200,000 Mile Club

250,000 Miles as of September 24, 2011!
New 2005, purchased February 2, 2005.
Transaxle flush every 100,000 miles by Toyota;
New O2 sensor at 6,000 under warranty;
New front driver side wheel bearing at 105,000;
Oil changes once a year with Amsoil;
New from brakes at 225,000 miles;
New plugs at 240,000 miles;

Only problem is that the car will NOT pass smog as two
sensors in the coolant system are not functioning.
One of them is the sensor in the coolant thermos bottle.
Will probably be about $1000 to have Toyota fix both!

Would really like the old tailpipe test right now. It's ridiculous that
a Prius won't pass just because the coolant sensors are bad!

12v battery is original and needs replaced but still works.
HV battery is noticeably weaker, fuel economy has dropped
from 42 MPG to about 35 MPG. Partly due to more AC use in Vegas.

Now burning about a litre of oil every 2,000 miles.

I've used the car hard. I regularly tow dirt bikes and street bikes and
almost always have a bicycle on the hitch rack.

Trying to hit 300,000!

 

Oh yeah, new tires about every 40,000 miles. Love
Discount/Americas tire. I've had many tires replaced at
discounted rates with the tire warranty.

 

hmm. Connection ?

 

I have a toyota pius July 2007. My Navigator is in japanese. I would like to know how can i upload songs on my hard disk drive. as there is a hard disk drive in it since i bought it.

 

This pic was taken exactly a month ago 9/29/2011
Today I got 287,110 on the clock.

 

Let us know if you get stuck at 299,999, on your first post in the 299,999+ club. I can't remember which year the combination meter was changed to remove that limitation.

 

I believe they fixed problem at late 2006 but we'll see in a couple of months.

 

Ok, recently got a transmission service (honestly, don't know what the heck these company mechanics know and do about prius' yes they are good on crown vics but when it comes to prius I don't trust those butchers) as far as I know they flush the ATF which is not a good thing for a car with this kinda mileage. I started to notice my gear changes more, especially when up shifting, when I get my foot off the gas car is not gliding as good as it used to be (checked the tire press. And bumped it up to 40 still no difference). Hesitation on fast acceleration, I floor it and car thinks about it a couple of seconds then revs up, I understand the drive by wire logic but this is more noticeable then it used to be.
I'll add more symptoms as I remember them, what do you guys think of about these?
Any input greatly appreciated.

 

Ask your mechanics what ATF they used. If a fluid other than Toyota ATF WS (like Dexron/Mercon for example) was used, then your transaxle is in trouble.

 

Patrick, communicating with these guys is a joke but I'll try.


Ok, update about the situation, I stopped by the company after my trip to downtown, not really hoping talk to some mechanic but cashing out my credit cards
As I was parking my cab right by the big dumpster this kid was taking all the trash from the shop, as I turned my head I saw bunch of empty Toyota coolant and ATF bottles, asked him about what they use and he said they always use original Toyota stuff with a big grin on his face. Just wanted to ask him then why do you guys use cheap Chinese headlight bulbs then they burn out once a month?? Anyway I think I got my answer when I saw the bottles but still like to confirm with one of the mentally normal mechanics.

 

Good. However note that Toyota has ATF T-IV as well as ATF WS. You would want WS used in the 2G Prius.

 

Oh shoot I honestly did not pay any attention to that but really big thanks for the pics, now I know what to look for.

Edit: Car has a scheduled oil change tomorrow, I'll definitely take a peek into the shop( drivers are not allowed into the shop)

 

Report on my 2005 Prius on its 6th Birthday today @198,532 miles ( + trip from OBX to FLA and back next week )

No it's not yet at 200,000 miles but I'm from NY....so sue me .

Nothing has ever gone wrong that either I or another mammal ( ) didn't cause. Lifetime I've registered fuel usage tank by tank and calculated that I've achieved ~47 mpg. The normal variations are applicable; winter, wet conditions, vacations with heavy loads, speeds in excess of 75 mph.
I refused to have the floormat recall done. Stupid waste of time and money.

MAINTENANCE:
Oil has been changed religiously every 5000 miles. Cost for 40 oil / filter changes... $ZERO!!! Seriously
Currently on my 3rd set of new tires. I switched to Yoko 195/65-15's AVID's for the last two sets. ( 50K OEMs, 60K GY, 60K AVIDs, 30K AVIDs )
Tires rotated every 10K miles, give or take.
Engine and Cabin Air filters every 25-30K miles
New 12v battery @118,000 miles
New plugs @151,000 miles
Inverter Coolant @104,000 and again @159,000 miles
Serpentine Belt @159,000
Cleaned blower for HV battery @159,000
One FOB battery replacement
HIDs are still the original ones
Three tail light bulb replacements @ $.15 ea
Replaced worn drivers seat @159,000 miles
Added new audio head unit @159,000 miles ... fantastic improvment in quality of sound.

And last but certainly not least....still the original brakes with more still to go.



OTHER:

• Took OFF ramp too quickly and broke two wheels and bent support arm
• Deer hit ME at 60 mph which broke the ORVM and dented side of car
• Another driver hit me on DS in the rear on the battery
• Drove over dead deer in middle of night, major damage to undercarriage. It bent the fuel line onto the exhaust pipe and bent the rear axle.
• Kissed my lovely wife's Highlander ever-so gently. Then she hit me with a baseball bat. (j/k)

None of this has had any effect on the performance of the vehicle. It's like driving a tank. The Energizer Bunny has nothing on my Prius. I traded in a 2000 Camry I4 for the Prius. In its lifetime the Camry achieved about 31 mpg on average ( 3.23 GPC ). The Prius @ 2.2 GPC means that I've saved 1.0 gallon for every 100 miles I've driven these last 198K miles. That would be 1985.3 gallons @~$3.50 per. That's $7000 still in my pocket not in Big Oil's treasury or some potentate's Rolls.

Upcoming before the trip to FLA I'm planning another major maintenance visit to check everything out.

You'll note the absence of any transaxle fluid changes. I asked and asked the SM who is one of the original Prius Master Tech's from 2000 about it. He said NO. Not Ever. However I will probably have it done anyway this next visit since I plan on going towards 300,000 miles.

[EDIT] 198,599 miles... first transaxle fluid change, both coolants changed

 

Wow!

 

Hi Bob,

Nice report. How nasty was the used transaxle ATF when it drained out of your car?

 

Compressor is almost $1000 new, then add another $90 for a new receiver/dryer and $40 for a full charge of R134a. $1130 without even touching labor. $1500 is actually a pretty fair price -- I've seen reports of $2000 for this, and as high as $5000 if there is a blockage in the evaporator core.

 

My '05, which I bought new in '04, has over 196,000. Counting down...

 

My TANK has finally made it...

1) Did you replace the HV battery pack? Nope.
2) Did you replace the 12v lead-acid battery? Nope.
3) Did you replace the hybrid transaxle fluid? Yes, once, and I will do it again shortly.
4) Did you replace the brake pads? Nope.
5) Your lifetime MPG (if available)? About 45MPGs.
6) How often do you change your oil? What brand / product did you use? Used Mobil 1 5w-30 (extended version) every 5k for 100K. After 100k, changed every 10k.
7) How about post a picture of 200,000 miles on ODO?

Things I've noticed:

1) Noticeable oil consumption after 150K. Car now burns about 1/2qt to 3/4qt every 5k.
2) Engine runs a few degrees hotter now. Use to always be around 182F-184F, even during the summer with the AC on. Now, temp. likes to hang around 188F-193F, even when it is 30F on the freeway.
3) Have seen HV Battery SOC fall under 40 percent a handful of times, especially climbing hills.