New Gen 2 2008 Prius Basic model owner here and wondering if I’ll make it alright to Wisconsin from Central Florida. I’ve only had it for a year or so and it never has given me any issues except the TPMS light is on forever now. I purchased it at 197k miles and now it’s at about 220k, being a delivery driver has taken a real big toll on the mileage. I looked up the carfax and the car ended up being 1 owner, he was a cab driver I’m assuming cause of the tint layout on the car(backseat darker tints and front windows have barely any tint). It looks like he replaced the battery at around 100k with monthly routine checkups and took good care of the car so that makes me feel a bit safer, but I would just like some reassurance cause really the only maintenance I’ve done the past year is oil changes. What are some things I should check before I head off? The only real big concern also is that common inverter pump problem in Prius’. Mine started making a “overheating” noise which I figured out occurs when the inverter pump overheats. It only happens sometimes when I accelerate fast though and it hasn’t affected performance in the past 6-8 months that it’s been a thing. Aside from that she’s been perfect to me. I appreciate all and any feedback
Driving at freeway speeds for an extended time I think it would pay to pull the dipstick whenver you stop. And keep the tire pressures up for decent milage. Make sure the spare tire has enough pressure in it, also.
welcome! carry a spare inverter pump repeat the 120k maintenance change the tranny fluid can't guarantee an uneventful trip all the best!
i dont know it off the top of my head. if you didn't get a maintenance schedule, you can get one at the toyota owners website. toyota.com, click owners at the top. iirc, all fluids, spark plugs, and the regular oil/filters/brakes/tires/inspections
Could it handle a 20 hour road trip? To be honest you are asking to really predict something that is nearly impossible to know. If your inverter pump is making a noticeable noise then I'd think your concerns about it are valid. I would definitely have that at least checked, if not replaced. With nearly everything else, the dynamics aren't so much different as would exist with any 11 year old vehicle with upwards of 220K, that is being poised to make a 20 hour drive from Wisconsin to Florida. As a daily driver, a component could fail tomorrow. As a long distance road trip vehicle...a component could fail during the trip. I would do as much as you can afford or can do, in far as getting the vehicle ready as possible. All the things that would apply to any vehicle would apply here. That is tires, tire condition, proper PSI. Fluids, fluid levels, And if you can afford it, have the vehicle checked out. Lights, wipers, brake pads.... Reading between the lines, it sounds like you bought the vehicle with pretty high miles, and have put a descent additional amount of miles on the vehicle in about a year. And it sounds like it has been pretty reliable. BUT you've only done Oil Changes. So how much scrutiny by a mechanic has any of it been exposed to? If it was Taxi and then a daily driver/delivery vehicle, it's not had a easy life. Which means nearly nothing. But at 11 years old, and 220K miles, and a daunting journey? My capsulized advice would be have as much checked out as possible. You've enjoyed a year, and say it has given you no issues. But the flip side is that you don't really know the overall condition of your own vehicle. My pre-journey agenda would be to find out as much about the condition of the vehicle as possible. And really? Only you in person can do that. Over the internet? Only in the most rudimentary, detached way can I speculate as to the condition of your vehicle and the viability of a long road trip.
Need to know if that inverter pumps been replaced since the first time. I saw in my records it was about 80,000 ago from Toyota. So I replaced it myself and done. Since your having issues with that I'd probably replace it. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
I just got back from a long trip in my 2006 pris with 205000 miles on it. Before I left for my long trip I went to a mechanic shop that specializes in Prius and had them look it over. They made recommendations of future repairs but essentially gave me a clean bill of health.
Have you logged into the Toyota customer site so that you can review repair, service and recall history of your Prius?
My best college spring break story arises from the reliability, such as it was, of a rented car. Which is not to say, necessarily a good spring break story, just the best one I've got.