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How many miles on your transmission?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Rph74, Apr 10, 2014.

  1. Rph74

    Rph74 Active Member

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    I'm curious how many miles everyone is getting on their transmissions on these things. I was just reading on luscious garage's website that they are seeing failure somewhere around 150-250k but that is on taxis.
    So I am wondering what everyone is seeing in the private world. Also, did you change your fluid. I changed my trans oil recently at 95k and it looked pretty good still.

    Cheers,

    Chris
     
  2. dorunron

    dorunron Senior Member

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    Those in the know seem to recommend drain & refill of transaxle every 60,000 miles. Did same on our 09 Gen II, never missed a beat in the time we owned it. Can't speak of longevity though, as we traded it in on a new 2013 Model 3 recently. You might say they gave me a deal I could not refuse.

    Best of luck to you.

    Ron (dorunron)
     
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    17, 500 on mine so far, running like a champ! no oil change yet.
     
  4. nh7o

    nh7o Off grid since 1980

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    So far transmission failures have been relatively rare and fairly random, judging by reports on PC. If your fluid looked OK at 95K, that would indicate it had been changed once before, as I changed mine at 35K and it looked almost black. Terrain makes a difference. Mountains, heat, and towing would all be reasons to change fluid more often. Those taxis lumbering up and down the steep SF hills all day put a tremendous strain on the innards.
     
  5. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    From the readings I've done, I believe the transmissions hold up, it's MG2 that is failing. I don't even think the fluid changes has anything to do with MG2 failures.
     
  6. jdenenberg

    jdenenberg EE Professor

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    My 2004 Prius is at 255k miles on the original tranny (ATF refresh every 60k miles).

    JeffD
     
  7. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    Changed trans fluid twice so far on my 70K 07. Getting ready to do the third any day now.
    Used Redline D6 on both and pulled a UOA on every change. Posted above in the stickys under transaxle fluid analysis.

    Coming up on 7 years running D6. Excellent UOA wear numbers.
     
  8. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    At Lifespan/Operating costs - Prius Wiki, I have a link to 2 fas 4 u's 09 Prius which he took to 465K miles before trading it in.

    Also there are links to Andrew Grant's taxis. His 01 taxi sounds like it went 329K km. His 04 Prius he mentions went 1.5 million KM before retiring.

    It sounds like all of them were on the original transaxle.
     
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  9. rwyckoff

    rwyckoff Phev's Plus Home Solar power1

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    312k miles on original trans on a 2004 prius. change every 60k now that I am out in dusty Az. In N. Calif. don't worry about it, maybe change every 120k miles. The 299999 thread has about a dozen people with over 300k miles with the original Trans.
     
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  10. Rph74

    Rph74 Active Member

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    Wow that is some amazing mileage on your cars! Kudos to you guys!
     
  11. uart

    uart Senior Member

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    I think that you'll find that for almost everyone here the number of miles on the transmission is identical to the number of miles on the car. Very few people have reported failures.
     
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  12. AzWxGuy

    AzWxGuy Weather Guy

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    My first drain and fill was at 97K (03/16/12). The second was a couple days ago at 171K. I'll be following the "every 60K" guidance from here on out. Question, is it not true that MG's 1 and 2 are bathed in ATF WS? Isn't there also an inverter coolant loop through the MG's? Seems like I read this somewhere in all of these threads.
     
  13. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    It is true that the MGs have contact with ATF WS. The inverter/transaxle coolant loop flows through the transaxle case. I suppose the heat transfer occurs via the transaxle case.
     
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  14. Bananaman

    Bananaman Junior Member

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    Mine failed at 153,000 miles. I had just bought it used. The original owner commuted long distances at high speeds in the Texas heat and never changed the fluid. I personally believe that if the trans fluid is changed every 60,000 like most on here recommend, these transmissions will last a good long time.
     
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  15. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    That and change the Inverter coolant also. That protects both the Inverter & trans. The huge cross section of pure aluminum heatsink in that coolant loop is very hard on the coolant. Very easy to do and very inexpensive. All you need is a gallon of Toyota SLLC found at the dealer for $20. It takes a few quarts. Good bang for the buck as you should see small mileage gain due to Inverter running much cooler.

    The ICE coolant on the other hand last's much longer and can be changed at the recommended 100k mark.
    But you can refresh it by just dumping the overflow bottle and the rad only. Very easy & fast. Your under there anyway. Do that a couple of times in a month and you'll have replaced quit a bit of ICE coolant and not have any air lock issues.
     
  16. JerryCS

    JerryCS Prius camper with trailer hitch

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    Ron, how many miles on your 2009 when you sold it?
     
  17. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    Ron hasn't been on here for a while now. If I remember correctly, he was around 80k miles when he traded it
     
  18. JerryCS

    JerryCS Prius camper with trailer hitch

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    What are MGs?
     
  19. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    • MG1, an AC motor-generator having a permanent magnet rotor,[7] used as a motor when starting the ICE and as a generator (alternator) when charging the high voltage battery
    • MG2, an AC motor-generator, also having a permanent magnet rotor, used as the primary drive motor and as a generator (alternator), which regeneration power is directed to the high voltage battery
     
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  20. Priusyipee

    Priusyipee Active Member

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    Closing in on 240,000 miles. Fluid changed twice. Getting ready for another drain/refill before winter sets in.
     
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