299,999+ Mile Club

WORTH FIXING 240k mi 2007 PRIUS?
Looks like I need about $600 in parts alone: 2x wheel bearings, muffler, 2x control arms, 2x struts.
Both struts don't really need replacing but rubber covers are compromised and one strut seems to be clunking.
Worst thing is rusted out rocker panels from Southern Ontario winters. Sure wish I had oil sprayed it!
Just discovered this 299k+ forum and I'm thinking maybe it's still worth fixing?
What is the PCV? I see in a lot of posts that this was replaced?
And how do you know when to replace spark plugs? Just visual inspectIon? I've never changed mine.

 

In your earlier post over at the 100K thread you mentioned you had a reconditioned battery installed. How much did that cost and where did you have it done?

 

I bought it from Global Hybrid Batteries in Mississauga, ON 2.5 years ago. https://www.globalhybridbatteries.ca
They had TONS of Prius batteries. Got it for $600 I believe. Installed it myself. It's not very hard actually. It's been problem-free AFAIK!

 

Thanks. I'll have to see if there is a similar source in these United States.

 

ASAP. At every 100k mi...

 

Here are some good tips on maintenance items to make your Prius go over 300k

 

2005 Prius, currently over 340k miles
1) Did you replace the HV battery pack?
I have both rebuilt the pack, and most recently got a used Dorman remanufactured pack
2) Did you replace the hybrid transaxle fluid?
I have not, I have not read the service history close enough to know if it was ever done
3) Did you replace the brake pads?
Recently did the fronts, I believe they were done once before
4) Your lifetime MPG (if available)?
I have been consistently seeing 40.1 - 40.2 since the "new" pack, when I first got the car it was around 44, I could tell it was failing because the mileage dropped to 36-37mpg
5) How often do you change your oil? What brand / product did you use?
Every 5k, I swapped to Valvoline High Mileage because I was burning over quart of Mobil one between changes, now I'm about 1/2 a quart.
6) How about post a picture of 300,000 miles on ODO?
Yes
7) Are you the original owner?
4th owner I believe, first owner got rid of it when it needed a HV battery, second owners got rid of it when it needed the rebuilt battery rebuilt again. Third owner was a friend/Toyota tech who just wasn't driving it anymore.
8) How many miles under your ownership?
Just over 60k in about 5 years.
9) Feel free to add anything else you wish to share
This car has been through a lot of HV batteries. Probably because it was rebuilt with used and tested cells rather than new. I am located in the DFW area of Texas so that probably doesn't help. I replaced the cluster at about 310k because the old one was bad. Obviously I used a later cluster, made the mods myself and took it to a guy out near Weatherford to get the mileage programmed to as close as I could figure it was. The car definitely has more than the stated mileage. The only other large repair I have had to do is replace the Abs module. It was done at about 330k but I have stopped keeping as good records as I did the first couple of years that I had the car. I used a used unit, but it appears to be an updated part because it has the later part number.

 

Since you seem to be a DIY type of guy, why not just rebuild your battery with all new cells, yourself?

 

I have a ton of used cells I received when I bought the car. The first 2 times I had issues, I replaced only the bad cells. The third time, I was lucky enough to get the reman battery for essentially 0 dollars. So I did that. That battery is currently about 5 years old, so we shall see. Next time I really want to try one of the cylindrical cell kits from newpruisbatteries.

 

Those look interesting. If I hadn't already gone the hybrid2go route, I'd probably do that. However, hybrid2go has a lifetime warranty so at my age, I shouldn't have to do it again!

BTW, I put a downpayment bet on an Aptera with projected delivery in 2023/24.

 

Hybri2go looks interesting, probably essentially what I did when rebuilding my own, I just didn't test all the cells from the pack. What I really should have done was pull all the cells and replace them with known tested cells. The pack is heavy, I can pull it my myself but there will definitely come a day that I cannot, so services like hybrid2go will probably see more and more of a market in the future.

 

No, what I meant was trash the old cells and buy and install new cells, once and done.

 

That's the plan next go round, hopefully I have another year or two on what I've got now.

 

Since you’ve done it before, how long do you estimate that would it take you to replace all cells with new cells?

 

Working at a lazy pace, with no power tools, it takes me about 4 hours. I'd imagine about the same for all new. There is a little more assembly swapping to the cylindrical cells, but no cleaning of the bus bars since they are all new. I also wouldn't have to test 28 modules to find the bad ones, so maybe less

 

Hi ya'll ... I am new here and just like to find more Prius owner in Texas
I have been a Prius Owner since 2008 and have over 435,000 miles!!!
thought I'll share with everyone

 

In just three years you’ll be at 500,000

 

Why stop at 300k?
This Clean 500k-Mile Toyota Prius Is Nicer Than Your Car

 

Thrilled to finally join "the club"! My wife and I are the original owners of our 2006 model, bought new in June '06. We just crossed over 300,000 a few days ago:

Last year, we bought a 2016 Prius (like new, only 11,000 miles) as a backup since this car was getting up there in age. But she's still running strong!

1) Did you replace the HV battery pack? Yes, once- we bought a used replacement pack with a good warranty from "Green Bean" for $1500 in 2019. It has worked fine so far. (I also replaced the 12V battery myself once).

2) Did you replace the hybrid transaxle fluid? No, not yet.

3) Did you replace the brake pads? Yes, once during the life of the car (all four simultaneously, probably at around 200,000 miles).

4) Your lifetime MPG (if available)? I haven't kept detailed records, so I can't compute our lifetime numbers. But currently we are at 41.4. I would say that when the car was newish we would get around 52, but that gradually decreased over the years. The Michelin tires we have on now pushed it down to 35 or so, but it has come back up since they've worn down a bit.

5) How often do you change your oil? What brand / product did you use? As everyone knows, this car burns oil like crazy. I've stuck with 5W-30 conventional for most of the car's life, but I have started to do some high-mileage synthetics on occasion lately (Castrol GTX High Mileage). I used to bring the car to the dealership for regular maintenance in the early days of the car (back when I didn't know I'd be keeping it forever!). Then I started to change the oil myself, and finally I've been using a trusted garage lately. For a while, even after the oil-burning became apparent, I was keeping to normal 5,000 mile intervals for oil changes, but just adding a quart here or there to tide the car over until it went in to the shop. But now I bring it in every 3,000 or so just to be safe. If you're not careful, you can very quickly end up with that dreaded "low oil pressure" warning light, and that's no good.

6) How about post a picture of 300,000 miles on ODO? See below

7) Are you the original owner? Yes.

8) How many miles under your ownership? 300,000+

9) Feel free to add anything else you wish to share:

This car is a beast, and we hope to keep her going far into the future. For the first 12 years of ownership, there really weren't any major repairs to be made whatsoever. A Toyota dealer mechanic once confided in me that if the only model the dealership sold was the Prius, his garage would be out of business. A prudent person would have sold the car before problems developed as it aged, but that's not me. I've stuck with the car even as it has needed more and more help. I've replaced the hybrid battery once, replaced the 12V battery once, replaced the inverter coolant pump twice, replaced the muffler once, performed two very expensive tune-ups, replaced the xenon headlights twice, and probably a few other small things I'm forgetting. I was proud of myself that I replaced the cracked rear trunk trim/liftgate garnish with an exact replacement from a junkyard (same color). This, as most of you know on here, is a very common problem with these cars.

Also, regarding tires, I've found that, believe it or not, the stock low-rolling-resistance Goodyear tires have been the best, especially for MPG purposes. I would say that we're on the fourth or fifth set of tires; two or three sets of Goodyears, one set cobbled together of a few different brands, and the most recent, which are still on the car, Michelin Defenders. Although the Michelins are great for handling and bad weather, I would NOT recommend any other Prius owners buy them, simply because they completely destroy the possibility of getting high MPGs. They turn the car into a guzzler (by Prius standards).

The car still runs strong, but it does have a persistent check-engine light for occasional cylinder misfires that I can't seem to eliminate. That said, the car is still fully drivable with that issue, although I would love to resolve it.

Anyway, those are my two cents- hopefully this information is somehow useful to this great community!

 

Well it’s been a while since I started the 299,999 mile topic. The first post was about the family in the car traveling across the US as we all Waited to see it flip to 300,000 miles and it never did.
Now @620,000 miles I have invested in the LiPoFe battery from Project lithium. I am filled with the joy of the best upgrade Since leather seats.
Hope you all have as much fun.


iPhone ?