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A friendly reminder to do all your general maintenance when you buy a used car!

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by MrSteveB, Sep 6, 2013.

  1. MrSteveB

    MrSteveB Member

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    Bought my first Prius yesterday and then it was off to NAPA this morning to pick up 130 dollars worth of new parts. Everything looked fine except the spark plugs. They looked like they are the original ones.. Kinda rusted and pretty corroded.. Must have the whole 94,000 miles on them. So just reminding everyone that even though you are buying a 'new' used car, still perform maintenance so you know when it was done last!
     

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  2. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Yes, that is because water got into two of the spark plug wells. To reduce the likelihood of a repeat occurrence, put some black sealant on the plastic cowl center seam. Water can drip down that seam into the engine compartment and land on the cylinder head cover. If enough water gets there, some may leak past the igniter O-ring seals into the spark plug wells.
     
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  3. MrSteveB

    MrSteveB Member

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    Are you talking about the plastic cowl that would be just above the plugs. So some sealant or weather stripping type material between the cowl and the hood?
     
  4. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Sealant on the vertical seam of the plastic cowl, where the two plastic pieces join together. The cowl covers the windshield wiper motor.
     
  5. MrSteveB

    MrSteveB Member

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    Great, thank you I will do that tomorrow.
     
  6. emsee

    emsee New Member

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    May I ask where you bought your plugs? About what do they run and is it an easy change? I'm assuming so since it's a Toyota, but you never know. Thank you for the reminder. I've been lazy about doing my due diligence with my new-t0-me Prius.
     
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  7. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    OP says he bought the plugs from NAPA. The correct iridium spark plugs tend to cost ~$10 each.

    Amazon offers the correct Denso plug for $8 plus shipping here:


    It is reasonably easy to change the plugs. Remove the relay box mounted on the cowl for improved access to the spark igniters.

    Here is one thread which provides more info:
    spark plug replacement | PriusChat
     
  8. Britprius

    Britprius Senior Member

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    You say the plugs look like they have done all of the 94,000 miles on them this is possibly because the change interval for the plugs is 120,000 miles, so they should have been ok for another 25,000 miles. Having said that there is no harm in doing them early.
    Possibly the best preventive maintenance you can do is to change the transmission fluid (oil). This is meant to be a lifetime fill, but most here on PC have fund it wise to change at 30,000, and then every 60,000 miles. Only use the Toyota OEM fluid because the motor/generators run in this fluid at high voltages and the wrong fluid could damage the insulation on the windings.

    John (Britprius)
     
  9. MrSteveB

    MrSteveB Member

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    Patrick Wong is right, I did buy them at NAPA. They wanted 8.50 or so each and I asked if they price matched. They did so I pulled up eBay on my phone and showed them the lowest seller at 7.20 a piece. That's all he needed to see and he gave me each at that cost.
     
  10. MrSteveB

    MrSteveB Member

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    I thought they were 100K plugs and at the end of their life. They were pretty corroded and dark but they weren't the worst spark plugs I've ever seen. I have no idea what prior maintenance has been done on this car so I may just end up doing the trans fluid then too. Is this a whole drop pan, or is there a drain plug for the tranny pan?
     
  11. Britprius

    Britprius Senior Member

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    There is a drain plug on the front of the transmission case with a fill plug above it (no pan). Slacken the fill plug first just in case it will not shift. Otherwise you drain the fluid to find you cannot refill. There is a how to here somewhere I will see if I can find it.

    John (Britprius)
     
  12. MrSteveB

    MrSteveB Member

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    I found a pretty informative video done by a mechanic on it. However if there is a how to of someone who has done it on their own without mechanic tools I'd love to see it!
     
  13. Britprius

    Britprius Senior Member

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    You only need a 12mm hex key and 24mm socket, and 2ft clear plastic tube to fit on a funnel for refill.

    John (Britprius)
     
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  14. MrSteveB

    MrSteveB Member

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    Ahh the funnel part is the part I was wondering about. He used a hand pump to get the fluid in the tranny. Thanks for your help.
     
  15. Britprius

    Britprius Senior Member

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    Still looking for the walk through. You will need 4 us quarts of the Toyota WS fluid for the refill, but it will not quite take all of this. Be aware there is a drain plug for the transmission coolant close by.

    John (Britprus)
     
  16. MrSteveB

    MrSteveB Member

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    I just looked up all prior maintenance of this car on the Toyota Service History website.. I lucked out big time, the previous owner took his car in every 5000 or so miles and had regular maintenance's done to the car. Looks like the tranny fluid was just done at 80,000. So I'm only 15,000 miles in on this change. This is so good to see.
     

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  17. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    I recall that 10 mm is the right size.

    When filling the 4 quarts of ATF-WS, a funnel is much easier than a hand pump.