Declare your independence!

Here's something that will entertain the techie owners, service
technicians, and engineers in the crowd. As part of participating
as an instructor in recent training events, I've developed a fairly
extensive slide presentation on the Prius and some related topics.
As backward as it sounds, it seems to be increasingly difficult to
get techs to actually attend such events these days, especially with
the "big boys" like NAPA and CarQuest and Snap-On getting into the
hybrid training act with all the resources they can bring to bear
[even despite getting the occasional facts mixed up]. It's hard to
pull people out of their shops, especially if they haven't seen any
hybrids come in and don't think they need any training on them yet.
They thought that about electronic fuel injection back in the
eighties, too...
.
Therefore, to lower the barrier even farther to people who might
want to learn more about hybrids but can't make the time, my Prius
material is now available FREE on the net, in the same sort of
simple bullet-point slides format. Read the introduction at this
URL carefully -- it points to my stuff and other sources too:
.
_ http://techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/cars/training/
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As a community mostly composed of Prius owners, do you still feel
100% locked in to Toyota as the only service option? Did you have
a local tech that you trusted with your previous car, and feel a
little guilty about not being able to send him your maintenance
business anymore? Here's how you can re-forge that connection!
Download the flyer and get it into the hands of those independents,
and urge them to get up to speed on this stuff even if they haven't
seen hybrids come in yet -- they're everywhere, and they're coming
off warranty, and it's high time to stem the flow of dealer horror
stories and beat down the doors of those local shops, asking "service
my hybrid". Help them get started, by sending them to the *numerous*
free sources of information that are now on the internet. If you're
feeling a little bolder, let them learn a few simple things on your
car -- they'll appreciate it! You have a prime opportunity to help
introduce some genuine competition in this field.
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Most normal service items are just like on any other car, and I think
many of the independents are somewhat aware of that but aren't quite
confident enough yet. But when I hear a shop owner say, and this is a
direct quote, "Hmm, hybrids ... yellow wires and 30,000 volts, right?"
I see a serious need to fill. By opening a channel between technicians
who really care about their customers and the vast wealth of knowledge
WE have accumulated on the forums, that process can begin.
.
_H*

 

Regarding DOT 4 fluid -- it tends to include more additives, to
increase the boiling point among other characteristics. Somewhere,
either in the service manual or somewhere else, I remember reading
that the extra DOT 4 stuff would limit lifetime of the hydraulic
parts and was therefore not recommended. It also tends to fall off
the boiling-point curve rapidly as it absorbs water, possibly
allowing less "slop" in when it needs to be changed. Since Toyota
was clearly aiming for long service life between changes of various
fluids [even if they pushed a little too far on some of it], they
opted for the more stable and known-quantity DOT 3.
.
I didn't save all the references but a little creative googling can
probably turn up lots more info. And the owners manual says so...
.
_H*

 

The corrosion resistance characteristics of hybrid organic acid
technology coolants are reasonably well known at this point; it is
possible that dex-cool or something like that would be a usable
equivalent that would be compatible with the block and radiator
materials but the word I get from several people who should know is
that it's safest to use OEM fluids until substitutes are time-proven
in the marketplace. When I hear of an "authorized" direct aftermarket
replacement for toyota's SLLC, I'll update the material!

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The little oil pump is shown at the left end of the "driveline
schematic", and what it appears to do is send a low flow of oil
back up the center of the shaft where it squeezes out past various
bearings along the way. It is rotated by an extra piece of shaft
that connects to the end of the engine shaft at the planet carrier,
and is still when the engine is still. Without it turning there is
still some amount of splash going on, i.e. up the chain and back,
but for a while the PHEV development community seemed to be bitterly
debating the merit of very long runs without the little oil pump
turning. The Hymotion boyz say "no problem", but let's let them
get a few more fielded miles under real-life conditions before we
make any conclusions. In the material I only note the situation,
I don't try to decide if it's bad or not...
.
_H*