Prius-120,000 miles and still going-Most mechanical failure items eliminated

This is one of the better articles I've seen.
Thank you

 

Isn't there a conventional water pump on the engine that is belt driven?

 

Nice to read that post. I just passed 67K miles on my 2005 Prius. I am on my second set of tires, though the first set were cheap and I decided to replace them at 20K. I also just replaced my 12V battery just in case, but I also did this to have the original 12V battery in my Ham Radio shack for emergency radio power. My oil changes are done at home and I started using Mobil 1 after the first 5K miles. At the current rate of miles per year, I should see 120K miles sometime in 2008 around May or June. We drive almost 3K miles per month commuting to and from work. About 90% of our driving is freeway speeds. 55 MPH in the morning, and about 70 MPH on the way home (carpool HOV lane). If I could drive 55 mph on the way home I would, but during rush hour it is a good way to draw anger from other HOV lane users.

We average about 51-52 MPG now that I inflated the tires to 36 Front and 34 Rear. I know I could probably up the mileage if I HYPERINFLATED my tires to the magical 42 40, but I don't want the Prius to rattle apart from the increased vibration that hard tires seem to produce. At 32 pounds all around, we used to get between 45- and 50 MPG.

I also replaced both SKS fobs with new batteries even though they were not experiencing any trouble.

Great post HBO6

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(narf @ Aug 24 2007, 12:27 PM) [snapback]501527[/snapback]</div>

yep.. replaced the belt about 5K miles ago.. so that part is false.. unless it is different on a gen 1

 

I was just chatting with a guy at a Toyota parts counter yesterday,
and in the background heard someone else say "EGR valve, $285". I
said "boy, I'm *so* glad I've got a car that doesn't have an EGR
valve" ... which is true, that's yet another high-maintenance item
that variable valve-timing has knocked off the "pain in the nice person"
list.
.
I was in there picking up five quarts of WS and a pan gasket which
will be used for transaxle-fluid service on a Classic with 314,000
miles on it. That is NOT a typo, this guy's been written about and
may be way past Andrew Grant's accomplishments in terms of longevity.
.
_H*

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(KD6HDX @ Aug 24 2007, 12:44 PM) [snapback]501537[/snapback]</div>

If you haven't changed out your ATF yet, consisder doing it soon. I refreshed mine (2004 Prius, Toyota type WS ATF) at 61,000 miles and a lab test showed that it was time to do it.

My 2004 Prius is now at 95,000 miles, also due for its third set of tires and no problems yet.

JeffD

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jdenenberg @ Aug 24 2007, 01:06 PM) [snapback]501559[/snapback]</div>

How is your MFD?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(p626808 @ Aug 24 2007, 01:16 PM) [snapback]501572[/snapback]</div>

It's still working. My Prius is a late 2004, maybe they had fixed the MFD manufacturing problem by then. If not, there's always a rebuilt or salvaged part for a few hundred dollars. (about the same price as a set of good tires.)

JeffD

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hobbit @ Aug 24 2007, 01:01 PM) [snapback]501553[/snapback]</div>

Wow, PSD had no problem with no WS ATF change for 314k miles! Try that with the automatic transmission!

Please take pictures so we can see how black the fluid is.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(usbseawolf2000 @ Aug 24 2007, 01:30 PM) [snapback]501586[/snapback]</div>

Not Type WS ATF. In a 2002 it would be Type IV ATF which is even more amazing.

JeffD

 

werid how can a guy who road trips like crazy have good PSD fluid at 300k miles and yet a guy who has 60k miles on his NWH20 prius says its time to change... something is not right here...

 

Well I don't know about the author's car but my Prius has an engine mounted compressor for the air conditioner so has flexable hoses but no shaft seals.
As others have said, the main coolant pump is belt driven. I wonder about a variable speed electric conversion?
he forgot to mention there is no gear linkages to wear, rattle and become vague.
Throttle linkage, the throttle actuator motor would be needed for the cruise control anyway.
The variable valve timing does not eliminate the need for a PCV valve http://replacement.car-stuff.com/parts/car...showdc=true#top But it is cheap.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(philmcneal @ Aug 30 2007, 03:38 AM) [snapback]504198[/snapback]</div>

What about YMMV doesn't make sense. Good maintenance is about playing the odds. I am doing ATF exchanges at 60k mile intervals in my 2004 Prius; some others are doing it at 50k intervals (one consevative invidual reports doing it at 30k). Besides, the unit still alive at over 300k w/o replacing the ATF (In a NWH11) had ugly ATF fluid that just went out for lab analysis. No one said that the ATF fluid was still good, just that the Tranny still functioned.

Just remember one thing. ALL of the reported Prius tranny failures (not a large number, and mostly in NWH11's with over 100k miles) have had never had their ATF fluids refreshed. As the old TV commercial said "pay me a little now (Motor oil change), or pay me later (Engine rebuild)"

JeffD

 

Following up on this thread, Jesse's PSD fluid change is documented
at http://techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/cars/nehg-0826/ and it did
turn up some interesting stuff. Sample is on its way to Bob Wilson
and thence to PdMA, and the analysis oughta be fun to read.
.
_H*