Wher's the maintenance on this thing?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by rickdm, Mar 10, 2005.

  1. rickdm

    rickdm New Member

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    I got the new Prius yesterday and have been reading the manuals and I am kind of surprised with what I see for maintenance. If I read this correctly I just see oil changes, inspections, a filter, and tire rotations for the first 100,000 miles or ten years. Here are some of the items that I would expect to see;

    -Radaitor fluid; even with a long life fluid I would expect to change it out every 2 years. In the Prius you are not required to change it for ten years or 100,000 miles.

    -Brake fluid; absorbes moisture and again I would expect a flush and bleed every two years regardless of miles.

    -Valve adjust; the Prius does not seem to have self-adjusting valves (since they give a spec for the valve clearance), but there is no mention made of ever adjusting them, just inspecting them.

    -Transmission and differential fluid; here at least there is a mention of 60,000 miles for severe service.

    I notice some of these items mentioned in the inspections for the major services. Is it assumed that most of this maintenace will be done as the dealer finds necessary? Are you finding the dealer taking care of these items at the major services. Or should I just chill and not worry about it :?

    Regards,
    rickdm
     
    #1 rickdm, Mar 10, 2005
  2. jeepien

    jeepien Member

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    Well, yeah. If something can be inspected, then you inspect it. If it's fine, you leave it alone. If it's not fine, you correct it.
     
    #2 jeepien, Mar 10, 2005
  3. DanMan32

    DanMan32 Senior Member

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    Coolant is long life. Many cars today are using them. My '99 saturn had similar stuff that didn't need changing for 100K. A repair shop that I have come to find reliable suggested I wait on the coolant when I asked to have it changed at 80K.
     
    #3 DanMan32, Mar 11, 2005
  4. rickdm

    rickdm New Member

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    !0 years and 100,000 miles, that is some pretty good radiator fluid! But It is easy enough to test whether it is still good, so they must know what they are doing.


    On the other hand no change of brake fluid is interesting because all the German manufacturers are very particular about this and yet I seldom see it mentioned in the maintenance requirements for any Japanese sedan. I think the expectation of how hard the brakes are used must be very different in those two countries. Perhaps the Autobahn has something to do with this......

    Regards,
    rickdm
     
    #4 rickdm, Mar 11, 2005
  5. KTPhil

    KTPhil Active Member

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    Most engines now have a cold valve adjustment via shims, but no required adjustment like on old pushrod heads. Unless you work on the heads you needn't pay any attention to it.

    Oh, the busted knuckles from setting valves on my VWs every 3,000 miles...
     
    #5 KTPhil, Mar 16, 2005
  6. jh90206

    jh90206 New Member

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    I am really glad someone brought this up. I was wondering the same thing myself. So the consensus is oil changes and tire rotations is it unless something awry is found? That is a huge savings in maintenance costs assuming nothing breaks. We can add that to fuel savings and smile even bigger. :D

    jh90206
     
    #6 jh90206, Mar 20, 2005
  7. DanMan32

    DanMan32 Senior Member

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    How about the PCV valve? When (or if) should it be checked/replaced, and where exactly is it? The repair manual is unclear on where it is, so someone who has had seen it firsthand (like one of our resident Toyota Master Techs) might be able to tell us.
     
    #7 DanMan32, Mar 21, 2005
  8. ken1784

    ken1784 SuperMID designer

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(KTPhil\";p=\"73001)</div>
    Prius engine does not have even shims.
    Toyota replaces the valve lifter if the clearance is out of spec.

    Regards,
    Ken@Japan
     
    #8 ken1784, Mar 21, 2005
  9. DanMan32

    DanMan32 Senior Member

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    I don't know if it is shims, but according to the repair manual, it is adjustable, even though they don't say how to do it.

    (B) Inspect the valve clearance indicated in the illustration.
    (1) Using a feeler gauge, measure the clearance between
    the valve lifter and camshaft.
    Valve clearance (Cold):
    Intake 0.17 to 0.23 mm (0.007 to 0.009 in.)
    Exhaust 0.27 to 0.33 mm (0.011 to 0.013 in.)
    If the clearance is not as specified, record the out–of–specification
    measurement, then adjust the valve clearance.

    It does not say "replace valve lifter".
     
    #9 DanMan32, Mar 22, 2005
  10. DanMan32

    DanMan32 Senior Member

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    My bad, reading further, it has instructions for "adjusting" clearance. Indeed, the lifters are replaced. The lifters are the equivalent of shims, and come in 35 different thicknesses.
     
    #10 DanMan32, Mar 22, 2005
  11. rickdm

    rickdm New Member

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    So is this an improvement? Instead of checking valve clearance and if it is out of spec you turn a screw to adjust, you have to replace the lifter? This is no longer possible for a home mechanic since you would need all the possible sizes of lifters. Progress :roll:

    rickdm
     
    #11 rickdm, Mar 22, 2005
  12. DanMan32

    DanMan32 Senior Member

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    Yup.

    Another maintenance item is the belt. The only accessory powered by the ICE by belt is the waterpump so why they didn't replace that with an electric thus eliminating the belt is beyond me. It already has 2 electric pumps for heater core and thermos bottle.
     
    #12 DanMan32, Mar 23, 2005
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