Newbie with 20005 prius

Congrats on your purchase. I, too, just bought an 2005 Prius with 64,000 miles on it just last week.

 

20005??? Are you from the future? Is your Prius made of photons? Did you get some kind of Prius package option for time travel? Do we still use fossil fuels in 20005? Do they still play Beatles music? How's that whole "World Peace" thing working out? Any hunger and poverty left on the planet? What kind of mileage do you get?

(And congrats on the new car!)

 

I think that you'll find you'll get better answers from people if you develop a sense of humor.

 

Oh c'mon- I'm just having fun with ya! I'm happy for you- you got a great car...and it was probably not only well maintained by the DMV, but not pushed too hard either! Enjoy it and whatever you do, don't ever take any of my razzing seriously. I make a LOT of typos too!!! As for advice- well my Prius isn't the same year or generation, so I'll defer to others. But, I can tell you that you won't find a greater, more helpful and knowledgeable bunch of Prius people than you will here. So take full advantage of everthing you can from this forum- just don't take my razzing too seriously!!!

(You gotta admit though, you're just as curious as me about what'll be happening in 20005!!!!!!)

 

+1

I got it. (I think almost everyone did.)

 

Here are a couple of pdfs you might find handy:

The 2005 Prius eBrochure:

05_prius.pdf

The 2007 Prius Owner's Manual:

2007 Prius Owners Manual.pdf

and table of contents:

Table of Contents 2007 Prius Owners Manual.doc

Almost all of the 2007 Prius Owner's Manual pdf will be applicable to your 2005. But if you want the 2005 Prius Owner's Manual pdf, you can download individual sections of that manual by registering with ToyotaOwnersOnline.com, and then stitch the sections into one pdf file using Adobe Acrobat or recent Mac OS.

 

05Prius98K,

I don't think it's ever hurtful to do things like oil changes and fluid changes MORE often than the manufacturer recommends. I tend to think of those things like (as an architect) building codes which set a certain minimum level of performance for safety, health and general welfare for the occupants of a building. They're a MINIMUM level of assurance that your car will keep running right. If you exceed those minimum requirements, you WILL probably be helping your car more than hurting it.

If your dealer won't take your money to do the things you ask of them, I'm sure you'll be able to find a hybrid mechanic who will! And besides, PREVENTATIVE care is always much better than REQUIRED service due to bad fluids, etc...

 

You can believe in PriusChat (but that doesn't mean you can believe every post here). Toyota does. In fact, Toyota believes in PriusChat so much that it paid for 50 PriusChatters from all over the world to attend the three-day unveiling of the 2010 Prius in January 2009.

 

Oh, you can really rely on the knowledgeable advice you'll get from PriusChat. I would trust the collective wisdom of this group over a dealer mechanic almost anytime believe it or not...unless, of course, that mechanic is also a Priuschat member!

I'm actually rather amazed that so few dealers/mechanics seem to rely on PC for knowledge and advice. When I bought my Prius, the dealers were either lying to me or just didn't know about PC...something I find rather odd as PC seems to be the most popular venue online for Prius owners. Could be that they want to discourage people from educating themselves on the Prius so they can always seem to be more knowledgeable than the Owners...I do not know.

 

Why not "believe" information you gain from a forum of mostly owners? (An Occasional Odd Duck such as myself awaiting ownership)

The information you find here isn't going to be perfect. Look within any major thread you have debate on definition and outcome. But that's really great. What you get out of Prius Chat is probably proportionate to what you put in. I think if you have questions and are willing to listen and dig a little you can gain great insight into many aspects of Prius ownership. Maybe even more information about Generation 2, as you have more time having elapsed with the vehicle and more experienced owners.

I'd be leary of anyone "afraid" of you gaining knowledge from whatever source. What are you only suppose to trust him? Prius Chat isn't fly by night, it's been here a while and has IMO great support from a great community.

 

OK, so your 2005 is just getting broken in. Look for Galaxee's sticky about what services you need & don't need.

I too have found the advice here extremely helpful. At the dealer you'll get the party line which is to their benefit. Here we'll share what works & what doesn't & why. Do whatever makes you most comfortable. Most dealers just sell the car. We care about it.

Consider grill blocking, tire pressure, fluid change intervals, and a ScanGauge.

Register at
Toyota Owners Online | Official Toyota Owners Website and you may discover more info about your car. You can also record non-dealer activity.