I just bought a super clean 2004 Prius with 240k on the clock for $3600 as a gas saver second car. My Suburban gets 15-17mpg and considering the distance I commute this car made sense financially. What kind of real world mileage do people get out of these? I have averaged 50+ pretty easy. I tried a few tips I read about, like pulse and glide, paying attention to regen, and the energy display and was able to average 66.5mpg on a 30 mile trip. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
240k miles....That's a lot. Most people will average around 45mpg in every day mixed driving. I was driving a Tahoe before switching over, now I'll never go back
I figured if it gets to 300k it will have paid for itself and the batteries have gotten a lot cheaper. I can't get rid of the Suburban as it's the tow vehicle and people carrier. I was just looking at cheap Civic but this was in the budget and got better MPG than all the other choices. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
Well best of luck with the new car. The prius is cheap to maintain if you diy, but if you rely on the dealer, then you'll end up spending more than what the car is worth.
I hope you enjoy your Prius as much as I do mine. Here are maintenance tips that may not seem like Maintenance. Get gas at 3 pips if your mother in law is in the car. (North American Gen 2 Prius have a randomly sized gas tank. How much go in depends on air temp at the pump, how much come out depends on air temp at the moment) Get gas at two pips if your spouse is in the car, you will never live it down. You can get gas at one pip, if you have a 3 gallon gas can in the car and do not mind the walk. If the last pip stats blinking, get gas now! (I have run out in 7 miles after blinking, and other times gone 30) Never jump start any other car with a Prius, try to never jump start your Prius. getting jumper cable wrong, even for a second, can cost $4000. If you feel bad about not helping others, you can get a jump pack for $40, that is two zeros less. Toyota 'forgot' to ever recommend changing the ATF WS. So make your own routine, I use 30,000 miles then 90,000 mile then every 90,000 miles but any routine is fine so long as it gets suspended metals out of the transaxle. Again, $100 is cheaper than $5000, so do it. We have 20 years experience with the HV Batteries and they seem reliable on the whole. They dislike (internal) heat, so if you are descending a long down hill, (over 600 foot drop) put the car in B at the top and let the car heat air as a air pump rather than heat the battery by charging too quick. (For similar reasons, use A/C when you are hot, it cools the battery as well). Other than long downhills B is pretty much useless.
Good to know about the gas gauge. The Suburban is extremely forgiving there so I'm sure I would have pushed it too far and ran out. As for the maintenance, I am a mechanic by trade. I am sure there will be a steep learning curve with this car though as I have never worked on a Hybrid. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
congrats and welcome! all the best. my neighbor still has my old '04 with 150k and no major work done. they were built rock solid. many more batteries and other problems on '05 thru '07 from what i've seen here. all the best!
Most of the Hybrid bits will be repairs, (or replacements) not maintenance. One exception is the Brakes. They last a long time due to Regenerative braking but when they need service there are some gotchas. Disconnect the 12 volt battery when replacing pads, the computers can do a brake test and close the caliper while you have the pads out. No 12 volts, no computers. Due to Regen, bleeding the brakes is quite complex and is designed to require Toyota specific software to open all the brake lines. There are kludges around this, but they are kludges. Do not be surprised to go 150,000 miles on a set of pads.
