Love this car so far. Just curious about a few things and how some things work. What is that little noise coming from the engine bay when you unlock and open the drivers door? Is the brake pedal a two stage braking? You're not actually using the 4 wheel disc brakes until you fill up the charge (generator meter) are you? What conditions call for turning on the motor? When sometimes it turns it on seemingly randomly (Good charge, no throttle) is it just trying to keep it warm? This car has 155,000 miles on it. What maintenance should be done other than regular stuff? Previous people had calipers and pads replaced all around but they left the rotors and the front is grinded in a bit.I know the system alerts you for oil changes at least.
yayyyyy!!!!! congrats! that's your brake accumulator being filled. it happens quite often, but is most noticeable when you first open the drivers door. yes, you could call it two stage, regen, then friction. the motor warms for pollution reasons and takes longer and more often as it gets colder out or if you turn up the temp. it will also come on to recharge the battery if necessary. some here recommend changing the tranny fluid. you need to change the model in your info. all the best!
My peripheral advice would be try NOT to worry about everything at once. In other words, it is a hybrid which means it has a gasoline engine. The system, or Hybrid Synergy Drive will determine when the engine runs and when it doesn't, and although there are factors one can comprehend and apply as to "Why", sometimes it seems counter to the immediate reality. In short, yes, The Prius is designed to keep it's engine warm to lower emissions. So sometimes when it seems it doesn't need to run, it will run. But overall, I'd keep a "vague" eye on specifics of feedback. For a while, just drive it and enjoy it, and monitor gas efficiency by miles driven and how many gallons you are buying at the pump. And don't worry too much about what a gauge is immediately telling you. New owners can get overwhelmed by what they "think:" the Prius is telling them.
This. Accelerating or going up a hill takes a lot of energy, don't worry about it getting 12MPG for a few seconds. 155k miles on a 2014? Wow.
I probably shouldn't HAVE to say this...just in case... But when I say keep an vague eye on specifics of feedback? I do NOT mean ignore warning lights or oil level, or a check engine light. You ALWAYS want to be attentive to those things.
If you want to access the car interior without activating the brake pressurizing, say for something in the glove box, or to pop the hood: get in through the passenger side, avoids it triggering.
I was just curious what that sound was. Also someone changed my title aha! Right now the Cons mpg average stat is around 53-54 for me so I know my batteries are great. I wasn't worrying about it turning on and off, I just like to figure out exactly how things work and why it does what it does. I suppose it's fine for the engine running a bit cooler than others since it does run super light oil. Does the prius actually store it's coolant somewhere to keep it warm over a longer time to avoid long cold starts? I remember reading that somewhere. Anyone have a link to the car's maintenance schedule? I guess I could go jus tlook at the owner's manual lol.
Go here: TIS Then choose the Manuals Tab, select your make, model and year, and you can download both the Owners Manual and Warranty and Maintenance Guide. Gen 3 doesn't have coolant storage bottle anymore; does speed warm up by running coolant lines through hot exhaust gasses.
I looked at the maintenance schedule in the car didn't say anything past 120. I figure the plugs are denso iridiums so they'll last pretty much forever. Air filters are fine. Oil pops up on the dash when i tneeds to be changed. I need to add coolant in the res it's low there but still enough. Does the ICE and electric componets share the same coolant? I guess if so the only thing I'd wonder about is the PSD fluid and does this car use a transaxle or anything or is it motors to PSD to wheels?
agh, I don't think there is an oil wear indicator on the Prius, you just change the oil a 10k intervals. At 155k Prii tend to start burning oil, check frequently until you figure how much oil it is using and all should be good.
The Oil Maintenance reminder will display every 5,000 miles once reset. This is for the tire rotation and check fluids maintenance items. The oil change is at 10,000 miles, as long as you use 0W-20 synthetic oil. As mentioned, download the user guide and maintenance schedule from either TIS or the Toyota Owner's Online websites. Lots of good info, even though the English translation leaves something to be desired...
Here's the link , Just type your mileage in the rectangle and you will get your service schedule . 2010 Toyota Prius Manufacturer Service Schedule and History - DriverSide.com
