How 2010 Prius is made in Tsutsimi plant - Videos

[JimOC]

Originally Posted by efusco

I think the music you can pick up would drive me to the loony bin. There was another song in the back ground that I immediately recognized but can't place the name...it was in the first video. Don't they have any Zeppelin in Japan?

It was a very cheesy version of Scott Joplin's "The Entertainer" (I think that is the name but I cannot find my Joplin CD to confirm), popularized in the movie, "The Sting."

[brad_rules_man]

I toured the Audi factory when I was in Germany. The line moved much slower, and the place was a lot cleaner and had more space. However, what do you expect? I'm glad I don't have to pay the Audi prices. If I had to choose one to work in, I'd choose the Toyota one, but I would want paid well. hehe I saw another youtube video today about the harmony commercial and claiming that they overworked the Japanese workers. Well, maybe they are on to something because they still have jobs.

[wayfarer72]

All that happy music playing while my favorite consumer item is made. Might as well be Willy Wonka's Chocolate factory to me

[usbseawolf2000]

That's amazing how they can build one Prius in 57 seconds.

Anyone know how this is compared to non-hybrids?

[FireEngineer]

Originally Posted by CAR4TWO

The oil drain bolt shows clearly in the video of the undercarriage. You do not have to remove anything to get at the oil drain bolt. That is a bit of good news. I intend to change my own oil and was hoping that I would not have to take that undercarriage cover off. Toyota made it easy for anyone to change their own oil.

I am still anxious to see a picture of the oil filter. That should be located under the hood based on the fact it is a cartridge type.

Dan

Sorry, but the oil drain bolt and filter cap do have an underbody panel over them. However, only three push-pins and pull down the cover for access.



Wayne

[Tideland Prius]

Originally Posted by cwerdna

A couple notes for those who've never worked at an auto plant or been on a tour:
- Notice no doors on most of the videos? The car bodies are all painted w/doors and all, but then the doors are removed and go on a rail system. They're reattached near the end (presumably matched w/the correct car) because the workers have to do so much work on the interior, the doors would just be in the way.
- The large sheets of paper attached to the hood (at least at Nissan) give all the info about that particular car's such as its options.
- I'm sure you noticed non-Priuses in some of the videos. The Tsutsumi plant builds a bunch of other cars on the same line(s). At Mazda and Toyota, I observed several different models going down the same line w/no particular pattern nor were there a batch of RHD or LHD cars.

I highly recommend Prius or car enthusiasts take a tour of any auto plant. They're pretty neat. Current info on getting a Toyota tour is at TOYOTA:Plant Tour & Toyota Kaikan Museum. From the FAQ, you might not be lucky enough to tour Tsutsumi and might be sent to another plant.

The Cambridge plant (that builds the Corolla, Matrix and RX) uses an RFID tag mounted on the roof somewhere.

Originally Posted by usbseawolf2000

That's amazing how they can build one Prius in 57 seconds.

Anyone know how this is compared to non-hybrids?

The Corolla at Cambridge, ON, comes off the line ~ 1 per minute so it's comparable.

[efusco]

Originally Posted by JimOC

It was a very cheesy version of Scott Joplin's "The Entertainer" (I think that is the name but I cannot find my Joplin CD to confirm), popularized in the movie, "The Sting."

I think that's it, but yea, it's goofy electronic.

YouTube - Scott Joplin - The Entertainer

YouTube - Scott Joplin - The Entertainer

[cwerdna]

On a side note, if anyone is planning a trip to Japan (to visit the Toyota factory, of course ) and you're into cars or motorcycles, I recommend timing it to coincide w/Tokyo Motor Show. The show featuring passenger cars and motorcycles used to be every other year. Then they'd do a much shorter commercial vehicle show on the in between years. I think they've just switched to going every other year w/everything at once and they'll be doing a show in (October 23 to November 8) 2009.

If you like console games, time it Tokyo Game Show which is every year usually around September.

I've personally gone to Tokyo Game Show one year (for 2 days?) and Tokyo Motor Show two years (for at least 3 days each time). I, of course visited other things in Japan besides the trade shows and auto factories. Both show are held at Makuhari Messe, near Tokyo.

Unfortunately, Toyota City and the Tsutsumi plant are near Nagoya which isn't at all close to Tokyo. I'd recommend taking a bullet train (I did). See Nagoya Travel: Access, Orientation and Transportation.

Of the two, I like TMS much better. When I went, there were tons of part vendors showing their wares ranging from fuel injectors to wiring harnesses to transmissions and differentials. It was neat to see so many transmissions, differentials, engines, etc. cut open for you to see. 2003 and 2005 TMS were *FAR* better than the the 2009 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

If timing it to coincide w/TMS, it'd be a good idea to confirm Toyota tour reservations before booking hotel and air travel because they might be very busy due to TMS. I had trouble booking a Nissan tour due to this and there was a whole other story around this that's totally OT but it eventually worked out (by luck).

BTW, booth babes at both are a plus. (Hope this doesn't come across as sexist, but that's just the way the two shows are.)

[essaunders]

bump, so I can find this again...

[DeanFL]

No doubt speaking for a lot of folks here - it would be great to see more Prius assembly line videos as these.

Any members in Japan (Ken...) have the capability to visit a plant and get approval to take some video for a lot of PriusChat people actually driving these cars around the world?

Even a Pay-per-view if Toyota needs the revenue...