everyone! New member here, and have to say I love this site! I wanted to start a thread for Gen III owners who have 200k+ miles on their Prius. I have 235k on my 2010 Prius II now, and was wondering what type of problems/maintenance is normal for this age. I drive for a living, so it's real important to me to keep this buggy in tip-top shape, and stay ahead of problems if I can. TIA for the responses!
Are you the original owner? If it hasn't been done already you ought to change the transaxle oil. The rear brake calipers on Gen III's tend to stick on their pins without occasional disassembly and lubrication. While you're in there, take a look at the inboard disk surfaces for rust. Change spark plugs, lubricate the throttle body. Of course keep an ear open for wheel bearings going bad. Front end looseness, shocks and struts wearing out can happen eventually. Most of what you should keep track of is the same as a conventional car.
I am the second owner. It had 29k miles on it when I bought it two years ago. Do you mean the transmission fluid? I'll have it done straight away! The brakes on my car seem to perform well. I've had no wear issues, or funny noises coming from them. I've had the plugs changed recently (200k) and had the TB cleaned during my last overhaul at Toyota. I had 2 wheel bearings go bad on me around 190k, and decided not to take a chance and change all four. Suspensions still seems pretty good. Thanks for the response!
There are many DIY threads on this site for this. If you are going to DIY or get a private shop to do it (make sure to show them pics from this site for the drain holes), make sure to use the Toyota ATF WS fluid, not the generic kind they use in other cars.
I work as an I.C. courier. The mileage that I've put on is work related since I started this job in mid 2012.
You might get resistance when you ask them to change the transaxle fluid. And/or an inflated charge, and/or a lecture about it not being needed, depending (to be kind) on how clueless they are regarding the simplicity of the Prius transaxle fluid change. Or not. Just be ready. One reason many owners do their own is exasperation.