new to me 08 model - what are must do's

congrats!

why does your vehicle say 2009?

how many miles on her?

if he has done all the required maintenance, you might want to change the tranny fluid

all the best!

 

Welcome to Prius ownership and a great website. To fix your typo you can edit the year of your car in your account profile. Hover the cursor over your name on the right side of the blue bar at the top of this page, and then click on "Personal Details". Car details are about halfway down.

 

Yeah, I agree with the above. Since he's been doing the standard maintenance items, replacing the transaxle oil is a good idea. Not very expensive and it's easy to do if you can get the car up high enough to work under it and still keep it reasonably level. Most people never do this, but it's been pretty well documented here on PC that doing this at least once improves the chances of the transaxle having a long and healthy life.

Otherwise, just follow the schedule. It's a tough car.

 

Get yourself some standard diagnostic tools.
Android phone/tablet that can access wifi/bluetooth
Torque app
ELM 327 Bluetooth OBDII reader

Copy of Techstream
Minivci
Cheap Windows XP laptop

 

Until my catalytic converter was stolen I have not had any problems other than the 12v battery. 140k and not a single squeak or rattle. 54mpg (UK). Toyota "advised" new discs and pads 4 years ago but it has been passing the annual mot test each year and only this year did the tester suggest the rear pads will need changing soon.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Welcome! With such little mileage (63K), I would invest into Prolong system from Hybrid Automotive (not affiliated, just a satisfied customer) and run the traction battery through the reconditioning cycle. These cars like to be driven and with not much mileage on the clock the battery may not be in the greatest of shapes.

Other than that, keep the basics basic and enjoy!

P.S. If you are going from a 2014 to a 2008, check your expectations. 6 years makes a lot of difference in features. Prius is a wonderful car for the right owner who enjoys economy and utility over speed and 0-60 bragging rights.

 

Rear sway bar and speakers.

 

Get an aftermarket stereo from Crutchfield. There is a resistor that needs to connected , however, while installing. No worries! Crutchfield also sells 3 way Posi connectors to do the job without soldering equipment.

 

When I buy a Toyota hybrid I immediately do/replace:
- Engine oil & filter (Filter: I use the Purolator PL14477 on both Prius and Camry Hybrid).
- Transmission fluid (I mostly use Gulf Western Syn-TS - besides being fully synthetic, it’s versatile because it’s rated for almost all transmissions so I can use it on different cars).
- Air filter.
- Cabin filter.
- Remove and clean hybrid battery blower fan (important!).
- Remove spark plugs and put copper anti-seize on them (ie they seize up and can be a problem to remove later).
- Check and clear diagnostic codes with Techstream (ie Toyota’s software).
- Use Techstream to see how balanced the battery modules are.
- I get carried away, and wash the engine bay and under the car.
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I’ve also gotten carried away with a few cars recently by stripping the interiors and cleaning them. It’s a bunch of extra work but it makes a massive difference.

I clean the seat belts - this makes quite a difference, particularly in well-used cars. I use Sard Wonder Degreasing (ie here in Australia) but anything for soaking stains out of clothing will do.

Sard Wonder Degreaser | SardWonder



For doing anything involving removing interior parts you’ll need one of these (trim removal tool):



Sometimes I’ll soak the seat belt while it’s still in the car (ie pull belt out and use lock-pliers to stop it retracting:



Or, remove the seat belts from the car. Also good for cleaning motorbike tie-downs, rags, etc:



The water tends to go brown quickly as the gunk soaks out of the seat belt:



Notice the difference in colour on this seat belt (ie the used and unused parts):



With the seats and carpet removed:



I mix up a bunch of Sard Wonder Degreasing in a weed sprayer bottle, spray it on the carpet and let it soak for a while. As with the seat belts, you can see the water go brown pretty quickly:



Once it’s been soaking for a few hours I rinse it with a pressure washer.



Before:



After:



I tried drying the carpet with the car’s heater. Stupid idea, and it didn’t work too well:



Hanging out to dry for a couple of days worked better (ie garden hooks):



Access the battery blower fan and clean it out:





I write the cleaning date on it as well:



For the 12v battery there are two rubber drain plugs. I remove these and clean out the battery area with degreaser and a garden hose:



Toyota are funny. I hate Toyota designers. There are drain plugs in the LH rear of the car. Whoever designed this part must have been around 4 years old:





After a quick go with the Dremel you can see one of the drain plugs in the LH rear:



After that I put those two plugs in the inside so that they’re easier to access (ie don’t have to be under the car):



Hanging seat belts out to dry:



If it’s too cold and wet to dry seat belts in the air then I drape them over the seat and run the car heater for a while. Seat belts dry quickly.

On a couple of ex-taxis I cleaned out I removed the drain plugs in the floor and hosed out the interior:





The plastics go in the kitchen and get cleaned with detergent and hot water.

Collection of photos: http://s260.photobucket.com/user/PhilMeUpBaby/media/Toyota/Interior_Cleanouts

 

Those metal black end caps underneath the bottom of the rear seat on the right and left sides, now I'm curious if we have those over here.