So I’m currently a high school senior and just received a 2013 Prius 2 as a graduation present from a family member. It currently has 101k and was bought 2nd handed with 70k. I know it had been well kept and maintained routinely. I saved up about 3k for the last few months and will go off to college soon. I want to make the car as new as it can be so it’d last another 6-7 years. The car has no mods or upgrades right now. What’d you do if you’re in my situation? Thank you in advance.
congrats and welcome! start by reading up and cleaning the egr circuit. then change the tranny oil and test the 12v battery. all the best!
to spice it up, you could add: black door handle covers...black mud flaps, change the antenna to a black shark fin.. these are cheap upgrades.... Oh, congrats..
I would save the entire amount for unexpected car repairs and regular maintaince unless you got the bill gates millennium scholarship. Once you finish school and begin your career, you can buy virtually any car you want. The hybrid battery it self will cost a few grand to replace and have a “normal” life span of 10 years so make note the year of your vehicle.
Its all in the budget. If you dont have budget, do what others suggest and start with maintenance. If you have budget, rear sway bar (TRD seems to be the least expensive and is easy to install), lowering springs (install will be the expensive part here) Tint makes a big difference. Detail it. Polish those headlights. LED upgrades are always nice. There is a lot you can do.
Here's a very minor mod, makes the wires atop the ECU in engine bay look cleaner: The front cover is added; Toyota doesn't supply it stock for some reason. Link to the item where I sourced it: Genuine Toyota 82821-76010 (8282176010) COVER, CONNECTOR - Amayama
It's interesting how that cover goes on, kind of like computer ram or processor chips. The grey plastic surround in the pic levers up, you push on the cover, then work the lever back down. It clicks positively when it's properly seated.
Before doing any mods, I did some preventative maintenance on mine first when I got my ‘13 at 105k. At around 100k, spark plugs, clean out the egr, pipe, and egr cooler, change your air filter, cabin filter, tranny fluid, coolant, pcv valve, clean out your hybrid battery fan. Takes a little time, not too much money, but you’ll have that peace of mind that your car will go another 100k without a worry.
Since you live in California, don’t worry about the hybrid battery. You still have about 50k miles or 3 years left on the warranty for it. Even it wasn’t under warranty, it’s around $1000 these days to get it swapped out. But do yourself a favor and clean out the cooling fan and ducting for the hybrid battery. They get filthy with dust and dirt, then it can’t do it’s job.
Okay, how did you do all that work at 100,000 miles, if you got the car at 105,000 miles? Is that the new math?
"Before doing any mods, "I" did some preventative maintenance on mine first when I got my ‘13 at 105k. At around 100k,"
Haha. Yeah. New, funny math they teach now. J/k. I guess my post did read a little weird. But as a couple of others mentioned, I meant to say that these are some things that should be addressed at approximately 100k miles. Personally, I would do certain things sooner, but at 100k, that is what I recommended to the OP. Being as I didn’t acquire my ‘13 Prius Plug-in until 105k, I just performed those tasks at that time. I hope I was able to clarify any miscommunication from my previous post.
