Five years ago yesterday, I picked up my 2004 Prius, Package #7, Millenium Silver. Stats: 158,655 miles 58.8 MPG lifetime 109.3 MPG best tank (with a little help from my friends) Toyota.com : Hybrid Synergy View : 2005 : Fall : Prius Marathoners Top 100 mpg 39.9 MPG worst tank (don't ask) Mostly I get around 60 MPG. I have a 135 mile commute so I put on about 35,000 miles per year. This car continues to amaze me. It has only been to the dealer once, to perform a handful of recalls. Other than that, I just change the oil every 20,000 miles or so, change the air filter a few times and change the tires when they get worn out. Still running on the original spark plugs, brakes, belt, hoses, coolant, 12V battery and HV battery. I changed the trans oil at 130k and just replaced the front bumper cover that lost a battle with tire debris laying on the interstate. I briefly considered trading it in for a 2010, but I just can't justify it. I look forward to the Gen 4 Prius. By then, I should have over 300,000 miles on my 04. Maybe then. Maybe....
change the oil every 20,000 miles? That better be synthetic oil and a really good oil filter. Congrats!
Synthetic oil yes, good filter no. I use Fram. Yes I know that Fram is the worst filter you can buy but I am trying to make a point. That would be that no matter how bad your filter, it it still good enough.
Krousdb - I'm glad you mentioned you the coolant. Shouldn't the coolant be changed every 2-3 years like a normal car? Thanks - Marvin
While fram may be good enough for normal purposes... I'd be weary of how long that cardboard inside will last, especially for 4x the recommended change interval... Let us know how it turns out... but at least you broke one milestone, 150k miles!
Congrats! I got my Prius in Feb 2001 so when I realized I was coming up on my Prius-iversary I got a little misty-eyed!
Hi Krousdb, This is a great story but I don't want it to end too soon! So please consider taking out the old spark plugs and tell us how deep the craters are in the 'other' electrodes. Interesting study about Fram filters, which could be made even more illuminating with a used oil analysis every now and again (hint). Wishing you many more than 300k -
Doug, My last three oil changes were at 105k, 130k and 155k. I sent the oil from the 130k in for analysis. It was supposed to be a freebee. I received bottle and return label in the mail and sent it out but never heard back. I will save the 180k oil for you.
Great story. Yep, +1 on the oil thingie. But you'll never convince most, regardlsess of whether you make it to 200K or 300K . . . the nay sayers will simply say, "well you WOULD of gone even farther ...". It's like when George Burns made it to 100yrs old, drinking & smoking ... "well, he WOULD of even lived longer ..."
I'm halfway there, my 06 is at 76,000 + since new Jan 06. Only one dealer visit: Check Engine Light at 75K, and had inverter coolant pump replaced on warranty. I do 5k oil change with Mobil 1 and rotate tires about 10K myself. Original Goodyears were at 67,000 with still legal tread when I replaced them with BFGs. Took a mileage hit from 50 to 44 or so, but what a great car! The new tires have made it lots more fun to drive, even in what rain we get in LA.
I got mine about 3 weeks before you got yours. I think I've put about 27,000 miles on it. My commute was 10 miles each way when I lived in Fargo. One road trip the first year. Drove it here. One road trip to Seattle. Nowadays a couple of round-trips to Canada each summer. But mostly drive the Xebra for the past year and a half. I cannot quite claim "flawless," though. I had to have the cruise-control stalk replaced when the plastic broke. Great car, that's for sure. Too bad it burns gas.
Nice. Mine has a month to go before 5 years, and you're 14,000 ahead of me. Same deal, though, nothing has broken or gone wrong. Just general maintenance - tires, wipers, bulbs, etc. I did have my coolant and plugs changed. A run-in with a coyote at 75 mph caused about $2,500 damage, but I don't count that. (speed limit was 75 mph). Best car I've ever owned. I too am trying to get to 300,000 before my next one. Half way there!
I was contacted by someone selling an oil additive. He wanted me to try the product. He sent me the additive two sets of bottles so we could do before and after analysis. I sent in the "before" sample, but decided to wait for the results before adding the additive. When I never got the results, I decided that I didn't want to risk using the stuff. I just threw it away.
