Hi everyone, I'm a DIY kind of guy and I just got a 2003 Prius that needs a little body work but is otherwise straight. It's got 134K and I figure I should do the trans fluid, and everything on the 120k mile list in the manual. I already changed the oil last weekend and so I need to get busy on the other stuff. Are there any instructions on how to do the inverter and engine coolant changes? I found the trans one here and that looks easy so I'll tackle that first. Thanks in advance for y'alls help.
Also I would be interested in the best plugs to buy for this car as well. Stopped by the dealer on the way home last night for buy the trans oil change supplies. They had to order so it'll be Monday before that stuff comes in.
The best iridium spark plugs are the correct original equipment plugs: either NGK or Denso as stated in the owner's manual. The engine coolant replacement is very simple, like any other car. The radiator and the engine block both have drains. The engine block drain is on the side of the engine facing the firewall. Set the cabin heater temp control to max heat and turn the cabin fan on, when refilling the engine coolant, so that heater core plumbing will fill up with coolant. Make sure you do not hear air bubbling in the heater core and that you have good circulation in the radiator after the engine thermostat opens. You need to invoke inspection mode to keep the gasoline engine running, I have posted on how to do that. An alternative to that is to rev up the engine when in P, then shift to N when the engine is still running. However this is a less desirable alternative because when the transaxle is in N, the traction battery will not receive charging. Use either red Toyota Long Life Coolant (for 30K mile change intervals) or pink Toyota Super Long Life Coolant (for 50K mile change intervals.) The inverter/transaxle coolant change is difficult. I've previously posted on how to do that. Plan to spend a few hours on that activity as it is not easy to get air out of the system. Note the system has two bleed valves, be careful when you open the valves (use an open end wrench to hold the valve body and a box wrench to open the valve) so that you do not damage them.
All the above, and I would pay attention to the transaxle oil -how it looks and smells, be ready for some water to possibly come out as well, this is from condensation inside an enclosed system. also be sure to clean the pan out when you drop it, look for any metal shavings (a fine paste is good) also clean the pickup tube filter screen, Otherwise straight forward.
