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2011 110k Maintenance Advice

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by AnesthesiaPrius, Sep 13, 2024.

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  1. AnesthesiaPrius

    AnesthesiaPrius New Member

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    2011 Prius
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    One
    Hi all! I'm the proud owner of a 2011 Prius currently at 111,000 miles. Bought the car at 70,000 miles, and it had never had any extra maintenance done outside of oil changes and cabin air filters when I bought it. After taking it in for an oil change the other day, I had a rude awakening - realized I'm behind on a good bit of maintenance. I've been doing some online research and have been hearing about EGR cleaning/water pump/head gasket issues. Called a local shop that specializes in toyota, honda, and acura hybrids and is well reviewed, and I have the following scheduled for next week:
    -Transaxle fluid change $125
    -Engine coolant change $165
    -Inverter coolant change $165
    -Brake fluid change $100
    -Front strut boots $625 (must do on this one)
    I'm looking at about $1180ish in total. I would like to have the EGR system and intake manifold cleaned, but was quoted an extra $600 for that and don't have the funds at the moment, so I was thinking I would wait on that until about 120k next spring. Planning to do spark plugs and EGR cleaning in the spring around 120k miles.

    TLDR; Is this a reasonable list of maintenance for a 2011 prius at 111,000? Am I missing anything, or pushing it with waiting on EGR and spark plugs? I asked about going ahead and changing the engine water pump out but the mechanic said he honestly didn't think it was worth doing.

    Thanks! :)

    P.S. I know very little about cars and while I would love to learn more about my vehicle, I am not going to have the time or tools to do any of this myself.
     
    #1 AnesthesiaPrius, Sep 13, 2024
  2. BiomedO1

    BiomedO1 Senior Member

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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius Prime
    Model:
    LE
    Welcome Anes....
    The strut boot are a bit high, the double dipping on the coolant change, and the brake fluid change is on the high side. While you do have two cooling systems in that car, they are no more difficult to do as the transaxle fluid change of $125. Don't let them put anything but, Toyota WS ATF into that transaxle. I've seen transmission/transaxle behave erratically when allegedly compatible fluid is used instead of OEM. Swap the fluid out with OEM fluid, the transaxle starts behaving normally again. Kinda like putting the wrong blood type into someone - it can eventually kill the transaxle.
    The engine will take 1.5 gallons and the inverter will take 0.75 gallons -charging the same price for each, just stings a bit. Remove the plug, drain, replace the plug and refill.
    Brake fluid change $100, tell me more.. I can get a complete brake systems flush for around $80 in "twice the cost of living CA". A change may be defined as suck the old brake fluid out of your reservoir and refill. That's about five minutes and less than a pint of $2 brake fluid.

    Holding off on the EGR cleaning is fine, as long as all oil changes was done on schedule and using good quality full synthetic oil. It shouldn't be clogged up too bad if that was done. There have been people here that ran their spark plugs more than 175K miles. I believe the manual calls for replacement around 120K miles. I wouldn't worry about the water pump, as long as the coolant is being changed on schedule with the correct coolant.

    Other than the prices being a bit steep, It looks like your doing everything your suppose to. I do give the mechanic 'props' for being honest about the water pump. This may be a good shop to stick with - trust and a honest mechanic is tough to find these days.

    Just my 2-cents...
     
    #2 BiomedO1, Sep 14, 2024
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    check the maintenance schedule that came with your car.
    i would skip the transaxle fluid and coolants for now, and also the strut boots.
    do the egr circuit and intake manifold ports (that's not a bad price, but make sure they do it correctly) and maybe the plugs just because it's easier while you're in there, even if 10k premature.
    do the brake fluid if you can afford it and save up for the others and do them as you can.
     
    #3 bisco, Sep 14, 2024
  4. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    I’d clean the EGR ASAP.
     
    #4 Mendel Leisk, Sep 14, 2024
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