Wanting to buy a Prius, have questions...

1. The Prius goes through a warm up cycle, it applies to every climate, it goes through this warmup before you can achieve the highest possible mpg.

2. In CA, you have 10 year, 150k miles warranty on the hv battery. Don't void the warranty by installing anything before the warranty expires. You would want the battery to fail within the warranty period, so you get a brand new one for free.

3. You should drain and refill transaxle fluid, every 60k miles are so. Toyota is a car company that likes to sell you new cars every so often.

4. Touring models only had 16" wheels, not 17". The navigation in a Prius is a big disappointment, don't think that's a added value feature. Backup cameras come with most Prius models from 2006-2009. Only 2004-2005 gen2 cars didn't have the camera.

5. Make sure you buy Prius cars from reputable sources, with good service records. Salvage cars should be avoided at all costs. KBB is a good source to determine the value of the cars.

 

+1 Couldn't have said it better myself.

 

It's perfectly ok to drain and fill the transaxle fluid, and it's very straightforward. I'd recommend to do a first change quite early, say at the one year mark, and then go to a more extended interval. Use Toyota ATF-WS fluid only, play it safe.

Toyota dealerships don't recommend it because it's not on the required maintenance schedule, I'd speculate. As to why Toyota doesn't include it in the schedule, I'm not sure. I'd suspect it's a selling point, low maintenance feature. Personally I don't think that's a good policy.

 

1) The warmup cycle depends on how long it takes the engine to come to temperature. No need to idle warm up. It's automatic and no different than any other car with electronic fuel injection.
2) No.
3) Follow the owners manual. People have a hard time accepting the transaxle fluid doesn't need regular service intervals. Its similar to those who maintain 3000 mile oil changes. Today's modern engines are made to mechanical tolerances not possible in the past. And there are advances in lubrication as well. Changing out the fluid unnecessarily will hurt your time, wallet, and environment.
4. Skip the navigation, the maps will be half a decade old on a G2
5. I'd see if you can find an affordable 2010 G3 model.

 

What's your price range? I'm seeing more and more for cheaper since the new ones are going for so low.

 

sell the blazer yourself online for $2000, the trade in value is going to be $500

 

I must disagree with your third point. I live in a country where the Prius has always had 10,000 mile interval engine oil changes with which I am completely happy. However if you drain the transmission as I did at 60,000 + miles you would see why the general consensus of opinion hear on PC is that it be changed at about 30,000 miles and then again every 60,000 miles.
The oil comes out black with a definite metallic sheen on the surface along with much metal particles on the drain plug magnet. The black color of the oil cannot be put down to brake band or clutch ware because the Prius transmission has none of these.
It could be put down to "dieseling" and this would leave carbon and acid in the oil. Or it could just be tiny particles of metal, but either way all these products are conductive to electricity.
It does have high voltage motor generators that run and are cooled by the oil. These rely on the oil not becoming conductive in fact acting as an insulator to protect the winding's.
There are also many roller bearings in the transmission along with an oil pump without a filter in circuit. If any one of these items fail because of the oil your looking at a very expensive bill that perhaps the dealer might like to present you with.

John

 

yes, all of the toyota warranties are for the life of the car, no matter who owns it. just make sure it was first purchased in cali, and has remained there.

 

It's most 2006 Prius thru 2009

 

Every used car is unique. Keep an open mind and cast a wide net--you'll never know what you can find.

Toyota's nav isn't any better or worse than a Garmin (I run both). The Garmin does have more functionality.

Many times a standard Prius is misrepresented as a Touring on the used car lot. What's the package on the 2007 Touring?

Package 1 does not have VSC
Package 2 does not have HomeLink mirror, 6 CD changer, nav & leather
Package 3 does not have nav & leather
Package 5 does not have leather
Package 6 has everything

All Touring have HID headlights, fog lights, 16" 7 spoke wheels, a larger spoiler, and a different suspension.

Packages change every model year but it's all the same stuff from 2006-2009.

Read through Car Buying Guide for New and Used Vehicles | CarBuyingTips.com then read through it again.

What are they asking for the cars listed on truecar.com?