interesting article: 2010 Toyota Prius Maintenance Cost Varies the 2010s claim less maintenance: no belts, so no timing belt change needed fewer oil changes 8 yr warranty
Mostly same rehash of the hybrid battery woes. Only difference is the new electric engine water pump so now no belts to worry about. Wayne
The SOC limits on the big battery are quite accurate in the article. This is a major accomplishment, as the media has taken years to learn this. The rest of it is quite fluffly. Valve-driving belts have been (dare we say immortal?) chains on Prius since the beginning. Loss of the water-pump belt may reduce maint, or not. Depends on whether Toyota is using a better electric motor there than they did on the inverter side for years Engine coolant thermostat also goes away in 2010. Not that many of those have been replaced in Prius, but the new design is 'elegant' and we've certainly been asking for it for years. Engine oil change interval remains 5k miles (US spec). The coolant recirc is gone, and that will reduce maint if the exhaust heat transfer system (that effectively replaced it) proves reliable. We probably expect the new transaxle design to go forever (or near there) but if I had one I'd still change the transaxle fluid at 60k miles. The NiMH battery got a lot better in 2004 and has remained the same design since AFAIK. You still have to change the brake fluid before it gets to 2% water, or the resulting corrosion will make an expensive repair. ^ that's my 2010 maintenance outlook, and no doubt it would make a poor media-style story.
Only for my curiosity, I'll change the transaxle oil at 5k and take a sample for testing. Then I'll probably do it again at 30k, not that I'm expecting to see much change. Thereafter, 60k+ changes. Bob Wilson
Corrosion is not such a problem. Safety is. When the water content increases in the brake fluid and you use your breaks under extreme load conditions, that water in the system can heat up, boil and create water gas bubble. And then the hydraulic brake system changes to being pneumatic one. And instead of braking, you get nothing from your hydraulic brake system. Prius at least has an electric braking, but it is limited in its capacity, so you can still get killed when your hydraulic brakes fail. And they usually fail under extreme conditions when electric braking is not enough. So it is recommended to change brake fluid as recommended. Safety first!
But there is no recommendation on changing the brake fluid AFAIK is there? I've not seen any in the Maintenance Manual.
