500K Miles, One Prius/One Owner

CBarr31
''quote''

she had 2 Blocks (4 Modules) replaced around 478,000 miles last July/August.

HOW MUCH DID IT COST TO HAVE THE [4MODULES] REPLACED?
Who changed the [4 modules]?

 

Chris,
Curious.....How much did you get for your 500k Miles Prius???

 

Chris,

That is quiet impressive. I just bought a second Prius in the family. Gen 3 with 100K miles. I am second owner, NC Raleigh based.
Quick question on brake service. You said 2 times.
Is it only front or Front and rear both?
Is it only pads or pads and rotors both?
Did you got the typical (no hybrids) grinding sound off brakes when you decided to change brakes?
OR Did you keep checking Brakes every 100K or so to stay on top of brake pads change?

FYI, my first Prius is brand new Gen 3 and Toyota service guy told us that they look at the brake pads at 100K service first time, and may be around 200K they change the pads even if it is not required. That is quiet impressive as brake service considering pads, rotors, master brake cylinder and what not can go wrong every 30K or so in regular cars.

thanks for your detailed maintenance logs.

<<Routine Maintenance - ~$14,315
- this includes: oil changes, oil filters, air filters, ATF WS, tires, brakes (done twice now),>>

 

You don't disclose you location; are you in the States? Toyota USA recommends an in-depth brake inspection every 3 years or 30K miles, whichever comes first.

For what it's worth: last time I checked pad thickness on ours was in Sept 2017 (I'm procrastinating a little, our miles are so low), at 66K kms (41K miles). The front brake pads had roughly 7 mm remaining thickness. New thickness is 10 mm, and "service limit" is 1 mm. I would NOT wait for that 1 mm: if I opened up the brakes and saw 2~3 mm, I'd be walking to the dealership for replacement pads.

Extrapolating from that kms and amount of wear, I anticipate I'll be replacing those brake pads around 150K kms (94K miles), at the most.

 

Just updated, it is Raleigh NC.
one of the Local Dealer's Maintenance Manager mentioned that to me in a conversation during routine maintenance.
many Prius owners says similar thing about Prius Brake pad change cycle (when it actually needed to change). I think it is safer to inspect every 3 years, I agree.

 

To be fair: the Toyota Prius (and I suspect other cars too) maintenance schedule is VERY vague on brake maintenance. You pretty much have to read between the lines: almost every 5k (mile) service says to rotate the tires and "visual inspect" the brakes. Then at 30K, 60K and so on, they omit that mention of "visual inspect" in the tire rotation section, and instead make very terse/brief mention of checking brake lines and rotors.

I take that to mean a brake inspection, but it's a poor instruction. Honda, for comparison, says something to the effect of "perform Brake Inspection". And if you thumb through the Honda Shop Manual, there's a section titled "Brake Inspection", and it goes step-by-step through what's expected. Toyota's Repair Manual, on the other hand, has an untitled section on brakes, and it encompasses everything, even a full caliper tear-down, with no clarification as to what should be done when.

All of this likely contributes to dealership mechanics' confusion, as to what should be done, and how often. I mainly fall back on my years of Honda DIY brake work.

I did always purchase the (paper) Shop Manuals. They were around $100, and payed for themselves by allowing me to DIY the valve clearance check (regular maintenance with Honda screw and lock nut system). Nowadays you can't even buy the manuals, everything's online, and pay as you go (and through the nose) subscription.

 

As we near 300k mi on our ‘06, (2nd owner since 113kmi 08/11), it has been the most reliable low maintenance vehicle ever. Most major item was the coolant pump. Found a rebuilt in a junk Yard car. A few rounds of tires and wheel bearings.

I kid you not, I changed the original front brake pads at 253k miles and I almost didn’t want to because there were working fine. But....
We also may still have one original wheel bearing on the car.
Also we’ve gotten over 80k mi on Goodyear assurance. This car!!! !!!!! I hope we can hit 400~500!!!

 

I thought the odometer on these cars only went up to 299,999

 

Only the 2004-2005 got stuck