Prepping for 300K miles.....

Clean the egr circuit and add an oil catch can .

And I'd replace the engine water pump and thermostat.

These would be attempts to avoid a head gasket failure.

Good luck on your quest.

 

If you don't ever smell anything off during fillup or always use 10% ethanol gas to refuel, might want to try a few tanks of real gas / non ethanol gas.
https://www.buyrealgas.com/
https://www.pure-gas.org/

I still wonder why when I fillup at a station that sells 10% ethanol gas, I typically get the smell of home heating oil while pumping. Anyone else notice that?

 

Second the EGR cleaning. Do include the intake manifold, it has EGR passages as well. Get the throttle body cleaned while you're in there. Do check out my EGR info link in signature. If at all possible, DIY this. And with your miles, keep your fingers crossed...

And change the brake fluid. Dealership could/should do this for not much over $100. If much higher, shop around. You can DIY this as well; see info in my signature.

 

Are the PiP engines the same as the regular gen3 Prius engines? I never bothered to check mine out while I was learning the in and outs of plugging in with the PiP.

 

Oh, good point. A Plug-In Prius that's regularly plugged in, does most of it's miles on electric, will definitely have an engine in better shape, at any mileage. Apart from that, I believe the engine is identical.

 

256,000 miles - Still Shines Like A New Dime - A/C Blows Jingle Bells - Not For Sale

 

The engine is identical.

But depending on how the PIPis driven could determine the engine condition.

Example: if the engine kicks on at full freeway speeds after being cold, that might not be best .

I'd just take the same precautions .

 

Sync the water pump (and thermostat?) change with coolant change? IIRC the interval for engine coolant change in the States (by the way: where the heck are you?) is 100K miles or 10 years (whichever comes first), and subsequently 50K miles or 5 years.

 

Drive moar!

 

I wouldn't wait for such symptoms, they're more likely signs the head gasket is failing. If you've got over 100K miles it's time.

 

The water pump is one of those things you don't mess with (or change) unless you are having problems...fits in the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" Same for alternators, etc.
For me, if I really wanted to get to 300,000, I'd be changing my engine oil/filter every 6-months or 5,000 miles. If you pull the dipstick and check the oil at 5,000 miles, I'd bet it would be looking dirty. It's one of the most inexpensive maintenance items but has the most impact on helping those engines run forever.

 

I noticed you didn't mention the PCV valve which I replace when I'm having idling issues or whenever replacing spark plugs....usually less than $10 for an OEM one.