Quick Purchase Question from a Noob

Break in period? Are you serious? Your Evo is a performance car, the prius is a "better than riding the bus car". Why would you need to break in an engine that has about as much power as a rascal scooter? By the way, was this purchase your fiancee's decision? My advice, keep the Evo and ride the bus to work.

 

The Prius will look after its self pretty much. Just drive it reasonably for a while to ensure the tyres suspension and transmission are settled in properly while the computers will look after the engine and electricals. You will notice according to others on here that you mileage will improve at around the 10,000 mile mark.

The first service is, as with most cars the most critical so get it in on time or a little early. No need to idle the Prius to warm it up or allow turbos to spin down, how good is that!! Just hit power and go then switch off when you arrive.

Enjoy your 2 Prius, let us know who gets the best consumption too.

 

kinda negative?
prius is a fast car because of the elec motor.

 

I was given only one instruction for a break in period - don't use the cruise control for the first 1000 miles. I am almost at 830 miles and wonder if I will ever use the cruise control except on long, steady trips. My Prius has changed the way I drive and I don't think cruise control will get the best MPG.

I'm curious -- who is getting the better Prius? You or your intended? It might not be something you want brought up at your tenth wedding anivversary and the rest of your life...

 

Bandaid, as someone who calls himself a certified Prius tech in another thread, why do you feel the need to immediately start putting down the car upon joining PC?

I smell a troll.

 

I didn't know about break-in periods and all, I used cruise control and drove 1300 miles in the first three days...

Hope nothing bad happened to it. Now I have about 16,000 miles.

Congrats on your new Prii and welcome to PC.

 

A number of folks here are in similar positions, having come from WRXs to the Prius. I can honestly say I'm happy we made the switch. The WRX was a lot of fun, but the Prius is too (just in a different way). Knowing how much gas the WRX was sucking down and how bad the emissions were (not to mention fuel costs) started to take a lot of the enjoyment out of it for me. I find I'm generally much mellower behind the wheel now, which I'm sure has been good for my stress levels. On the rare occasion I've had to flog the Prius its done a pretty respectable job, it will pretty much do whatever you ask it, just not quite as quickly as the WRX/Evo. I frequently find myself getting really pissed off when driving other small/eco/non-performance cars, as they often just don't do what you want them to. I've never had that experience in the Prius.

As far as break in goes, I'm not aware of any special requirements. You don't really have any direct control over the engine anyway, the computer is managing that. It may very well have a built in break in sequence, but I've never heard of one.

Some do feel the Prius still gets pushed around too much in the wind, but you'll have to see how it feels. The common opinion seems to be that this is due to the high strength / very springy steel used, and that you can improve it with bracing if it bothers you.

Welcome, and enjoy your new Prii!

Rob

 

Yes Jim, I actually am a prius tech and I did join this site to "troll". I do apologize to anyone I have offended but I was just trying to let off a little steam (probably in the wrong way). I am just so tired of dealing with the attitude (some) prius owners have towards the everyday non hybrid owner. Even if we all drove hybrids it wouldn't do a thing to stop global warming. We need to stop relying on fossil fuel to power our vehicles. Hybrids are a bandaid technology (hence my name). So again, I apologize for offending anyone. I will not post on this site again (so don't bother with the warning emails). Scott

 

I believe in breaking in the engine... so, for the first 1000 miles, vary the speed (limit cruise control), try to avoid "jack rabbit" starts, don't dog the brakes, and go for a few long, rolling hills type of drives.

We put Mobil 1 in Rudy, and we DO NOT USE FRAM FILTERS!!! (we use Bosch, actually, so far.. but OEM filters are good, too)

 

OK, you are wrong. The Prius uses 2 electric motor/generators, a computer an inverter, a battery pack, a computer to control it all, and an epicyclic gear set for a transmission, there are no pulleys.

 

Well, Rudy had 200 miles on him when we got him. I don't seriously think that the mileage they put on the car before you got it would be that critical.

Since you are going 5K between oil changes, it may not be that important to use synth vs. dino oil... but, we like it

 

Although a "newbie" here (this is my first post), I've owned (and loved) my Prius for nearly three years now. Here in the UK the service interval (and oil change interval) is 10,000 miles - and I have to say the oil looks as clean when it comes out as when it goes in. Anyone here know why the US recommended interval is only 5,000 miles? Just curious. PS 30k miles on the clock and (so far) not one jot of trouble (apart from new tyres at 25k - ouch!).

 

I can guess:

1. Toyota had a problem with sludging in some engines in some models in the past. Due to the litigiousness rampant in American society, they are probably gun shy.
E.g. A woman filed a lawsuit against Toyota when her engine froze up after 80K miles. She had been told that the Toyota required NO maintenance, so she never had an oil change or even added oil. Her lawyer was claiming that Toyota was negligent in not having a sticker on the dashboard notifying the owner that oil changes were necessary.

2. Modern America is built on the assumption of cheap oil. The true costs of that are just creeping in.

3. The dealers make a bundle from doing routine stuff like oil changes, plus using that as an opportunity to sell more services.

Therefore, mandating a 5K oil change makes it easier for Toyota to get out of warranty claims.

Just my opinion.