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After 250,000 miles (Update: now 293,000), should I just drive it 'til it drops?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Priusyipee, Nov 15, 2015.

  1. Priusyipee

    Priusyipee Active Member

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    The wheel bearings need replacement more often than my brakes. Car is now over 280,000 mi. Still needs a muffler. Original 12v battery was replaced in June 2011 as a precaution with a new Oem as it was being used for mail delivery 6 days a week and traveling over 150mi/day. I'll have to keep an eye on it since it's over 5 years old. Just ordered a new set of winter tires for it last night. I think it will make it through the winter.
     
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  2. Aaron Vitolins

    Aaron Vitolins Senior Member

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    Still not using oil? If so.. that's amazing!
     
  3. dstahre

    dstahre Member

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    Wow! I've had several cars go over 200,000 on the original wheel bearings!
     
  4. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    I'm not knowledgable on wheel bearings, just know I've never needed new bearings on our slew of Honda's. I read (maybe just on Prius) they're using a bearing style that's lower rolling resistance, but not as durable?

    The Honda's did have some CV joint problems, failure once, and more than one instance of torn CV joint boots. And our last Honda, still in the family, has a seal failure where drive shaft exits the transmission.

    Geez I'm rambling.
     
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  5. Priusyipee

    Priusyipee Active Member

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    Not much oil at all. I have always changed the oil every 5,000 mi or so (Mobil 1) with an OEM filter. I check the oil and add if needed. Less than 4 ounces between changes. I have never overfilled nor has the level ever gone too low. Mostly higher speed daily driving. During the break-in period, the car did mostly highway miles. Not sure if that made a difference. Oddly enough, I never cleaned or replaced any of the sensors.
     
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  6. Aaron Vitolins

    Aaron Vitolins Senior Member

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    Wow that's amazing, my friend! That alone would make me want to keep the vehicle. I've never seen a Prius with over 150,000+ that doesn't use oil. How do you drive once you get in for the first time in the morning? I always get in, turn on let the ICE run for 20 seconds and than drive gently while the engine is warming up.
     
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  7. Aaron Vitolins

    Aaron Vitolins Senior Member

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    My ex Prius has 298,000 miles on the original cv joints. I did have to replace a front wheel bearing. I drove through some deep water that turned out to be missing a large portion of asphalt under that pool of water.. that was not a fun experience, luckily I was going just fast enough not to get stuck in the large hole, and just slow enough to not rim the whole wheel assembly off! These cars a tough as nails!
     
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  8. Priusyipee

    Priusyipee Active Member

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    I turn it on, get myself ready and leave. No warm ups except the mornings when the temps dip well below freezing. The coldest has been -40F!
     
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  9. Priusyipee

    Priusyipee Active Member

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    They are tough! When I first bought the car, I handled it with kid gloves but after a few years on the mail route, I realized that these cars are a lot tougher than they appear. Driving a rural mail route is brutal on ANY car!
     
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  10. bikes4u

    bikes4u Member

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    Seems as tho colder climates possibly salted roads cause wheel bearing failures. I don't know this for a fact but have noticed that those living in salted roads climates have more wheel bearing failures. I've never replaced a wheel bearing on my high miles cars but my dad lives in upstate NY and is replacing bearings all the time
     
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  11. Priusyipee

    Priusyipee Active Member

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    I agree. The salt really does a job on a lot of vehicles. I'm in Upstate NY as well. Close to Vermont and about 20 minutes or so to the Canadian border. I recently saw information on the Chevy Bolt. If this car can hold out until the Spring, that may be my next purchase... Of course, I will drive this one until it expires so the Bolt will have to wait. When it finally does "go", I'll keep as a parts car for the '08 and sell parts to those that need them.
     
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  12. Shane Burns

    Shane Burns Member

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    Amazing... Hows the hybrid battery??
     
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  13. Teri O'Donoghue

    Teri O'Donoghue New Member

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    I always keep a battery charger (fully charged of course) in the Trunk of my 01 Prius because you never know, they are unpredictable. I'm a single woman & I've always done all the easy dyi stuff myself: check fluid levels and add as needed, tire pressure & wear, change lights. etc. I love my 01 which I bought 3 years ago with only 80k, now 93k.
     
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  14. Priusyipee

    Priusyipee Active Member

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    Shane - It looks like you are standing next to MY Prius! :D

    The battery is doing fine as far as I can tell. I did have 2 incidents during the summer when I got into the car after the first start of the day and the SOC actually dropped as I was driving into the purple range. After a bit of driving, the SOC returned to normal. I thought the battery was on its way out with only (maybe if I was lucky) a few weeks left to make a decision. I am amazed every day that the car is still going.

    The rear fan has never been triggered to turn on, so I assume that the battery has never overheated. I have yet to hear it (let's keep it that way). Now that the weather is cooling down, the SOC is constant and the car runs fine. No warning lights or other engine / electrical related problems. If the car lasts through the winter, I 'll get a new muffler in the Spring. Even with the hole in the muffler, the car is not loud enough to attract attention...


    Good idea to keep a charger on hand. Kudos for being proactive and taking the time to learn about the care of your vehicle. So many cars experience premature failure due to lack of maintenance. Monitoring fluid levels, keeping the air pressure in your tires constant and knowing when you need to get professional assistance will keep any car going for a long time! Fluids are the life blood of any vehicle and if degraded or severely depleted will surely kill the drive train.
     
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  15. Aaron Vitolins

    Aaron Vitolins Senior Member

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    Have you ever cleaned the hybrid battery fan? I've noticed a dirty fan will run even quieter than a clean one.
     
  16. Priusyipee

    Priusyipee Active Member

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    Nope. Never cleaned it but do not have pets or kids. I have found that changing the engine air filter on a regular basis helps with keeping the MAF sensor clean. I have thought about putting some sort of a homemade filter on the rear vent for the hybrid battery fan but after 11 years, why bother. The vent itself looks clean. I'm sure there has to be a layer of dust after all this time but so far, so good. When I removed and replaced the blower motor last year, it also had very little in the way of accumulated gunk.
     
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  17. Shane Burns

    Shane Burns Member

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    So the hybrid battery is going strong? Thats amazing! Those stories like your and Aaron's are the main reason why I bought a Prius! They are super reliable! I hope to reach 200K miles on my car... Right now, my prius have 120k on it, so long way to go! ;)
     
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  18. Priusyipee

    Priusyipee Active Member

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    Ah, Shane - you're Prius is just getting started! There are so many people who try to dump the car before 10 years or 100,000 miles (150,000 in a CARB state). Most of them have only seen 1/2 of their expected "lifespan". There was one guy locally whose car had just reached150,000 miles. He offered it on Craigslist for 3,500. The car is owned by an older couple and had been meticulously maintained. All service records were included. They were selling because the hybrid system was no longer under warranty. Not sure if he ever sold it. It was posted for 3 weeks.

    Unfortunately, it's not my time to get another vehicle. If I did, one would have to "sit" for a while. Either that or each vehicle would get driven every other day. Not good for the hybrid battery. Not a cost-saving measure, either since I would have to shell out for yet ANOTHER insurance policy and registration as well. It was tempting, but I passed.

    Since I am committed to getting a solar system installed on my house in the Spring, the new Chevy Bolt looks promising.
     
  19. tpenny67

    tpenny67 Active Member

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    Assuming the bearings are properly sealed, the salt shouldn't be getting in there. However, road salt use is highly correlated with potholes and frost heaves, and all the resulting bumping and banging can't be good for the bearings, ball joints, shocks, etc.

    That said, I live in a rather salty area of Massachusetts (not as bad as upstate New York) and only have had one car that's needed a wheel bearing at 80k miles, and again at 89k, and again at 98k, with the latter two being warranty replacements of the first replacement. So it seems to me that parts quality has a lot to do with longevity. BTW, I ended up trading in that car just before the next scheduled bearing failure at 107k :)
     
  20. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Maybe speedbumps are a factor too? I used to blow over those; now I do them at dead-slow. I suspect they're (at least partially) behind a lot of suspension issues, and are impacting fuel consumption nationwide: all the unnecessary slowing and speeding up again.