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2007 Pushing 200k, Maintenance Recommendations?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Ted B, Dec 21, 2014.

  1. Ted B

    Ted B Junior Member

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    Hi All,

    I'm the original owner of a fully-loaded 2007 Prius approaching 200k miles, and debating what maintenance to perform. I put good new tires on not long ago that should last me 'til 250k or so.

    I've kept full-synthetic oil in it since new (usually Mobil-1; occasionally Toyota's variant, when service coincided with an oil change), and for the most part attended to scheduled maintenance on major items on something approaching the recommended schedule. It's generally been a very trouble-free car, with only one non-regular-maintenance repair in its life. I stay on top of cabin and air filters, fluid levels, blah blah blah ...

    Still gets great mileage, maybe a couple MPG short of its peak around 60k miles, and burns (not leaks) maybe a quart of oil per 5k miles. Unless something blows up, I fully expect it to last for many, many more miles.

    I'm assuming I should replace the timing belt, since the current one has around 100k on it (the serpentine belt was replaced not long ago). I don't doubt that the dealer's going to try to sell me a bunch of service I don't really need (they do great work, but they're not above recommending stuff that's really not necessary at all).

    I'd appreciate recommendations on what I should be looking at as critical, nice-to-have, and waste of money.

    Thanks!
     
  2. goldfinger

    goldfinger Active Member

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    Besides timing belt what repairs have you made, suspension, brakes, battery?
     
  3. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    What did you do at 100k? Repeat.

    No timing belt in prius
     
  4. jadziasman

    jadziasman Prius owner emeritus

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    No timing belt on a Gen 2. It has a timing chain.

    What you should have done is replacing the ATF-WS fluid in the transaxle if it has been more than 60K miles since the last time it was exchanged with new.

    You should also have the super long life coolant exchanged with new in the gasoline engine and in the inverter if it has been more than 50K miles since the last replacement was done.

    Spark plugs should have been replaced after 120K miles. If they have not been, they are way past due.

    Have the suspension checked for soundness.

    And a thorough inspection of the underbody (chassis, drive shaft boots, steering linkage, etc.)
     
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  5. Ted B

    Ted B Junior Member

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    Hmmm, right no timing belt ... 90k was a while back, had a bunch of recommended service then, just assumed I'd have had the timing belt changed and too lazy to go find the records :confused:

    Thanks for the replies! About to send my wife off on a couple thousand mile road trip in it, and I'd prefer her not to get stuck on the side of the road.

    Engine coolant isn't old, no problem there - it was replaced along with the serpentine belt due to cooling issues.

    Spark plugs aren't old (in Prius terms), brakes are good, all set there.

    I do visual inspections of the underbody/drivetrain/suspension on a "when I think of it" schedule (and I do know what I'm looking at), and all seems fine. There's a speck of looseness in the steering, but I do mean a speck, and far less than in any other car I've ever had over 100k miles - I really don't think it needs any attention. The various front end drive and steering boots, specifically, are about the only are I've ever had any trouble with Toyotas (this is my sixth), and they look fine.

    It does sound like a transaxle fluid change may be in order, and with the money I'll save not changing the non-existent timing belt it'll continue to be a very economical car to own!
     
  6. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Changing the serpentine belt should not have fixed any cooling issues. If there was a leak in the cooling system then you may need to check the water pump (common issue) for leakage. You should look up records on when you performed services on your car, just to make sure you did them, since you thought you replaced the timing belt 100k ago.
     
  7. Ted B

    Ted B Junior Member

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    There wasn't a cooling leak - the roll pin in the crankshaft pulley sheared, and the pulley spun, not driving the water pump fast enough, causing overheating. Replacing the belt seemed reasonable while replacing the pulley, as did fresh coolant, but the cooling system itself appears undamaged and passed pressure testing just fine.
     
  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    at 200k, just keep doing what you're doing!(y)
     
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  9. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    I don't know.......

    Sending the wife off on a couple thousand mile trip in a 200k car
    Where the engine saw overheating and is eating oil.
    A Prius that eats that much oil should have the oil checked every morning in a road trip.
    It wont alert u that it decided to double its consumption
    Since your going 80 mph all day.
    Knock boom smoke.

    Seen lots of blown motors on this forum and almost all were consuming
    Oil and not monitored properly.

    Not me. That's rental car there. Brand new car roll on.

    What's the plan if she calls 1600 miles away and the car
    Died and she had to hitch hike 10 miles just to get cell service.
    Says smoke under the hood and smells. I'd be berserk.

    Just.to get the car flat bedded home will be double any rental.
     
    #9 edthefox5, Dec 21, 2014
    Last edited: Dec 21, 2014
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  10. Yakoma

    Yakoma Active Member

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    +1

    But not as elegantly put as Mr. Free-Verse there.
     
  11. jadziasman

    jadziasman Prius owner emeritus

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    One quart of oil per 5000 miles (if Ted B is being honest) is not going to suddenly increase to a quart every 500 miles during a 2000 mile trip. As long as Ted's wife remembers to check the oil at every fill up and top off when needed, the gasoline engine will not be the cause of leaving her stranded far from home.

    Taking a long road trip with a 200K mile Gen 2 is risky but not excessively so. In July 2013 I took a 1500 mile road trip between SE Michigan and Southern Illinois and back. The 05 passed the 200K mile mark during the trip. No issues except that I needed to top off the oil. My 05 uses a qt of oil every 3000 miles.

    I would be more apprehensive of the traction battery dying or one of the electric water pumps failing.

    No way I'd send my wife on a long journey with a Prius with that many miles, unless I intended to make her a "gone girl".
     
  12. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    My wife doesn't know how to open the hood.

    She has staff for that. And the staff does not want her
    Doing that. They know her.
     
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  13. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    I knew Ed the Fox was a man with many talents,
    But now we see that he is also a poet,
    Does he even know it?
     
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  14. Priusfromevil

    Priusfromevil Junior Member

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    I had a '95 Audi 90 Quattro with the then trusty 2.8L V6 found in many models of that vintage. It burned a quart every 5k miles. Didn't worry me, as it was common for that engine. I would be a little concerned with the smaller engine found in our Prius' but if its working for you, great!
    Try changing your stabilizer bar bushings and let me know how you did it! Haha jk. I posted a thread on this recently. I would imagine you've already done sway bar links and other suspension goodies, if not that is considered a nice to have that will tighten up the front suspension. Of course maybe wait until it's time to replace struts. Then it'll feel like a brand new car!
     
  15. Ted B

    Ted B Junior Member

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    Wow, I got quite a chuckle out of some of these responses. Being new here, I'll try to keep the snark in check, but for crying out loud, people, life happens! When I was a teenager, nobody thought twice about driving cross country in a POS VW with 100k miles on it, and they generally made it. I drove cars that were threatening to lose their wheels (literally!) at any time, and they continued to do so for years (ok, one of them *did* actually lose a wheel, but hey, no big deal ;).

    This particular Prius has, without a doubt, been the most trouble-free car I've ever owned, including the five Toyotas before it (and they were pretty damned good). I reckon I've driven about a million miles or so at this point, and one of the things I've learned is that when a car lasts this long and still runs perfectly, it's a good one, and may well be more reliable than a brand new one. It hasn't been replaced for precisely that reason.

    For those that may be wondering, the sheared roll pin was, as far as I (with an extensive engineering background) and an exceptional Toyota Master Mechanic could hypothesize, probably due to a piece of road debris getting wedged in the belt, putting a momentary but extremely high load on it. Everything from head warpage to blown seals to thermostat damage was considered and checked - the engine is fine (including the electric water pump).

    As for the traction batteries, they too seem to be holding up just swell. I recently left the car parked for a week, and when I started it up they were still around 80ยบ charged. I'm inclined to believe Toyota's claim that they've never failed in regular usage, and my knowledge of the technology leads me to suspect time is more their enemy than miles.

    So, my wife is no shrinking violet - she's an intelligent, mature woman who can handle adversity just fine. Yes, the car could break down, and she'd have to have it towed and perhaps get a rental. If that were to happen, it'd suck, but among the things she'll have with her are a cell phone and a credit card; she'll be fine. However, the odds are strongly in favor of her having a relaxing and trouble-free trip, and I'm frankly less concerned about the Prius giving her grief than I am about the run-flat tires on "her" Sienna, which truly suck.

    So, the Prius has fresh oil, fresh wiper blades, good tires (at 40/38, for those who obsess about it), and all the fluids are at appropriate levels. If it blows up, I'll gladly issue a mea culpa here, but I'm just not very worried about it.
     
  16. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    all the best!(y)
     
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  17. Yakoma

    Yakoma Active Member

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    But you're not a teenager anymore, right?

    Hey, you know more about your car than any of us and it's obviously your call, dude. Hell, you're an engineer and I dropped out of Georgia Tech. You may be right and it may be fine. Seriously...best wishes to you and your wife.
     
  18. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Lol....got a tablet. And didn't realize the way its populating the page. I'll stick to my pc.
     
  19. Munpot42

    Munpot42 Senior Member

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    At 200000 miles you have gotten your money's worth. I understand the curiosity about seeing how far the thing will go before expensive repairs are due, but if it were me, a new one would be on the horizon, the near horizon.
     
  20. gatorglenn

    gatorglenn Member

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    I'm right behind you mileage-wise in my 2007. If you have never changed the transaxle fluid I would do that. The dealer will tell you that it doesn't need changing because it is life-time fluid but do it anyway.

    I'm guessing you have the original hybrid battery? You live in cooler weather than I do and that is one factory for it's lifespan. However I think you need to be ready to replace it in the near future. I did mine last year at 172,000 or so. Heat, age, and mileage are the big factors involved.

    I think you have probably replaced the 12 volt battery but if not go ahead and do it.

    Good luck,
    Glenn