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Looking for a General Maintenance/Repair Guide

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by PriusNoob77, Jul 19, 2016.

  1. PriusNoob77

    PriusNoob77 Junior Member

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    Hey everyone,

    First off, I'm so glad to have found such an active community like this one. Everyone seems friendly and willing to help.

    This last weekend I purchased a 2008 Prius with a lot of minor issues that I know I can repair myself. For instance the fabric started coming off on the center console, so the previous owner thought that it was a good idea to put a staple in the back end of the fabric. A quick google search later I found a great guide on youtube on how to remove the arm rest and fix the fabric properly.

    That being said I'm looking for more DIY type videos or written guides for a Gen 2 Prius. Right now there are still a few things to be done (The on/off dial on the vents have been pushed in too far, the compartment below the stereo has a broken door, etc). If not then at least a good guide to taking off the dash would take care of a great deal of issues I have left.

    Thanks,
     
    #1 PriusNoob77, Jul 19, 2016
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  2. aaroncv3

    aaroncv3 Member

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    hello, welcome to PriusChat!

    I also have a Gen2 (2006). I'm wondering if a Haynes manual would be a useful resource! I share your interest in this question. Thanks for your post!

    Cheers,
    aaroncv3
     
    #2 aaroncv3, Jul 19, 2016
  3. fotomoto

    fotomoto Senior Member

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    #3 fotomoto, Jul 19, 2016
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  4. johnnyb588

    johnnyb588 Member

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    Priuschat and PriusDIY are my top online resources (as well as youtube videos for specific repairs/problems).

    If you are considering getting any type of manual, I would go with the factory manual over a Haynes/Chilton type of manual. I have a Haynes for a couple of my vehicles, and I have the factory manual for a couple of my vehicles. The factory manual is FAR more useful in every way. That's not to say a Haynes/Chilton manual is worthless, but if I could have whatever I wanted, I'd want the factory manual hands down, and it's not even close. You can get temp access to an online version of the OEM manual (techinfo.toyota.com), you can buy the manual outright (sources for this can be legal or illegal; legal is VERY pricey, illegal can obviously not be recommended by the forum, but it's not that hard to find sources for that sort of thing if you want).
     
    #4 johnnyb588, Jul 19, 2016
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  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    congrats and welcome, all the best!(y) sounds like someone really put a beating on your car.:(
     
    #5 bisco, Jul 19, 2016
  6. aaroncv3

    aaroncv3 Member

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    Great information here. Thank you, sir!
     
    #6 aaroncv3, Jul 19, 2016
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  7. andrewclaus

    andrewclaus Active Member

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    If you must get a paper book, look at the Bentley manual. When I bought mine, it was twice the price but has about four times the information as Haynes. In the last eight years or so since I bought it, though, the preponderance of Youtube and other internet sources has largely made the book redundant. There are some good overview chapters, a good troubleshooting guide, and easy-to-reference wiring diagrams, though the diagrams are partial.
     
    #7 andrewclaus, Jul 19, 2016
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  8. PriusNoob77

    PriusNoob77 Junior Member

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    Thanks for the information guys. There is a lot of good stuff in here.

    What do you guys think about a DIY repair megathread? The top post would be broken down into a few different categories like Under The Hood, Interior, Body Work, Lights and fixtures, etc. Then underneath are links to video guides, text guides, other threads in Priuschat, etc. that explain how to troubleshoot and fix specific items. We could sticky the thread in this Gen 2 Prius Care subforum. That would make it much easier to locate good information in this forum.

    For example there could be a great guide on how to change out the 12v battery, but it's so old that it's 20-30 pages back. If we had a Dedicated thread on the front page that had a link to that guide, then people wouldn't have to tread through pages and pages to find what they needed. Just an idea
     
    #8 PriusNoob77, Jul 20, 2016
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  9. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    it's a great idea, but eventually, they become so old and clogged, they're virtually unusable.
     
    #9 bisco, Jul 20, 2016
  10. PriusNoob77

    PriusNoob77 Junior Member

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    Yeah that's why it would need to be kept up weekly or at least monthly. We would have to enlist someone that's fairly active on this site that would be willing to create and take care of the maintenance of the thread, then the rest of the community could post suggestions and help expose dead links or outdated information.
     
    #10 PriusNoob77, Jul 20, 2016
  11. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    the biggest problem is that the mods won't delete useless posts. you can start a thread titled, '12 volt battery', and say in the post, please don't drift from the topic of the 12 volt battery, i want to keep this thread clean. and the next person will post, 'i remember when cars had 6 volt batteries'.
     
    #11 bisco, Jul 20, 2016
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