My wife has a 04 prius with package 9. I do all the maintenance on it; change the oil and filter, rotate tires, change filters, etc. so I check the car pretty throughly. Our driveway has a concrete ramp (sloped curve) to the street that is a little steep and we (sometimes) hit the concrete as we (she) transitions from the driveway to the street. This has put a little dent in the oil pan (but it is not leaking). It does not seem hard to replace the oil pan but I am more concerned on how I can protect the oil pan better (other than the skid plate which is a little much for what I want). General info: We love the prius. I really appreciate the priuschat site. My wife gets 50mpg (city and highway). We run the tires at 42psi front and 40psi rear. I am scheduling to change the transaxle fluid (42K miles). I changed the wipers (relatively easy). I upgraded the nav map (very easy). We haven't had any problems with the prius; it is a great car.
You can't really armor the oil pan. Drive more slowly when entering and leaving, or have that part of the drive removed and re-poured with a smoother transition.
It seems a lot of the curbs are designed for 4x4 pickups. Most cars will scrape over them, especially if the lot is higher than the street Not sure if jackhammering the approach and repouring is an option. First, that can get expensive. Second, most city permitting offices have pretty strict interpretations of how to have the curb and approach. For example, if you slightly change the curb elevation, a heavy rain event could result in street flooding, which you would be on tab for.
I was a bit rough on the 2001 Prius and drove on many roads that would be better described as uneven rock trails. The oil pan got dented a bit, but it is about 1.5 mm steel and surprisingly sturdy. It may shock pavement-only Prius drivers, but I'd say just take that transition slowly. No further action required other that maybe a quick look every so often. The oil pan is now correctly shaped for your operations
Not worth the effort and expense to replace the oil pan, if your driving habits don't change. If it's not leaking, I'd leave it alone. Chances are pretty good that if you replace it, you will get a leak from the seal.
Thanks for your quick responses. We do try to exit to the street slowly but you know how 70 year old drivers are - we think we are Dale Earnhardt re-incarnated. Since the pan isn't leaking, I will not change it and monitor for leaks.
This is precisely one of the reasons why I designed our skid plate; To protect the underside of the engine, transmission/generator. Under the Prius, this area is exposed and subject to damage from high curbs, road debris, rocks..etc...etc... I already have a few "battle scars" on my skid plate but I would MUCH rather have it there than on the engine!!
I'm trying to teach a teen driver to enter/leave the driveway at an angle so that the ramp is taken one wheel at a time. (Without also taking out the frame of the garage, the driveway's rock wall, the mailbox, the trash cans...) Otherwise the front air dam scrapes the concrete and we might also be "reshaping" the oilpan.
I've got one of those speed-racer wifes too. The only way to keep the oil pan undented is to replace the wife, then the oil pan. (Dear Wife, if you're reading this, I'm only kidding. Yes dear. Yes dear. I'm sorry dear...)
