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400K Miles, One Prius/One Owner

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by CBarr31, Apr 16, 2015.

  1. CBarr31

    CBarr31 Active Member

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    Ema rolled 400,000 miles a couple of weeks ago and is now at 403,6XX. The last 10,000 miles or so have been interesting and I thought I had lost her a couple times to age and mileage but the diagnosis wasn't all that bad and she is back up and running and pushing to 500K. Might get there, might not ... I'm wanting a Gen IV if they ever come out with one.

    Anyway for those of you interested in catching up on Ema's history here are the two previous threads for her:

    200K Miles, ONE Prius & ONE Owner | PriusChat

    300K Miles, One Prius/One Owner | PriusChat

    Lifetime MPG is 46.58 as of 12/26/2014. I haven't checked her since then because I'm only doing it once per year or so now. That is only a slight drop from the 300K report. I attribute that to using non-ethanol gas and the purchase and use of the Grid Charger, sold here on PriusChat.
    - Purchase date was March 28, 2006.

    Lifetime Maintenance and Upgrades = $18,903
    - This is a large number but includes everything including all oil changes, parts like the Grid Charger, new Cat, suspension parts, tires, etc...

    308K - Along with standard stuff had a bad camshaft sensor that needed replaced. ($357)
    320K - Along with standard stuff I needed a tire early because I busted a belt around Chicago. ($200)
    327K - COT Recall, New Gas Cap to clear CEL (amusing), taillights and some other stuff ($105)
    349K - Alignment, ATF WS, Drive belt and a few other things ($276)
    355K - EFI induction service, throttle body cleaning, other tune up stuff, etc... ($215)
    386K - Grid Charger install along with new Cat and other maintenance items ($650)
    394K - 400K service which included new Michelin Defenders, shocks, struts, mounts, water pump, thermostat, inverter pump, coolant drive belt, PCV, ATF WS, brake fluid, brake service, spark plugs, EFI, heat storage pump, etc... ($3,916 including parts)
    399K - PA084 error caused by corrosion on the BM1 connector. This was a fun little to track down and was on the heels of a P0AA6, high voltage isolation fault. ($501)

    The P0AA6 error I am pretty sure I caused by not properly securing the Grid Charger plug up and out of the way of the water that can accumulate in the spare tire area ... ooppppssss :oops::cautious::oops: to read about that it is Post #106 on Page 6 of this thread:
    Traction Battery Preventative Maintenance - Hybrid Automotive Chargers | Page 6 | PriusChat

    The PA084 may not be totally resolved yet. I might need to put a new cooling fan in for the hybrid battery but I cleaned it up and tested it with the Mini VCI and it is working ok now. The thread about that issue is here:
    DASH Error Lights Exclamation w/Triangle, VSC, and small Exclamation - Car runs great? | PriusChat

    She is still burning oil but it is at almost the same rate as when I posted about it in the 300K thread. I attribute this to the almost exclusive use on non-ethanol gas. It makes a HUGE difference. She is still on the original HV battery, knock on wood, along with engine and transmission. The biggest expense has been suspension stuff.

    All and all Ema has been a PHENOMENAL car to say the least and I would like to push her to 500K but only time will tell. That is probably another 2-3years away and the Gen IV's had better be out by then, LOL.

    I hope everyone enjoys the update on Ema.

    Happy driving,
    Chris
     
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  2. kutcht1

    kutcht1 Member

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    Nice! Gives the rest of us hope. The more time I spend with these cars the more I am impressed with them. For you I am sure it is now a quest as others would have quit long ago. Good luck and thanks for the update.
    TomK
     
  3. roamerr

    roamerr Member

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    That 395k mile service was big. Did you do a lot of that as preventative maintenance?


    iPhone ?
     
  4. CBarr31

    CBarr31 Active Member

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    Yes, pretty much all preventative maintenance stuff except for the tires and suspension work which was needed. The pumps were the big thing as far as PM. At 200K I replaced everything but the water pump and it failed in like 6,000 miles LOL. So I wasn't making that mistake again. All pumps get changed every 200K is my new rule, lol.

    Chris
     
  5. kutcht1

    kutcht1 Member

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    Just curious, when your water pump went, what gave you the information that it had failed? In my experience the pump just starts leaking a little then gets worse. I have also heard of impellers corroding and cars start to overheat. I am at 185,000 and just want to have my ducks on a row.
    TomK
     
  6. CBarr31

    CBarr31 Active Member

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    Tom,

    I have a ScanGauge so can monitor the temperature on it. The first indication I got was the high temp warning on the dash which of course generated an error code but I didn't know that at the time. Just that I had a high temp. I monitored the ScanGauge and as the temp would climb I would pull over and let it cool then get back on the road. I limped to the dealership this way where I got the pump replaced. The pump itself was running but it was leaking around the bearing as is typical. It may have been "weeping" for awhile and I just didn't look closely enough at it. I had lost enough fluid to create an air pocket so there wasn't any fluid moving. This of course created the high temp.

    Look for fluid movement in the reservoir and watch the pump itself for pink buildup, that will be your indication of imminent failure, LOL. Hope this helps.

    Chris
     
  7. kammssss

    kammssss Member

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    @kutch1...my original water pump failed at 187k. So watch out.
     
  8. kutcht1

    kutcht1 Member

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    So, are you talking about the inverter pump or the water pump? Inverter pump is easy to figure out as that happened in my 2002. Water pump is a different story as I just do not hear much about it. When people say fail, what does that mean? I have yet to have one fail, they just start leaking which is an indicator that it is time to change it out.
    TomK
     
  9. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Typically the failure mode of the engine coolant pump is a weeping bearing. The alert owner will see this and replace the pump at this time.

    If the weeping is ignored or not noticed, then air can enter the engine coolant system over time and cause an engine overheating problem. This is because the engine overflow reservoir depends upon vacuum to draw fluid back down into the radiator, as the radiator fluid level drops. If there is an air leak then the overflow reservoir can remain full while the fluid level in the radiator drops.

    Therefore, along with checking the condition of the engine coolant pump bearing, the fluid level in the radiator itself needs to be checked from time to time, by removing the large black plastic cover over the radiator for access to the radiator cap.

    Congrats to Chris for reaching 400K miles. A question: have you ever replaced the engine radiator, its hoses and cabin heater hoses?
     
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  10. orenji

    orenji Senior Member

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    You mention high temp was detected on your Scan Gauge, what is considered a normal range?
     
  11. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    The engine thermostat opens at ~82 degrees C (180 degrees F) so that is the normal operating temperature.
     
  12. KennyGS

    KennyGS Senior Member

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    Congratulations!
     
  13. valde3

    valde3 Senior Member

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    Actually Prius (and most of other cars) have thermostat on the return from the radiator hose. And temperature of the thermostat is temperature where thermostat begins to open. I think Prius thermostat should be fully opened at 92c (198F). Thermostat being in the return from the radiator hose will mean that if radiator and outside air is cold enough thermostat will start opening at 91c (196F) of engine temp. Temp then will immediately drop a lot. Also in below freezing conditions it’s normal for Prius engine to stay 65…70c (149…158F). On hot side of things fans will kick on at 96c (205F).

    So I would say that normal operating temperature is 65…96c (149…205F) depending on conditions. And 82…90c (180F…194F) on “normal” conditions.

    But after driving with temp information you will know the normal temperatures on your car on your driving conditions.

    Sorry for the off topic. And congratulations to CBarr31.
     
  14. orenji

    orenji Senior Member

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    So if I am seeing 180F to 195F on days that are 85F, is this normal?
     
  15. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Yes
     
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  16. ILuvMyPriusToo

    ILuvMyPriusToo Senior Member

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    Chris, hurray to you and Ema! Now that's a relationship!
     
  17. CBarr31

    CBarr31 Active Member

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    TomK,

    My water pump (engine coolant pump) failed pretty much EXACTLY as Patrick described in his replay right after this one. If I had paid better attention back at 200K I would have probably seen the "weeping". The other thought on the subject is since I did do the heat storage and inverter coolant pumps along with replacing the fluid pretty much right before the pump failed there may have been "trash" in the system that got into the old pump? Just a theory and again that was 200K miles ago, LOL.

    Happy driving,
    Chris
     
  18. CBarr31

    CBarr31 Active Member

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    Patrick,

    I have not replaced the radiator, its hoses or the cabin heater hoses. Now you are giving me something else to keep an eye on, lol.

    Engine temp, RPM's, 12V battery and soon to be HV battery temp are the 4 things I monitor on my ScanGauge. So hopefully I will se a radiator or hose issue there along with my now regular inspection of the hoses.

    Happy driving,
    Chris
     
  19. CBarr31

    CBarr31 Active Member

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    As Patrick posted ... Yes perfectly normal. I typically see 184 - 190 F pretty much all the time unless the engine is off for a considerable time on a cooler day.

    Chris
     
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  20. Data Daedalus

    Data Daedalus Senior Member

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    Congratulations on crossing the 400,000 mile mark! Please be aware that as far as the nay sayers - a.k.a. the great Prius hating ignoramii are concerned, this event cannot possibly happen. This amazing milestone is nothing more than a myth in their clouded eyes. o_O

    Y'see, there are still very many "morons of the least kind" out there who eagerly fill up non-hybrid motoring forums with tales of what a "massive con" the Prius is. They eagerly extol it's imagined anti-eco credentials, rabidly punching at their keyboards as they once again tell unwarranted lies about how building the Prius has decimated an eco-system somewhere in Canada. And drowned all the polar bears. o_O

    According to these faceless "Keyboard Warriors", we can only achieve anything remotely approaching high MPG if we crawl around everywhere at no more than 20 miles an hour. And the batteries barely last 2 years. And cost £5,000 to replace - every two years of course. :rolleyes:

    Reading the UK Daily Fail :eek:......sorry, Daily Mail Online just last week, I came across several incensed Prii haters who viciously strived to put down the Prius in the comments section of an article about car manufacturers lying about true MPG figures. They were so angry at the mention of the word "Prius" at all, that they resorted to hurling vicious personal abuse at anyone who so much as stood up for the Prius range. One moron asserted that these vehicles cannot possibly reach 100,000 miles as they were so badly built, they'd fall apart long before then. And you'd have bought 5 x HV Traction Battery's during the same period!!!

    I did my best to destroy these myths and expose the brainless oafs for what they really were, but.....they were not having any of it. A wide range of expletives were used to describe Prii owners. I was really quite appalled. If any of them could read, they'd easily find Prius Chat, and read all the articles written by the very people who own and usually, happily drive Prii with pleasure. (y)

    But.....no. It seemed far easier to spout a great many untruths and equally damaging tales about how evil and nasty the Prius has always been. I was wantonly, roundly derided for daring to mention that the Prius was good for about 250,000 miles at least (with regular servicing).

    So, here's a Prius that has done over 400,000 miles.......but in the warped temporal bubbles theses nincompoops inhabit, this cannot happen. Sometimes, I really despair for the future of humanity as we presently know it - especially with such ill-informed ignoramii going to great lengths to parrot fictitious fibs about the Prius. :unsure:

    Once again, congratulations on crossing the big 400,000 mile mark. This REAL event will now unfortunately join those myths about Bigfoot, Yeti, The Chupacabra, The Moon landings that never happened, and every other truly bizarre conspiracy theory. :cautious:

    Some humans!!! And they wonder why any possible extraterrestrials out there won't make direct contact with us............D'oh!!!
     
    #20 Data Daedalus, Apr 26, 2015
    Last edited: Apr 27, 2015
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