Buying a gen 1 Prius - what do i look out for?

Wow that is a big big question! I would say that firt of all look for things you would in any other used car....milage body condition and so forth. Im not to keen on the very technical aspects of the Prius but if you can narrow things down a bit i might be able to offer some advice. Once you get it continue to ask lots of questions here and then drive it! You'll learn a lot just by doing that. I will check back and see if I can think of any specifics in the mean time.

 

The two major fault areas are the HV battery and the transaxle. The HV battery can be fixed by most people if they have taken a circuits/electronics class. The transaxle is non-repairable. Look for service records showing regular changes of the transaxle fluid. The battery, you could ask the owner to remove the cover and expose the cells, as visual inspection may show corrosion and electrolyte leakage that would eventually cause a problem, however, removing the cover is not simple.

 

It is really the transaxle fluid change that requires a regular change. 700 euros sounds like too much, it must include a lot of fluff like fuel injector cleaning.

 

Depending on the mileage (or kilometers) the vehicle has been driven, there are several things to look for or do. I saw to it that the car was covered by warranty as long as possible, hence, an extended warranty. Getting it serviced would be good if you don't know the history, otherwise odometer-based service should be sought at the approriate intervals. I would spend the money to have a diagnostic of the HV battery done. as this will show you cell/module voltages and you can see how they all balance, or not, which could mean a cell or two needing replacement. Cost was about an hours' labor for the printout (US$100).

Visually looking at the connection posts for the modules will tell if there are any indications of leaks, but as others have mentioned, getting to look at it is a bit laborsome.

I was hit up at 143,000 miles for a new battery on my 2003 due to leakage. I would have paid good money to have someone tear into the thing at 100,000 and see if there were leaks, had I known. That way the warranty would have replaced it, instead of my pocket book.
-M&M

 

You can safely decline the valve adjustment. A little noise (too loose) is better than noiseless (too tight -- valves burning). I've never heard of anyone burning a valve in either Gen I or Gen II, and some of these have gone over 500 kkm.

If you are saying that brake fluid is changed every 30000 km, that is utterly ridiculous for this type of car and can be skipped. If you were to tell me, my 10 year old Prius still has the original brake fluid at 180 kkm, then I would say that it is probably time to change it out.

 

Im not sure if you have access to this but when I bought my 2001 Prius I was able to take the vin # to a toyota dealership and they gave me a print out per my request of all the service records that happened at a toyota dealership on that vehicle I found that helpful since I was not able to check some ofthe things myself

 

Seilerts,
You say the transaxle fluid should be changed regularly but the maintenance sked I have doesn't list it as a requirement (ever). I looked at the diagram for the transaxle and it appears to be a very simple planetary system (controlled by electronics). My experience w/ planetary systems is that they are extremely reliable (similiar in reliability to a rear end gearing in a rear wheel drive vehicle). I have 107,000 on my '01. Should I change the fluid? Also, could you expound on typical transaxle problems you see?

 

I suggest changing the Gen1 tranny fluid every 30,000 miles....it's a lot cheaper than a new tranny and many are starting to fail, good used replacements are getting harder and harder to find.

Insist whoever services the tranny drops the pan, cleans out the oil pickup filter and the gunk in the pan. The dealer NEVER does this...in fact, the tranny pan gasket is special order at most dealerships.

http://www.3prongpower.com/tech/Gen1TrannyService/

 

It's the electrical windings in the Prius transaxle that suffer from old oil. The lubricity of the old oil may still be ok, but the electrical conductivity is a problem. Toyota should add a recommended transaxle oil change interval. The Toyota recommendation of never changing it will certainly get you past the warranty period.