valve
- lube half shafts & bearings
- new wiper blades (needed them anyway)
- clean MAF sensor
- re-balance & rotate tires
- clean & check brakes
- a laundry list of other checks

The throttle body & intake cleaning. I asked them how they do that (thinking that it'd be a fuel cleaner dumped into the gas tank). They did put a fuel system cleaner in the tank, but they also use some machine that pressurizes the throttle body & intake manifold, and sprays in cleaner while the engine is running...the tech described that typically a bunch of soot comes out of the tailpipe when they do this, so it sounded like a seafoam treatment, but using a machine that sprays it into the throttle body.

The car runs smoother and is quieter...noticeably so. The transition between engine off and engine on is now imperceptible...before, I'd have described it as smooth. The little ticking while braking and turning slightly to the right is greatly reduced...not gone, but nearly so. A little rattle that I had when the engine was at low RPM and under load (like when it's warming up and pulling away from a stop light) is now gone. The brakes operate more smoothly...less grabby now in that transition between regenerative braking and conventional.

The improvements are all a matter of degrees...a little bit better than before, but noticeably so.. I think this may be a case of me not noticing the slow changes in the car's operation, so now that things are cleaned out a bit, it does feel better.

Could I have done it myself and saved money? Sure....but honestly, I do not have the time. Before I got my current job with the crazy commute, time was no problem, but money was tighter. Now it's the reverse, so I don't mind paying someone to do stuff if it means I have more time to do the things I enjoy doing. And yes, I'm well aware that they probably did more than what was truly needed. But I cannot afford the time if the car goes down for repairs, so I'd rather go a little heavy on maintenance.

Oh and a small bonus: by doing this service, the dealership warranties the engine for as long as I own the car. I'm good with that.