Just bought a 2010 Prius with 281,000 miles. Very well-maintained with all the maintenance and repair records with all service done at Toyota dealers. Nothing is evident for actual service to electrical parts, only checking them. Everything seems to be working great--drives like a new car, but wondering if there is some kind of service that should be done to the electrical components.
Welcome to Prius Chat . One item that isn’t electrical related is the egr circuit cleanse. I’d add that to your list . Not much in the electrical side, but definitely the hv battery has seen some high usage, so budget for that accordingly. Good luck and keep us posted .
You the DIY type? If so, here’s a list of what I would do if I purchased a high mileage Gen3 (I sold ours with 200k miles on it): Egr circuit cleanse Engine water pump swap Thermostat swap Trans axle fluid drain and fill Engine coolant loop drain and fill Inverted coolant loop drain and fill Inverter pump swap Fuel pump swap I’d also get a handle on any oil consumption as that will be the great unknown . I’ve done all of these jobs, and while it seems long, it’s a good list to keep a good car performing that way.
If you really want to do electrical maintenance you could work on the hybrid battery. Remove the little copper straps along both sides of the bus bar, polish them until no tarnish is left, tighten them up again and you will have the most power you can get from the battery. For the next level of battery maintenance you might even want to check the voltage on each cell, balance charge them, and replace any cells that won't take a good charge.
Check age & condition of the 12v battery. Replace the coin batteries in the smart keys, or at least acquire spares & learn the drill.
Toyota’s publications, such as the Repair Manual (more info) and Warranty & Maintenance Guide (PDF), don’t mention any preventive maintenance tasks specific to the hybrid system, other than regular checks of the automatic transmission fluid and replacement of the inverter coolant. As the Repair Manual and New Car Features books describe, the hybrid system has extensive self-monitoring and self-diagnostic capabilities. For example, if you’re familiar with high-voltage electrical systems in industry, you might wonder if it’s necessary to do periodic tests of insulation resistance. On Prius cars, however, “The leak detection circuit constantly monitors that the insulation resistance between high-voltage circuits and body ground is maintained,” so you only have to get out the megohmmeter if a warning light comes on and you find a diagnostic trouble code related to isolation, such as P0AA6. I suppose that’s an option, but before doing any such work, I’d suggest careful thought about the risks of maintenance-induced trouble and personal injury, relative to the prospective benefits.
I’m always leery when they say they give you all the records. I know for our 98 4runner we had all of the dealer “records” but there were a couple of jobs I did “off the record”. One of them was a valve cover gasket repair, which never appeared on a maintenance schedule and was cheap in parts (I also lost the receipt). Hard to know what you don’t know and to trust paperwork leaves something to be desired.
Miles like that wouldn’t have me thinking about the electrical stuff anyway. I’d be thinking about re-stuffing the drivers’ seat and changing the wheel bearings for a quieter ride.
Thanks for the advice. All the fluids have been changed on schedule but didn't see any mechanical replacements. Will add your suggestions to my list.
Thanks. So far the battery seems to charge well and runs for a long time on battery alone. I'm getting 55 mpg (U.S.) so far so the battery is doing its job. Will add your suggestions to my list.
