High Mileage Prius Maintenance-DIY

Hello all!

I am being offered a 2008 Prius with 193k miles on it for free. It has had two owners: one to 160k, at which point my uncle bought it from a dealership on the advice of a mechanic friend. I think basic maintenance has been done, but I don't get the sense that a lot of preventative stuff has been done. It just got new rotors. It has also had the cat stolen three times (which is why it is coming to me).

So I want to know what I'm getting myself into. For context, I currently have a 2000 tacoma with 160k miles on it and have done most of the maintenance myself. This includes the whole front end suspension (shocks, coil springs, ball joints, tie rod ends, sway bar end links) and brakes (flushing and pads-drums still functional and rotors in good shape), alongside small things like the fuel filter, spark plugs, and stereo. I'm pretty comfortable watching videos and have the tools, but I'm no expert.

How easy is it to work on the 2nd gen prius? Is it one of those cars where everything is hard to get to? Are there a lot of electrical systems involved?

What are common repairs I should expect to do around 200k? What are some repairs that should have been done around 100k/150k but maybe weren't?

Would I be better off just sticking to my lower-mileage truck that I know is going to last for years? I really want a commuter vehicle, but I can't tell how much of a risk this is.

Thanks in advance for all the help!

 

SFO, this is all SO helpful. I was able to access the maintenance history for the first 80k with your link (not sure what happened after that?), which has been so helpful! As you know, Laramie is pretty small, so right now I mostly bike commute to grad school, but I do end up driving about 30 miles a day to bike or climb during the week and longer weekend trips.

I plan to watch the oil (though I thought that was less of a problem on Gen2s? and am prepared to potentially replace the battery. I posted elsewhere a lot of the maintenance that I plan to do in the next couple weeks.

I went into a bit of deep dive on brake actuator threads yesterday, and listened to a bunch of recordings of the dreaded pump failing sound and I think I'm good. But I would love a little confirmation. As I understand it, the signs of a failing actuator are the pump running often or constantly, changes in braking power, and of course, lights. I don't have any of that. I do have an odd brake sound though. It happens when I fully depress the brake pedal to turn on the car, and hold it depressed while I switch into reverse or drive. It sounds like one to three short stutters, like someone clearing their throat. This is the only time it happens, and if I don't continue to hold down the brake before changing gears, it doesn't happen. It also never happens while moving or stopped at lights etc. I found an old post by britprius saying that sound was normal and the result of valves opening and closing? But there also seems to be so many ways the actuator fails that I'm still a little concerned. I can try to get a recording to add here.