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Make your Prius last approximately forever : Part 1

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by szabi, Jul 20, 2009.

  1. szabi

    szabi I also have a 2007 Prius

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    This advice applies to any auto, not just Priuses.

    When your engine runs hard for a while (1/2 hr or more), it accumulates a heat load. As long as you keep it running, this load is continuously removed by the cooling system (coolant plus radiator (heat exchanger)) and dumped into the surrounding air. When you stop, the heat removal stops.

    Some earlier auto models had an electric radiator fan that ran whether or not the ignition was on, but this runs down the 12V battery and is a safety hazard for anyone working under the hood.

    Now the car is sitting there with a large lump of hot metal under the hood. The hood is insulated and there are no vents or louvers in the hood of a modern car. What happens? Everything under the hood comes to a temperature much higher that ambient, much higher than it ever reaches when the car is running.

    There is a mess of plastic and rubber components under the hood. Although I'm sure Toyota uses the very best they can afford, these components do chemically decay; the rate of decay is an exponential function of the temperature and a linear function of time. Those of us who drive our cars for 15 years have experienced a rubber valve cover gasket which turns into hard, brittle plastic. Similar things happen to all rubber and plastic components.

    Thus: the less the non-metal underhood components are exposed to high temperature, the longer they will last. When you get off the road on a hot day after hard running, open the hood for an hour. If you get a new car every 2 years, you will never know the difference. But if you run your Prius for the 10+ years that they are (over) engineered to run, you will.
     
    #1 szabi, Jul 20, 2009
  2. lenjack

    lenjack Active Member

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    Possible, but questionable.
     
    #2 lenjack, Jul 20, 2009
  3. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

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    I call BS
    My last Toyota was 16 years old when I sold it.
    I currently own a Toyota Crown, built in 1968, with all original hoses etc.
     
    #3 patsparks, Jul 20, 2009
  4. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    you're going to have to replace gaskets and seals after time and use anyway.
     
    #4 galaxee, Jul 20, 2009
  5. dogfriend

    dogfriend Human - Animal Hybrid

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    I'm more concerned about keeping those IGBTs in the inverter cool than the hoses and gaskets, but that's just me.
     
    #5 dogfriend, Jul 21, 2009
    1 person likes this.
  6. a_gray_prius

    a_gray_prius Rare Non-Old-Blowhard Priuschat Member

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    So you're telling me I need a turbo timer for my prius too?
     
    #6 a_gray_prius, Jul 21, 2009
  7. ken1784

    ken1784 SuperMID designer

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    Prius engine room is easy to be cooled down because of the engine-off coasting and the idling stop.
    Therefore, the grill blocking is more important than the opening hood after run.

    Ken@Japan
     
    #7 ken1784, Jul 21, 2009
  8. sambojoho

    sambojoho Proud conservative

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    Grill blocking? Do you mean purposely obstructing the air flow to your radiator?
     
    #8 sambojoho, Jul 21, 2009
  9. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Correct. The engine shuts off, remember so during the winter time, we block the grill to help keep the heat in. (Don't forget that in the winter, you're extracting heat from the engine to heat up the cabin anyway so I don't think the issue with heat pooling is as great). So don't worry, we don't block it in the summer.
     
    #9 Tideland Prius, Jul 21, 2009
  10. ken1784

    ken1784 SuperMID designer

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    A lot of Japanese Prius drivers block more than 50% of grill even in the 85F summer. :)

    Ken@Japan
     
    #10 ken1784, Jul 21, 2009
  11. Muhahahahaz

    Muhahahahaz Member

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    Yeah, and grill blocking will also improve MPG by making the car more aerodynamic. :)
     
    #11 Muhahahahaz, Jul 21, 2009
  12. vertex

    vertex Active Member

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    Ken:
    I'm guessing they keep the airconditioner off. Grill blocking and airconditioning don't mix.

    Howard
     
    #12 vertex, Jul 21, 2009
  13. jdenenberg

    jdenenberg EE Professor

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    If you are concerned about dumping heat after shutting off your car you can get an electric drive motor for your engine water pump (The 2010 Prius already has an ICE electric water pump) and remove the serpentine belt. Putting the electric motor under temperature control will then automatically dump the excess heat. Here is a link to some example units, but you will have to determine if they fit:

    Water Pump, Electric Drive Kits - SummitRacing.com

    It would be a good idea to upgrade the little 12v battery (Optima yellow top - 12 Volt (12v) Toyota Prius Auxilary Battery for 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 with installation kit and free shipping) to avoid starting problems later.

    JeffD
     
    #13 jdenenberg, Jul 21, 2009
  14. ken1784

    ken1784 SuperMID designer

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    Howard,
    We sometimes use A/C, therefore we still open 50% of grill.
    :focus:
    More importantly, the grill blocking eliminates the engine room cooled down and we can reduce the warming up fuel for next driving.
    The opening hood of OP's opinion is not agreeable.

    Ken@Japan
     
    #14 ken1784, Jul 21, 2009
  15. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    The Prius engine generates very little waste heat compared to "normal" vehicles. This is pretty apparent if you park in an enclosed garage and note the amount of heat generated by a V-8 powered vehicle, my Mustang GT convertible for example, then compare to the relatively tiny amount of heat produced by the Prius.

    Because of this, Prius owners will also find that radiator and other cooling system hoses will typically last for a longer duration compared to other vehicles. Its not because the hoses are better quality - but rather because there's less heat produced by the engine.
     
    #15 Patrick Wong, Jul 22, 2009
  16. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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    have to agree that the last thing i want is for the Pri to cool down faster, it is sometimes difficult to warm it up and keep it that way... in some cases, the engine runs barely over half the time to begin with.
     
    #16 DaveinOlyWA, Jul 22, 2009
  17. icarus

    icarus Senior Member

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    Back to the op's original contention, the short answer is BS!

    In most conventional cars the worst thing you can do after a hot, long freeway run is to pull up to the pump after running full bore for a while. The concentration of heat around the cylinder walls and heads is very significant, leading to possible spot overheating as the coolant stops circulating around the block.

    A much better way is to roll off the freeway with the car coasting in the slip stream allowing the coolant to circulate for a bit. The drive with a fairly high rpm for a block or two, (but gently) just keep the rpm up to keep the coolant circulating fast. The when you pull into the pump let the car idle for 30 seconds or so to dissipate the heat.

    Prius is a different animal. I, by habit, pull into the pump and let it sit for a minute,, but usually the engine quits anyway. I agree that more problems with the Prius are due to not enough heat rather than too much.

    Icarus
     
    #17 icarus, Jul 22, 2009
  18. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    I'm going to stay out of the specifics of this debate and just say I think I'd rather deal with the periodic replacement of a hose or decayed non-metal part and NOT have to worry about leaving my hood open after every drive of more than a 1/2 hour. In this case the Cure sounds more like the Poison.
     
    #18 The Electric Me, Jul 22, 2009
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