200,000 Mile Club

I have to admit that when the Yaris came out and a few friends who had got one were telling the mileage figures (which were better than the 'official' numbers and darned close ((or in some cases, equal)) to what I was getting in my Prius) I started wondering about my investment in the Prius. I have to guess (just guessing) that for the extra $$ I've spent on the Prius that I have a much more solid car. Any car I drive has to take on LOTS of annual mileage and have a minimum of maintenance. Now when my friends have some miles on the Yaris (which I think starts at around $11,900 or something like that) I'll have a better idea how the car holds up.

 

Quick follow-up question about having the belt replaced (and I agree that I must do it SOON). Most of my service I have done at my Toyota dealer. I have a mechanic who I have used for a million years on all my other cars (still stop by for tires and tire repairs). If the belt is a DIY, would any good mechanic be able to replace the belt? I take it that replacing the belt wouldn't be some model specific specialty? Just wondering.

 

Yes. The only Prius-specific knowledge that the mechanic needs for this job is how to make the car IG-OFF.

While you are at it, you might ask your mechanic about your check engine light and see if s/he can replace the oxygen sensor. 2G Prius has two sensors: the one upstream of the catalytic converter is an air/fuel ratio sensor while the one downstream is a standard oxygen sensor. The DTC will show which sensor has failed. This will get you ready for 2010 or whenever the CA ARB figures out how to smog-test hybrids.

 

Many thanks! BTW, the dealership quote me $135 to install the belt. Went to my favorite mechanic; he told me it would take a half hour, tops and labor would be $45. Those dealerships; talk about robbery without a gun!

I'll ask him about the cost of replacing the O2 sensor (once we figure out which one is causing the check engine light to come on), I'll bet it will be a far better cry than what the dealership will want to do it for. I'm having the belt replaced on this Friday and the owner is cool with the belt I bought from Toyota being used for the install (some mechanics will only insist on using parts they source - but I have the toyota receipts/packaging for the belt so it is clearly not a risky knock-off).

 

update, im at 22x,xxx miles and just replaced the rear drivers side bearing. $140ish from Napa AutoParts, 15 minute fix.

 

increased road noise. I ignored it for a couple of months and the tire has feathered.

 

160,000. toyota prius 2008,navigation system,leather,bluetoh,aux for ipod,all working perfect. same brake pads,oil change and sugested services like sparck plus one. allways at dealer at 5000,miles.odometer picture coming..........at 200000.
i have to go...and drive my prius.bye.

 

My 2002 Prius is at 243,430 miles right now. No mechanical engine repairs, just basic maintenance. Had a minor bump in a parking lot that needed repairs on front bumper. Hit a poor animal while going 80 in Idaho and tore out the other part of the front bumper.
However, it has recently begun to not like the cold weather and will die while driving. The check engine light now never goes off and when it's cold, the triangle warning light goes on and will stay on until it feels ready to turn it off. The dealership says that there is an oil leak that cannot be fixed and isn't worth fixing since this car wasn't supposed to last this long anyway.
I'm keeping it as long as I can because I dislike the new Prius body SO much.
Also, I have a 1972 Ford Roll-A-Long motorhome that has over 300,000 on it. We keep our cars a long time.
AND we just traded in during the Cash for Clunkers our beloved 1994 Toyota Landcruiser that had over 280k for an Outback.

 

I just turned 279,000 miles on my 04. I've had to replace the generator fan and the dash shorted out from the 12 volt battery going bad. Besides the front pads(once), i've replaced nothing else. I drive around 1200 miles a week, so it I should be at 300,000 around March. I change my oil every 5000 and use 10w-30 mobil 1 synthetic.

 

Not radiator fan..theres a fan that is by the back seat area. the mechanic said it was to cool the generator. I took his word for true and paid the bill. i replaced the pads at 180,000 and they still had at least 20,000 on them.

 

Nope. I haven't even changed the hoses or fluid. Still original.

 

Wow!! you have to be near the top for least maintenance dollars per mile...

 

ktk, I want whatever tyres you have ;-)
Fantastic car.

I'm curious what was involved in the dash repair, and cost to you if you don't mind sharing. It would be cool to hear you were hit with a 59 cent fuse charge ! Also, how did hte mechanic know/diagnose the battery fan dysfunction ?

 

good one sagebrush. i go through a set of tires every 35,000. as far as the dash being replaced...it was $1500.00. they had to reset the odometer back to 190,000. i tried to have them knock off 100,000 miles but they did refused. the dash lights were not on,but the car was running. the power button was useless and i couldnt shut her off. still drove fine though,so i drove to the dealer,bent over,and took it like a man. 2 days later i was driving again. to answer the other question...the fan was diagnosed by the computer. the triangle of death appeared at 160,000 so i took it to the dealer. they hooked it up to the computer,told me it was the fan, and $400.00 later, the triangle dissappeared.

 

by the way...i also was told by the toyota mechanic that the fluid does not need to be changed in the transaxle. so i have yet to do it. at 279,000, should i keep going with the original fluid? what do you guys think? these are certified mechanics(according to the certificates on the wall) telling me this.......

 

^ Ouch. Thanks for sharing ktk. Hopefully no more repairs until 500k miles.

 

ktk, If we are talking about the WS transaxle fluid, it most certainly should be exchanged periodically, and if you accept local PriusChat expertise like I do, more often than Toyota recommends.